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- Irwin, Jennifer D PhD2
- Beynon, Charlene MSc RN1
- Beynon, Charlene MScN1
- Bouck, L Michelle Sangster MA1
- Bouck, Michelle Sangster MA1
- Callaghan, Christine RD BASc1
- Despard, Caroline BSc MD CCFP FCFP1
- Evans, Anita BA1
- Khoshaba, Linda MSc1
- Lemieux, Suzanne MA1
- Mandich, Gillian BHSc1
- Ng, Victor BA MSc1
- Onge, Renée sT MA1
- Pollett, Graham MD MHSc FRCPC FACPM1
- Rush, Timothy J BSc MSc1
- Stewart, Susan MA1
- Stitt, Larry W MSc1
- Sutton, Judy MD MHSc FRCPC1
- Tucker, Patricia MA1
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- Michelle Sangster Bouck MA,
- Renée ST Onge MA,
- Meizi He PhD,
- Charlene Beynon MScN,
- Suzanne Lemieux MA,
- Linda Khoshaba MSc, and
- Susan Stewart MA
Purpose: A process evaluation was conducted of the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program (NFVPP), a government-funded health promotion initiative. The objectives were to determine how the program was implemented and to identify program facilitators and challenges. Methods: Facilitators and challenges in the implementation of the free fruit and vegetable snack program were assessed through qualitative interviews with school-level stakeholders (i.e., food preparers, teachers, and principals) and tracking wasted produce. The implementation of an enhanced nutrition education (ENE) component was assessed through a teacher survey. Results: School-level stakeholders saw the NFVPP as a valuable program. Key facilitators included teacher role-modelling and sufficient funding for supplies and personnel. Key challenges included produce delivery, quality, wastage, and variety. The ENE component was minimally implemented. Conclusions: The study identified program strengths and areas that could be improved. As a result, changes were made to how the NFVPP was implemented in schools the following year. The use of qualitative methods enabled program planners to understand the program implementation process.- Purpose: The Healthy Vending Machine Pilot Project (HVMPP) was a public health initiative intended to create a healthier school nutrition environment by making healthier snacks available in vending machines, while maintaining a profit margin. The HVMPP was evaluated using quantitative and qualitative measures. Methods: Vending machines were stocked with healthier choices and conventional vending products at a 50:50 ratio. The HVMPP was implemented from February to May 2007 in four Ontario secondary schools in Middlesex-London, Elgin, and Oxford counties. Product sales were tracked, and focus groups were conducted to obtain students’ opinions about healthy eating and vending choices. Results: “Healthier choice” sales ranged from 14% to 17%. In all schools, vending revenues declined from 0.7% to 66%. A majority of participants had substantial knowledge of healthy eating and were in favour of healthier choices in vending machines; however, price, value, and taste were barriers that led them to purchase these products rarely. Students preferred to have “real” healthy snacks, such as yogurt, fruit, and vegetables, available in schools. Conclusions: Replacing 50% of vending stock with healthier snacks resulted in a decline in vending revenues. Future health programs in schools need to provide “real” healthy snacks, such as low-fat dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.
- Purpose: Vietnamese women's breastfeeding experience and challenges were explored, as were their families’ needs for prenatal and postpartum health professional programs and services. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Middlesex- London, Ontario, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews in a heterogeneous sample of 11 Vietnamese mothers of children younger than two years. Diverse subject characteristics were sought in terms of parity, maternal age, infant age, marital status, education, employment, and breastfeeding initiation and duration. The 45- to 60-minute interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Research team members independently reviewed interview transcripts at several stages during data collection. Qualitative analysis was sequential, and involved a combination of editing and template organizing styles. Results: Lack of knowledge and misinformation were major barriers to breastfeeding. Inability to communicate in English and a lack of effective transportation were key obstacles to the women's ability to access mainstream prenatal and postpartum health programs and services. Standard nursing prenatal and postpartum services appear not to have reached this group of mothers effectively. Conclusions: Culturally and linguistically sensitive breastfeeding promotion and postpartum support services are needed for this Vietnamese community.
- Timothy J. Rush BSc, MSc,
- Victor Ng BA, MSc,
- Jennifer D. Irwin PhD,
- Larry W. Stitt MSc, and
- Meizi He PhD
Purpose: The degree of food insecurity and dietary intake was examined in adult Colombians who are new immigrants to Canada and use a food bank. Methods: In-person surveys were conducted on a convenience sample of 77 adult Colombian immigrant food bank users in London, Ontario. Degree of food insecurity was measured by the Radimer/Cornell questionnaire, food intakes by 24-hour recall, sociodemographics, and questionnaires about changes in dietary patterns before and after immigration. Results: Thirty-six men and 41 women participated in the study. Despite being highly educated, all respondents had experienced some form of food insecurity within the previous 30 days. The degree of food insecurity seems to be inversely associated with income and length of residency in Canada. Total daily energy intake was low, with a mean value of 1,568.3 ± 606.0 kcal (6,217.5 ± 2,336.4 kJ). In particular, a large proportion of participants consumed a diet low in fruits and vegetables (73%) and milk and dairy products (58%). Conclusions: Colombian immigrant food bank users new to Canada experience various degrees of food insecurity, which is associated with inadequate food intake. Interventions are needed to assist this population with adapting to society while concurrently sustaining healthy eating patterns.- Patricia Tucker MA,
- Jennifer D. Irwin PhD,
- Meizi He PhD,
- L. Michelle Sangster Bouck MA, and
- Graham Pollett MD, MHSc, FRCPC, FACPM
Purpose: Preschoolers’ dietary intake behaviours are described from the perspective of their parents. Methods: A maximum variation sample of 71 parents of preschoolers participated in this qualitative study. Ten semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted. Two experienced moderators facilitated all focus groups, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness of the data were employed throughout the study. Two team members independently performed inductive content analysis. NVivo software was used to code the emerging themes. Results: Parents identified food and food issues as key health-related behaviours among preschoolers. Parents discussed challenges to healthy eating, including time limitations and societal pressures, as well as methods for facilitating healthy food choices, including bribery, education, and being creative with food. Conclusions: Dietary intake is on the minds of preschoolers’ parents. Unfortunately, some methods that parents currently use to promote healthy food choices may be more detrimental than beneficial for children in the long term. Parents’ keen interest in their preschoolers’ eating habits may make them particularly receptive to learning about and facilitating healthy choices in more behaviourally appropriate ways. Widespread educational messages about the benefits and detriments of various strategies to facilitate healthy eating among preschoolers therefore seem warranted.- Purpose: Childhood obesity is a public health concern in Canada. Few published anthropometric data are available to indicate obesity prevalence in Canadian children. Obesity prevalence is reported for school-aged children in 11 London, Ontario, schools. Methods: Data on body weight and height were obtained using standardized procedures. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) body mass index (BMI)-for-age references and Cole’s international BMI reference were used to classify the children’s weight categories. Results: The study included 1,570 pupils aged six to 13. The CDC BMI references categorized 16.6% and 11.8% of children as overweight and obese, respectively. In comparison, when the Cole BMI reference and cut-off points were used, 17.5% and 7.6% of children were classified as overweight and obese, respectively. Conclusion: Overweight is prevalent in the study population. Public health interventions are warranted to curb the obesity epidemic in school-aged children.
