142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

309582
Measuring tobacco,alcohol, and food in New Orleans' retail environment

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM

Megan Tulikangas, MPP , KDH Research & Communication, Inc., Atlanta, GA
Lindsey Rudov, MPH(c) , Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
E. Cannon Ledford, MPH , Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
Iben McCormick-Ricket, MPH , Louisiana Clinical Data Research Network, Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans
John K. Gerig, MPH , Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
Thomas Carton, PhD , Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: The availability and promotion of certain products within community retail environments can influence the food, alcohol and tobacco consumption of customers. This in turn can affect individual and community health. Limited availability of nutritious foods combined with the high density of alcohol and tobacco outlets in low-income neighborhoods may contribute to disparities in unhealthy behaviors and chronic health conditions. To investigate and measure product availability, placement, pricing and promotion of food, alcohol and tobacco in Orleans Parish, LPHI conducted a census of all retail outlets during the summer of 2013. This presentation will demonstrate the use of these tools in the field and suggest operational standards for future point-of-sale research involving all three product types.

Methods: Existing tobacco and food point-of-sale survey tools were modified to create parallel tobacco, alcohol, and food data collection modules.  Six teams of data collectors and one quality control team completed data collection in 465 retail outlets in Orleans Parish to measure consumer exposure to tobacco, alcohol, and healthy and unhealthy food products and advertising.  ‘Placement’ and ‘Promotion’ indicators focused specifically on youth exposure, and ‘Price’ information of specific brand name products allowed for price comparison across neighborhoods.

Discussion: Collectively gathering data on food, alcohol and tobacco availability, promotion, and price within each retail store provides a robust picture of the retail environment in a community. By collecting this data across product types, point-of-sale research may be expanded to further investigate disparities in other cities and support healthy store initiatives.

Learning Areas:

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

Learning Objectives:
Identify point-of-sale marketing tactics. Discuss aspects of retail environments that contribute to unhealthy behaviors and disparities.

Keyword(s): Methodology, Marketing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I hold an MPP from the University of Chicago, where I specialized in program evaluation and methods of statistical and economic analysis. At LPHI, I provide evaluation expertise and policy guidance to comprehensive tobacco control initiatives that prevent and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
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.

Back to: 3026.0: Healthography and the Food Environment