Purpose: The burden of diet-related diseases, as well as food/nutrition insecurity, disproportionately impact socio-economic disparity populations across racial/ethnic groups. Interventions have been implemented to address healthy diets alongside these interconnected disparities, and fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) is commonly measured to assess impact. This presentation draws upon the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center’s (NTAE) research to develop shared measures to assess a national fruit and vegetable initiative in the U.S. The case study identifies challenges and opportunities to equitably evaluate FVI among socio-economic disparity populations across diverse racial/ethnic groups.

Methods: GusNIP provides grants for nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects to distribute financial incentives for fruits and vegetables to socio-economic disparity populations in the U.S. The NTAE evaluates key outcomes of these projects with a participant survey, which includes assessment of FVI through the Dietary Screener Questionnaire (DSQ) Fruit and Vegetable Module. This study used a participatory, mixed methods approach to explore challenges and opportunities associated with measurement of FVI within the GusNIP intervention. The NTAE: assessed aggregated quantitative DSQ data collected by grantees from 16,089 GusNIP participants; collected qualitative data through 3 focus groups and 18 interviews from data collectors, evaluations, and other NTAE collaborators; and drew upon their experience with over 200 GusNIP awards. 

Results: DSQ data demonstrated varying, and typically positive, impacts on FVI due to GusNIP participation. Qualitative data illuminated several opportunities to enhance the accuracy of the DSQ instrument results among GusNIP participants. These included: pairing quantitative data with qualitative data to illuminate preferences, issues, and practices driving fruit and vegetable intake; ensuring dietary assessment is inclusive of non cis-gender; expanding food examples to be reflective of diverse cultural identities; providing valid language translation and interpretation strategies; cognitively test questions and responses; providing training to data collectors.

Conclusions: Dynamic assessment of fruit and vegetable intake has the potential to inform appropriately tailored implementation strategies, which may in turn enhance our understanding of disparities, influence healthy diets, and improve food/nutrition security among socio-economic disparity populations across diverse racial/ethnic groups.

Purpose: People who are at an increased risk of food insecurity include single-parent households and caregivers who are living on a low-income with children. Public health efforts have been unable to ‘solve’ food insecurity in high-income countries despite a strong food supply and generally high living standards. The tools used to regularly monitor household food security status in national public health surveillance efforts could be improved. The purpose of this series of studies was to better understand lived experience of food insecurity for families with young children and develop new measures that may help to assess food security status more comprehensively. This presentation will focus particularly on the qualitative components of this two-country multi-year study with low-income households that include a pregnant person and/or infants and young children (hereafter ‘young families’).

Methods: Young families were recruited in Omaha, USA (n=19) and Melbourne, Australia (n= 22) and interviewed to explore their food security status. Content and thematic analysis helped inform a draft of new survey items to better monitor food security through public health surveillance. Resources allowed subsequent cognitive interviews in Australia (n=11), sampled from the original interviewees and new participants, to help finalise a new comprehensive household food security survey.   

Results: Cognitive interviews led to changes in overall readability and question responses offerings, improvements in clarity of questions and new items. A 78-item comprehensive household food security measure was designed, informed substantially by qualitative methods and with the intention of examining the four dimensions of food security.

Conclusion: With an increased understanding of household food security, particularly for young families, practitioners, policymakers, and governments will be better placed to identify and implement the required solutions.

Purpose: Older adults with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are at greater risk of social isolation and poor health outcomes due to circumstances surrounding both the ageing process, and the experiences of migration and displacement in a new country. Our food and eating practices are inherently shaped by our cultural practices and living circumstances, and for many older adults, preparing and eating adequate quantities of nutritious foods is a challenge. The aim of this research was to explore the experiences of older individuals who attend culturally themed, community shared lunches, and to appraise the extent to which these meals support their perceived health and wellbeing.  

Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with individuals aged >65 years attending culturally themed lunches in Italian, Greek, Chinese and Ukrainian communities in South Australia. Focus groups were conducted in participant’s native language, assisted by an accredited interpreter, recorded, transcribed, and analysed using descriptive methods.  

Results: The culturally themed lunches were shown to be a rare opportunity for social interaction, to leave the house, and something to look forward to. The culturally themed food provided a tie back to participant’s homeland, helping them form deeper connections with their fellow lunchmates, and their cultural roots. Participants described the meals as age-appropriate, inexpensive, nutritious, and more substantial than they would have eaten otherwise. These shared lunches fostered feelings of health and wellbeing for participants through opportunities to socialise, service of traditional and nutritious foods, and connection with culture.

Conclusion: These findings demonstrate there is more to eating practices than the nutrients available in the foods we consume. It is important to consider the cultural and social aspects of our eating environments when attempting to measure health and nutrition outcomes, to understand how our eating environments shape and impact nutritional intake. For this high-risk population group, the social eating environment was critical in providing a nutritious meal, helping participants feel connected to others, giving them purpose, and contributing to their perception of health and wellbeing.