Retail Food Store Access in Rural Appalachia: A Mixed Methods Study

Thatcher, Esther; Johnson, Cassandra; Zenk, Shannon N.; Kulbok, Pamela A.

doi:10.1111/phn.12302

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…Scoring was informed by past work [27] to include more food items, such as yogurt and cheese in the dairy category that assist in mitigating lead absorption in the body. Shaver et al [27] also informed the inclusion and scoring criteria for frozen fruits and vegetables based on Cavanaugh et al [25] and the NEMS-S-Revised by the Rudd Center [34] NEMS for Corner Stores (NEMS-CS), as well as expanded protein food items. The application of scoring was based on the original criteria developed by Glanz et al [11] expanded fruit and vegetable criteria from Franco et al [23] frozen fruits and vegetables from Cavanaugh et al [25] and the additional dairy, protein, and beans items adapted by Shaver et al [27].…”

Section: Availability Index Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) for Healthy Community Stores: Adaptations to Capture Alternative Food Retailers and Align with Dietary Guidelines

Hill

Kaur

Sundermeir

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Inadequate consumption of healthy food is an ongoing public health issue in the United States. Food availability measures of supply versus consumption of healthy foods are disconnected in many studies. There is a need for an objective assessment of the food environment in order to assess how the food supply aligns with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Data were collected as part of the Healthy Community Stores Case Study Project, including a refined Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Healthy Community Stores (NEMS-HCS) and an updated Healthy Food Availability Index that aligns with the Healthy Eating Index (HFAHEI). This paper will focus on the NEMS-HCS development process, findings, and HFAHEI application. All food items were more likely to be found at grocery stores rather than corner stores. Food pricing was often above the Consumer Price Index averages for six food items. The NEMS-HCS assessment better aligned with the HEI because it included a wider variety of meats, frozen fruits and vegetables, and an increased selection of whole grains. HFAHEI scoring was inclusive of non-traditional and alternative community stores with a health focus, making it suitable for use at the local level, especially in neighborhoods where supermarkets and large chain stores are less common.

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Section: Availability Index Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) for Healthy Community Stores: Adaptations to Capture Alternative Food Retailers and Align with Dietary Guidelines

Hill

Kaur

Sundermeir

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Point exposure may be more sensitive to neighborhood definition even in rural areas. Also, given research showing how far some rural residents have to travel to access amenities like grocery stores (Thatcher et al, 2017) and for health care (Yaemsiri et al, 2019), buffer sizes many need to be even larger to even have any exposure at all. This may also suggest why there is no significant difference in deprivation across neighborhood definitions in rural settings.…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring neighborhood deprivation for childhood health and development - scale implications in rural and urban context

Ursache

Regan

Marco³

et al. 2021

Geospat Health

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Neighborhood deprivation plays an important role in childhood health and development, but defining the appropriate neighborhood definition presents theoretical as well as practical challenges. Few studies have compared neighborhood definitions outside of highly urbanized settings. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate how various administrative and ego-centric neighborhood definitions may impact measured exposure to deprivation across the urban-rural continuum. We do so using the Family Life Project, a prospective longitudinal population-based sample of families living in North Carolina and Pennsylvania (USA), which also sets the stage for future investigations of neighborhood impacts on childhood health and development. To measure neighborhood deprivation, a standardized index of socioeconomic deprivation was calculated using data from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. Families’ residential addresses when children were 2 months of age (n=1036) were geocoded and overlaid onto a deprivation index layer created at the census block group level to construct multiple administrative and ego-centric neighborhood definitions. Friedman tests were used to compare distributions of neighborhood deprivation across these neighborhood definitions within urbanized areas, urban clusters, and rural areas. Results indicated differences in urbanized areas (Chisquare= 897.75, P<0.001) and urban clusters (Chi-square=687.83, P<0.001), but not in rural areas (Chi-square=13.52, P=0.332). Findings imply that in urban areas, choice of neighborhood definition impacts measured exposure to neighborhood deprivation. Although exposure to neighborhood deprivation appears to be less sensitive to neighborhood definition in rural areas, researchers should apply theoretical reasoning to choose appropriate definitions of children’s neighborhood.

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“…A study in a rural Appalachian county reported similar results, with supermarkets having the biggest variety of healthy foods while convenience stores had reduced availability and higher prices for the healthy food items assessed using the NEMS-S (Thatcher et al, 2017). Studies highlight that regardless of geography of residence; supermarkets tend to provide healthier options more often and larger varieties of healthy items then smaller store types.…”

Section: Review Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 85%

“…A limitation of the quantitative studies to date is that they have occurred in only two geographic regions: Texas (Sharkey & Horel, 2008) and South Carolina (Liese et al, 2007). Rural studies have also found that among stores available in rural areas, supermarkets offer the greatest varieties of the healthy food items assessed, with convenience stores offering the fewest healthy items (Liese et al, 2007;Thatcher, Johnson, Zenk, & Kulbok, 2017).…”

Section: Geography Of Residence and The Food Environment Living In Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining geographic, neighborhood composition, and household factors associated with primary food store selection

Meier¹

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This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, Josh, and son, Caden. Your love and support made it possible for me to accomplish my dreams. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my thesis chair, Dr. Jeanne Saunders. I have no words to adequately thank you, as you have been provided unwavering support and mentorship to me for many years. As always, I strive to provide the same level of care and support you have afforded me for these many years, thank you. I wish to thank Dr. Megan Gilster without whom this dissertation would not be possible. You have inspired my research and interests to a degree that I don't fully think you realize. I will forever be grateful for the day I was selected to work with you and all of the time and analytic wisdom you have shared with me. My gratitude goes to Dr. Miriam Landsman for your support throughout this often-stressful process. You always had much appreciated frank words of wisdom, which never failed to brighten my day. Thank you to Dr. Aislinn Conrad-Hiebner for being willing to serve on my committee during the final stages of this project. Your support and encouragement were much appreciated. And to Dr. Barbara Baquero, thank you for contributing your knowledge throughout the dissertation process. I would like to acknowledge those who provided me with financial support for my dissertation. The National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, the Graduate and Professional Student Government, and the University of Iowa School of Social Work each of which provided financial support to purchase access to the FoodAPS data set. I cannot thank Dr. Miriam Landsman enough for believing in my study and providing the much needed financial support to make this dissertation possible. I hope to be able to pay your support forward in the future. To Dr. Natoshia Askelson, thank you for the support and mentorship that you have provided me over the years. The community of Ph.D. students within the Social Work, Education, and Public Health departments provided much support throughout this process and made everything a little bit easier. Nadia Sabbagh Steinberg, thank you for being you. I don't know what I would have done without you, my partner in crime. I have too many friends to thank, but I specifically would like to thank my dear friend Eva Driscoll and iv her family. I received more than my fair share of love and support during the past four years from you all. Finally, my family has sacrificed much for me to be able to reach my dreams. To my husband Josh, thank you for being the most loving, patient, and caring husband on the planet. You supported me and encouraged me to follow my dreams, thank you for never giving up on me. And to Caden, your smile, laughter, and snuggles are a gift that kept me writing. I hope I make you proud. Finally, to my parents, thank you for always supporting my adventures and dreams.

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Retail Food Store Access in Rural Appalachia: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract: Findings from this study can help public health nurses engage with communities to make affordable, healthy foods more accessible. Recommendations are made for educating low-income consumers and partnering with food stores.

Cited by 12 publications

References 25 publications

Refining the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) for Healthy Community Stores: Adaptations to Capture Alternative Food Retailers and Align with Dietary Guidelines

Refining the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) for Healthy Community Stores: Adaptations to Capture Alternative Food Retailers and Align with Dietary Guidelines

Measuring neighborhood deprivation for childhood health and development - scale implications in rural and urban context

Examining geographic, neighborhood composition, and household factors associated with primary food store selection

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