Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105317

Jennifer Jabs, MS, RD¹, Carol M. Devine, PhD, RD¹, Carol A. Bisogni, PhD¹, Tracy J. Farrell, MS¹, Margaret Jastran, RD¹, and Elaine Wethington, PhD². (1) Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, MVR Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-4401, 607 254 7447, jaj8@cornell.edu, (2) Human Development, Cornell University, MVR Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853

Increasing use of convenience foods and foods eaten outside the home, which are often low in nutritional quality, have been attributed to increasing number of women in the workforce, who have less time to devote to home activities. This project sought to understand how low- and moderate-income employed mothers' view and use of time was related to food and eating for themselves and their families. This analysis was part of a larger study exploring work/family spillover and food choice. Qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty employed mothers recruited through postings at community agencies and businesses, newspaper ads, and snowball sampling techniques in a northeast metropolitan area. Participants were recruited from the lower wage job sectors of service, clerical, and sales and included black, Latino, and white workers. An experienced qualitative interviewer conducted all semi-structured interviews that addressed issues of work and family roles, time use, daily activities, and food choice strategies. Audio-taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and reviewed for accuracy. Interview transcripts, field notes, and demographics were included in constant comparative analysis by the interviewer with continual peer review. Mothers' food choice strategies were influenced by roles, time use constructions, and time meanings and values. The emergent understandings of how low- and moderate-income employed mothers experience and interpret time and its influence on food choice is useful for health professionals, businesses, and policymakers interested in work-family integration and healthy eating. Funded by NCI grant #CA102684 and NIH Nutrition Training Grant.

Learning Objectives:

• Session participants will be able to describe how low- and moderate-employed mothers experience and interpret time and how this affects food choices; recognize why issues of time perception and use need to be considered by policy makers and health educators concerned with healthy eating.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.