The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #58066

Amy S. Billing, MSSA¹, Nancy L. Atkinson, PhD¹, and Robert Gold, PhD². (1) Public Health Informatics Research Laboratory, University of Maryland, Department of Public and Community Health, Suite 2387 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742-2611, 301-405-2468, billing@glue.umd.edu, (2) Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, Suite 2387 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742-2611

This presentation will discuss the needs assessment phase of the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program-Digital Inclusion (FSNEP-DI) project. The overall goal of the project is to improve the health of limited resource populations in Maryland. The project involves a comprehensive needs assessment and a community health promotion intervention and evaluation. It addresses nutrition and physical activity among food stamp recipients in five diverse counties. Intervention strategies include the delivery of health information through educational programs with a digital inclusion component. Needs assessment, baseline and evaluation data collection strategies include telephone surveys, focus groups, as well as an environmental scan and secondary data analysis. As part of the needs assessment process, focus groups, a household telephone survey, and interviews with community stakeholders were conducted. A 130-item household telephone survey targeted adult food stamp recipients in randomly selected households, collecting 67 completed surveys in each county. The household survey collected data on nutrition, physical activity and community access to technology. More detailed information on these topics was collected through focus groups. These consisted of 10-12 food stamp recipients in each of the five participating counties. Community stakeholders were also interviewed in each county to gather more extensive information on community assets and needs. Results of the needs assessment were analyzed using SPSS and qualitative data analysis techniques. A review of the methods and findings (including nutrition, physical health and technology indicators) will be discussed in the context of the community needs assessment and future program development.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• Describe procedures and methods for planning and conducting a community-based needs assessment of food stamp recipients as it relates to nutrition, physical activity and access to technology.
• Describe the needs and issues relevant to nutrition, physical activity, and access to technology for food stamp recipients in Maryland.
• Identify at least three considerations and/or barriers when conducting data collection with low income populations and how to address these issues.
• Articulate ways of integrating findings from a needs assessment into program development.

Keywords: Needs Assessment, Health Behavior

Related Web page: www.phi.umd.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.