There is growing interest in the use of physical activity and nutrition environmental measures by both researchers and practitioners. Built environment assessment methods and tools range from simple to complex and encompass perceived, observed, and geographic data collection. Even though challenges in tool selection and use may exist for non-researchers, there are opportunities to incorporate these measures into practice. The aims of this paper are to 1) describe examples of built environment assessment methods and tools in the practice context; 2) present case studies that outline successful approaches for the use of built environment assessment tools and data among practitioners; and 3) make recommendations for both research and practice. As part of the Built Environment Assessment Training Think Tank meeting in July 2013, experts who work with community partners gathered to provide input on conceptualizing recommendations for collecting and analyzing built environment data in practice and research. The methods were summarized in terms of perceived environment measures, observational measures, and geographic measures for physical activity and food environment assessment. Challenges are outlined and case study examples of successful use of assessments in practice are described. Built environment assessment tools and measures are important outside the research setting. There is a need for improved collaboration between research and practice in forming partnerships for developing tools, collecting and analyzing data, and using the results to work toward positive environmental changes.
Keywords: Health, nutrition, exercise, activity, tool, case study, physical activity
A. A. Eyler, H. M. Blanck, J. Gittelsohn, A. Karpyn, T. L. McKenzie, S. Partington, S. J. Slater, M. Winters
Objective: To explore shoppers’ responses to the taste of different types of cow’s milk in a blind taste test and to examine their willingness to purchase lower-fat milk as part of an in-store marketing intervention.
Design: Participants were recruited on-site in the supermarket to participate in a blind taste test of three varieties of cow’s milk and asked to guess what type they sampled.
Setting: The taste testing was conducted as part of the Healthy Retail Solution (HRS) intervention that took place in four large supermarkets in Philadelphia, PA, USA over the course of six months.
Subjects: Adults (n = 444) at participating Philadelphia supermarkets.
Results: The majority of participants at all stores reported typically purchasing higher-fat milk. Forty percent of participants reported buying whole milk, 38% purchased milk with 2% fat. Very few participants correctly identified all three milk samples during the taste test (6.9 %) and a majority of participants were unable to identify the type of milk they self-reported typically purchased.
Conclusions: Most consumers could not accurately distinguish between various types of milk. Taste testing is a promising strategy to introduce lower-fat milks to consumers who have not tried them before. Campaigns to purchase skim, 1% or 2% milk may result in significant energy reduction over time and can serve as a simple way to combat overweight and obesity.
Keywords: Nutrition, health, choice, food choice, decision, purchasing, grocery shopping
Stephanie Weiss, Erica Davis, Alexis C. Wojtanowski, Gary D Foster, Karen Glanz, Allison Karpyn
There is a direct connection between the level of education and public health. Policymakers from these two fields should collaborate to press for education improvements that would ultimately result in better public health.
Keywords: health, low-income, obesity, policy, public
Allison Karpyn
Assessments of access to healthful food frequently use GIS to measure the distance and concentration of food outlets relative to where residents live. These descriptive approaches do not account for food shopping behavior, which may vary based on the attributes of food shoppers and their activity space—places where they live, work, access resources, and socialize. Building on transportation research about accessibility, we reframe the issue of food access and equity from one about ‘what is nearby?’ to ‘where do people shop?’. We use a conditional logit model to analyze disaggregate data from a door-to-door survey of food shopping choice and food store surveys conducted in a predominantly non-Hispanic Black and middle-income and low-income section of Philadelphia. Our results highlight the importance of distance from home to food stores, overall, but they also emphasize the influence on food store choice of the race and sex of food shoppers, travel mode, and where they spend time other than at home, as well as food prices and the availability of healthful foods. This approach to understanding food access holds promise for future research that can link store choice to specific food purchases and health outcomes as well as for refining place-based strategies for improving access to healthful foods.
Keywords: Food access, supermarkets, GIS, discrete choice, Philadelphia, food deserts, NEMS-S
Amy Hillier, Tony Smith, Carolyn C Cannuscio, Allison Karpyn, Karen Glanz
Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term, one-to-one intervention designed to help the lowest achieving readers in first grade. This article presents first-year results from the multisite randomized controlled trial (RCT) and implementation study under the $55 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Scale-Up Project. For the 2011–2012 school year, the estimated standardized effect of RR on students’ Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Total Reading Scores was .69 standard deviations relative to the population of struggling readers eligible for RR under the i3 scale-up and .47 standard deviations relative to the nationwide population of all first graders. School-level implementation of RR was, in most respects, faithful to the RR Standards and Guidelines, and the intensive training provided to new RR teachers was viewed as critical to successful implementation.
Keywords: Education, literacy, intervention, evaluation, OSU
Henry May, Abby Gray, Abigail Gray, Phil Sirinides, Philip Sirinides, Heather Goldsworthy, Mike Armijo, Michael Armijo, Cecile Sam, Jessica N. Gillespie, Namrata Tognatta
This document provides an in-depth look at the possibilities for implementing an urban farm complex on the lot on Gordon Street (Wilmington, DE). We begin with an overview of Wilmington’s Socio-economic Demographics to frame the project followed by extensive research on each model. For some sections, we delve deep into the model and for others, we focus more on case studies, best practices, and other important information.
Keywords: Nutrition, Delaware, farming, food
Nicole Filion, Carly Wine, Eli Turkel, Serita Moss, Katie Russel, Phoebe Connell, Grace Duffy, Madeleine Rouviere, Cassandra Finucan, Juan Pastor
Supermarkets are a primary source of food for American households, and increased presence in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods present opportunities to increase access to healthy foods. It is important to assess store manager and customer reactions to in-store marketing interventions. The objective was to evaluate manager and customer reactions to stealth, low-cost, sustainable in-store marketing strategies to promote healthier purchases in five product categories and gain insight into shopping habits and willingness to change behaviors. Surveys were collected as part of the evaluation of a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted from 2011-2012 in eight urban supermarkets in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods. Store manager (n=16) and customer intercept surveys (n=100) were administered at intervention stores in May-July 2012 and August 2012, respectively. Demographics, shopping habits, and impact were calculated using frequency distributions, cross-tabulation, and analyses of variance. Correlations were calculated using Pearson’s R or one-sided Fisher’s Exact Test. Most managers reported the project had a positive impact on stocking, ordering, staffing, and interaction with other employees. Most customers did not notice new marketing strategies, although they were intentionally stealth. A large number of customers reported making impulse purchases regularly. Opportunities to positively affect purchasing may exist.
Keywords: in-store marketing, healthy food shopping, grocery stores, evaluation, supermarket
Erica L. Davis, Alexis C. Wojtanowski, Stephanie Weiss, Gary D. Foster, Allison Karpyn, Karen Glanz
In response to lack of access to healthy foods, many low-income communities are instituting local healthy corner store programs. Some stores also participate in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This study used two assessment tools to compare the healthfulness of offerings at stores participating in local healthy store programs (upgraded stores), WIC, and/or SNAP to that of similar non-participating stores. Based on store audits conducted in 315 New Jersey corner stores in 2014, we calculated healthy food availability scores using subsections of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Corner Stores (NEMS-CS-Availability) and a short-form corner store audit tool (SCAT). We used multivariable regression to examine associations between program participation and scores on both instruments. Adjusting for store and block group characteristics, stores participating in a local healthy store program had significantly higher SCAT scores than did non-participating stores (upgraded: M = 3.18, 95% CI 2.65-3.71; non-upgraded: M = 2.52, 95% CI 2.32-2.73); scores on the NEMS-CS-Availability did not differ (upgraded: M = 12.8, 95% CI 11.6-14.1; non-upgraded: M = 12.5, 95% CI 12.0-13.0). WIC-participating stores had significantly higher scores compared to non-participating stores on both tools. Stores participating in SNAP only (and not in WIC) scored significantly lower on both instruments compared to non-SNAP stores. WIC-participating and non-SNAP corner stores had higher healthfulness scores on both assessment tools. Upgraded stores had higher healthfulness scores compared to non-upgraded stores on the SCAT.
Keywords: Health, nutrition, diet, food, food assistance, food environment, nutrition surveys
RS DeWeese, M Todd, Allison Karpyn, M J Yedidia, M Kennedy, M Bruening, C M Wharton, P Ohri-Vachaspati
Philadelphia has a high prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. To reduce chronic disease, there is a need for targeted, innovative community-based interventions to improve the food and physical activity environments for urban residents. This case study describes the development and evaluation of a pilot program to address barriers to healthy food access and physical activity environments in a West Philadelphia neighborhood.
Keywords: Obesity; Food Environment; Community-Based Participatory Research; Urban Health; Physical Fitness; Food Preferences
Karen Glanz, Nicole Thomas, Allison Karpyn, Colleen Watts, Alexandra Tomlinson, Carolyn Cannuscio
An emerging body of research examines the health and economic impacts of healthy corner store interventions, although implementing valid mechanisms to capture changes in diet remains a challenge. Healthy corner store interventions employ strategies to help corner stores procure, maintain and market healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy items like skim milk. A recent national convening of partners yielded a series of research and evaluation questions that need answers in order for the field to progress. Participants in the Healthy Corner Stores Symposium identified several challenges to developing a sustainable business model for small-scale healthy food retail. This group of practitioners, funders, lenders, academics, and other leaders ranked what they saw as the most promising opportunities for maximizing the positive impact these businesses have on the community. Unique to this forum, the agenda was born from a program-operation perspective and not from the more common approach where an independent researcher evaluates the efficacy of a program or intervention. As efforts to improve food systems emerge, such an approach to research is critical. The central challenges and a prioritized list of research questions are discussed.
Keywords: Food Systems, Sustainability, Food Security, Food Justice, Community, Development, Farmers Markets, Policy, Race, Beginning Farmers, Climate Change, Food System, Agriculture, Zoning, Labor, Nutrition, SNAP, Value Chains, Planning, GIS, Supply Chains, Farming, CSA, Governance, Gender, Vermont, Rural, USDA
Allison Karpyn, Hannah Burton-Laurison
