Surfing the "Food Web": Minorities' Barriers to Participating in Internet-Based Nutritional Programs

Background and Study Design

Barriers to Internet access have been found among older members of minority groups in the US, particularly among Latinos and African Americans. This finding contrasts with minority children's overall familiarity with Internet resources. A focus group study was designed to examine the potential role of minority undergraduate students as informal recruiters of their adult relatives into internet-based nutrition interventions. The particular aims of the study were to examine: 1) Study participants' perceptions of their parents' barriers to Internet use, and 2) the likelihood of engaging their parents into an internet-based nutrition intervention.

Results and Findings

The study recruited two focus groups (N=13) with Black and Hispanic students between the ages of 18 and 25, who lived at home with their parents. All participants reported having an Internet connection at home and acting as “technical support” aids for their parents. Most participants expressed interest in assisting their parents to reduce their risk for obesity, diabetes and hypertension; and in recruiting them to participate in a culturally competent web-nutrition program in the language of choice (e.g., Spanish). Students also stressed the high-caloric contents of most ethnic foods, and the potential usefulness of the Internet in teaching minority families how to prepare healthier foods without losing their traditional taste, flavor and texture.

Conclusions

Given the reported importance of the Internet as a health tool in nutrition education, enhancing minorities' access to web-designed health interventions could lead to healthier life styles, including curbing the obesity epidemic among these populations.