Updated Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) Tool

Published: June 2017

ID #: CAS037

Authors: Dianne Ward, EdD

See more related research

Share

The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) is a tool designed to evaluate practices, environmental attributes, and policies of early care and education settings that influence children’s nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary environments. The tool has been updated to assess all current best practices in Go NAP SACC. The EPAO has been expanded to include a self-report version to ease the burden of having trained researchers conduct full day observations. In addition, the observation tool has been adapted for use in family child care homes. Available resources include training videos, observation forms, and data entry tables. Additional materials and training presentations will be available in the future.

Access

Keywords: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Child Care/Preschool, Food service, Nutrition standards, Physical activity

Focus Area: Early Childhood

Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)

Resource Type: Tools & Measures

Related Research

April 2016

Enhancing the Use of the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) Tool in Early Care and Education Settings

The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) is a tool designed to evaluate practices, environmental attributes, and policies of early care and education (ECE) settings that influence children’s nutrition and physical activity. The purpose of this project is to provide easy-to-use and readily available resources to facilitate the EPAO tool’s use by researchers and More

May 2026

A Pediatric Perspective on the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines

Clear, evidence-based guidance on what foods and beverages children and adolescents should consume—and in what amounts—is foundational for promoting healthy growth and preventing diet-related chronic disease across the life course. Yet many children and adolescents in the US continue to have diets of poor nutritional quality. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), issued every 5 More

April 2026

Policy Priorities and Research Needs for Advancing Healthy Eating: A 2026-2027 Research Agenda for U.S. Children and Adolescents

Given recent changes to nutrition policies and programs and the food environment landscape, the need for new evidence on how these changes impact nutrition, health, and food access is greater than ever. HER has also published a research agenda intended to provide a blueprint for immediate (i.e., 12-18 month) research needs to inform strategies to More