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314170
A Process Evaluation of a Food Access and Food Literacy program to Increase Fruits and Vegetables Intake Among Low-Income Families
Monday, November 17, 2014
Jane Momoh, MS
,
Texas Prevention Institute, University of North Texas- Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
Shreela Sharma, PhD RD LD
,
Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Heather Kitzman-Ulrich, PhD
,
Texas Prevention Institute; Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
Christine Markham, PhD
,
University of Texas Prevention Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, Houston, TX
Though diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been shown to increase academic performance and decrease the rate of chronic diseases, most school-aged children and their families fail to consume the recommended amount of five fruits and vegetables a day. The Brighter Bites program is a collaborative community-academic effort uniquely designed to include the integration of food literacy with food access to improve access to healthy food options in low-income communities. The intervention design consists of three components, an evidence-based nutrition and physical activity program CATCH, nutrition education, and weekly provision of 50 servings of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The program was implemented for a total of 16-weeks, including 8-weeks in the fall and spring semesters. Self-reported questionnaires were collected from parents (N=462) after 8-weeks of program intervention to assess reach, dose, fidelity, and program satisfaction. Process evaluation results showed that over 79.2% of participating families received eight weeks of produce distribution. A high program dosage in parent reported use of fruits (92.6%) and a low dosage in the use of vegetables (88.5%) was reported. Overall, all program components were implemented as intended and 81.3% of the families reported being satisfied with the various components. The cost for the provision of the produce bags to families each week was estimated at $2.00 per family. Findings from the process evaluation show the importance of conducting formative evaluation to help identify gaps in program implementation, especially in multicomponent interventions. This project provides a model for evaluating programs to improve intervention delivery and outcomes related to food access and literacy in low-income communities.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate how process evaluation that evaluates reach, dose, fidelity, and program satisfaction can inform intervention implementation and improve program outcomes.
Keyword(s): Nutrition, Food Security
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have experience as a graduate research assistant in managing an obesity weight management project, which focused on improving dietary habits among low-income children and their families. I have also worked with the local city health department as a nutritionist to provide nutrition education and community nutrition programming to children and the elderly. My research interests have been in the design, implementation and evaluation of nutrition-related issues and policies affecting low-income children and their families.
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.
