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

Abstract #107203

India Ornelas, MPH¹, Guadalupe X. Ayala, PhD, MPH¹, Barbara A. Laraia, PhD, MPH, RD², and Deanna Kepka¹. (1) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, CB #7440, Rosenau Hall 315, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, 919-966-9009, ornelas@email.unc.edu, (2) Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Population Center, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8120

Tiendas (Latino grocery stores) provide important resources for Latino immigrant communities. They also may be a potential site for community-based interventions targeting Latino populations in central North Carolina. We conducted formative research in three counties to determine how tiendas influence the health behaviors of their Latino customers. The study included in-depth interviews with tienda managers, tienda customer intercept interviews, and tienda observations including a food shelf inventory. Results from the customer intercept interviews are included in this presentation.

Interviews were conducted in 41 tiendas with 72 adult Latino customers. The customers' mean age was 30.4 (SD = 10.9), 56% male, 73% were from Mexico, and mean number of years in the U.S. was 5.3 (SD = 4.8; Range = 6 months to 22 years). The 10-minute intercept interview assessed shopping behaviors, perceptions of proposed intervention activities, and demographic characteristics. Customers visited the tiendas an average of 9.4 times a month, and 85% reported living in the same community as the tienda. However, most respondents also reported that they did the majority of their shopping at large grocery stores. All customers noted that a diet and exercise intervention carried out in the tienda was either a “good” or “great” idea and were most receptive to the idea of health events in the store and receiving health information in the store. Interpersonal sources of health information were deemed most credible. Tiendas may be an important setting for community-based interventions aimed at improving the health of Latinos in central North Carolina.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe tienda customers shopping patterns and the implications for health promotion.
• Prioritize tienda intervention activities based on customer interest and needs.

Keywords: Latino, Health Promotion

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.

Recorded presentation