142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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308293
Role of accessibility and affordability to healthy foods and impact on weight loss for African Americans enrolled in a pre-diabetes program

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Purni Abeysekara, MPH , School of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Alexis Amankwanor, BS , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Nicole Vaughn, PhD , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Crystal Wyatt , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Beatriz Reyes, MPH , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Kimberly Arnold, MPH , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Elizabeth Dalianis, MS, MPH , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Idris Robinson, MPH , School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Marcia Polansky, ScD, MS, MSW , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Jasmine Wall, MPH , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Juhi Mawla, BS , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Longjian Liu, MD, PhD, MSc, FAHA , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Issue: There is a dearth of research on the relationship between shopping habits and the impact it has on weight loss behavior among African Americans, particularly in urban settings.  The lack of access to healthy and affordable food options in urban areas has been well studied and continues to be a barrier towards attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Background: Although many interventions promoting healthy lifestyle change exist, many do not discuss how weight loss may be affected by food accessibility for participants. The Getting People in Sync program (GPS) is a 16-week pre-diabetes prevention program that aims to promote healthy lifestyle change through the use of the Project NOT ME video series.  Methods: Participants were administered a brief shopping habits survey assessing barriers (e.g., cost, variety of food retailers, accessibility) facilitators, (e.g., couponing, proximity, public assistance) and the overall impact it has on an individual’s lifestyle change. We will present our findings from the shopping habits survey, as well as place-based data on accessibility to food retailers in participants’ neighborhoods. Recommendations: Anticipated results from this analysis can lead to further program specific recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of healthy lifestyle change programs. Furthermore, it can strengthen these programs by incorporating additional resources to support individuals. Lessons Learned: We will demonstrate how the role of accessibility and affordability to healthy foods affects weight loss among participants of a pre-diabetes program.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Assess how the accessibility and affordability of food retailers impact food-shopping habits of African Americans in an urban setting. Analyze accessibility and affordability of healthy foods and the impact weight loss of participants of a pre-diabetes prevention program.

Keyword(s): Diabetes, Accessibility

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an upcoming third year doctoral student with previous experience in type ii diabetes and chronic disease research. I have worked on the GPS project as a co-facilitator and graduate assistant under the supervision of the PI, Dr. Nicole Vaughn.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.