Public Health Commons^™

Beliefs About Food Education And Healthy Food Consumption In Food Insecure Areas, Eboni Drummond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many food desert residents suffer from food insecurity as a result of residing in communities where access to affordable, healthy foods is limited. This limited access can make it difficult for these residents to consume healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, on a consistent basis. To increase access to healthy foods, interventions such as the building of supermarkets, the introduction of mobile farmers markets or mobile produce markets, and the conversion of local corner stores into healthy corner stores are often introduced to food desert communities. However, these intervention efforts fail to focus on non-physical factors, such as the …

Food Insecurity Experiences Of Idaho Head Start Families, Sherry Deiter, Yitza A. Arcelay-Rojas

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Using the social-ecological model, this basic interpretive qualitative study sought to examine the phenomenon of food insecurity among Idaho Head Start enrolled families, focusing on barriers and deterrents to accessing available nutrition assistance programs. A total of 11 interviews were conducted with parents who had children enrolled in five Idaho Head Start programs. The data were coded and analyzed and are reflective of how individual, interpersonal, community, and organizational levels factors are reflected in participants’ decisions to access available nutrition assistance programs. Participants reported feelings of stigma and shame and transportation concerns as individual barriers as well as the interpersonal …

Food Insecurity In Community College Students In The Central Valley Of California, Leah Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMany college students struggle with having enough money to pay for the costs of college and basic necessities, such as adequate food, which leads to food insecurity. Food insecurity results in a more challenging time focusing on studying and less success in school. This study addressed the lack of a profile of a food-insecure California community college student at Hiker’s Community College (HCC; pseudonym) in the Central Valley of California. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the profile of a food-insecure student and to determine relationships between food insecurity and ethnicity, gender, being a first-generation college student, …

Neighborhood-Level Predictors Of Obesity Among African American Children In California, Uche Onyeka

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The increased prevalence of childhood obesity is a major public health concern nationally and globally. Childhood obesity is primarily caused by the imbalance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure; however, its increase over the past decades may be due to environmental and behavioral factors. The purpose of the current study was to examine if any relationships existed between childhood obesity, level of physical activity, and neighborhood-level risk factors. This study used the California Health Interview Survey 2009–2014 data sets for African American children aged 5–11 years (n = 1,049). The dependent variable was body mass index (BMI) while the …

Beliefs And Opinions Of Low-Income Residents Living In A Food Desert In A Gulf Coast State, Kimberly Lakeidra Willis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was an investigation of the access problem to fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables and how limited access influenced the beliefs and opinions of residents of a food desert as designated by United States Department of Agriculture. Many researchers have documented that price, availability, and transportation are barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly among low-income individuals. Researchers in other studies have concluded that these barriers are further exacerbated by an individual's distance from a supermarket or grocery store. However, much less information is available regarding the beliefs and opinions about life in a food desert and how …

The Influence Of Food Insecurity, Low-Income, And Race On Diabetes Self-Management Practices Among Women With Diabetes, Jill La Capria

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes is a chronic condition affecting more than 30 million adults living in the United States. Diabetes self-management (DSM) can prevent or delay the complications of diabetes and improve clinical outcomes; however, data show that low-income, food insecurity, female gender, and race contribute to challenges performing effective DSM. The health belief model was the theoretical framework for this cross-sectional study, which examined how food insecurity, low-income, and race affect DSM activities in women with diabetes. The sample population from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey consisted of 1,842 women with diabetes who were 18 years of age or …

Community Risk Factors And Health Inspection Violations In Mississippi Delta Census Tracts, Chrystal S. Early

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A concerning public health issue in America is about food deserts urban and rural communities that lack grocery retailers that offer affordable, nutritious, and diverse foods. Empirical evidence has shown significant associations between neighborhood disadvantage/disorder risk factors of high poverty and high percentages of ethnic minority residents with presence/ absence of healthy food retailers in food deserts. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study, framed by the disparities in food safety conceptual model, was to examine if county-level poverty, number of African American residents, number of elderly (i.e., age 65 or older) residents, vehicle ownership, and crime rates were significantly …

Impact Of Food Insecurity On The Management Of Illness In Wayne County, Ohio, Bernadette Coleen Paul

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The incidence of food insecurity coupled with poor management of illnesses poses a

public health challenge. Poor adherence to medication regimens is a contributor to poor

health outcomes, especially among the socioeconomically disadvantaged. Food insecurity

is a global health and nutrition problem that affects approximately 50 million people in

the United States. The number of food-insecure households in the United States has

increased by 12% since 1995, and so has the burden of management of illnesses. The cost

of healthcare has risen from 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1960 to 20% of

the GDP currently. This quantitative …