Tag: Family and Human Services

A Qualitative Study of Accessibility, Quality, and Affordability of Healthy Foods Within a Rural Oregon Town

Presenter(s): Emma Fallon—Family and Human Services

Faculty Mentor(s): Elizabeth Budd

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Authorship: Fallon, E .R ., Pedroza, J .A, Kelly, N .R ., Budd, E .L .

Introduction: Rural communities have limited access to healthy foods, which hinders healthy eating and increases risk for chronic diseases . The objectives of this study were to qualitatively assess: 1) access to local, healthy foods, and 2) experiences while participating in a produce buying club among residents of a rural Oregon town .

Method: Nine interviews and two focus groups were conducted, one focus group including members of the local produce buying club and one including non-members . All study participants were asked about prices of food within their town; accessibility and availability of fresh, healthy foods; eating and buying habits; and other food related questions . Buying club participants were asked questions about their experiences with the program and the food they receive . Interviews were transcribed and content analysis was conducted by two trained research assistants .

Results: Prominent themes in both of the focus groups included a lack of food options, high quality produce, and affordable food prices . Residents expressed a desire to eat healthier foods, but cited access as a barrier . Buying club participants appreciated the service, but noted significant organizational challenges (e .g ., non-user-friendly technology, lack of paid employees, not allowing SNAP benefits) that made broader participation more difficult .

Conclusion: Study findings show there is a need for interventions that improve access to healthy foods in rural communities, especially among low income residents . These data can inform recommendations on how to improve and expand the produce buying club in rural communities .

Cost May Be a Barrier to Healthy Eating Depending on Education and Income for Rural Oregon Residents

Presenter(s): Ashley Easter—Family and Human Services

Faculty Mentor(s): Elizabeth Budd

Session 5.5: McNair Scholars Presentations

Fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake reduces the risk for chronic diseases . Research indicates rural communities have limited access to F/V . Unknown is how perceived availability of F/V and cost as barriers to healthy eating vary among rural residents . This study examined perceived availability of F/V and cost as barriers to healthy eating and how each varies by educational attainment and income among residents of a rural Oregon town . A total of 151 residents of a rural Oregon town completed an in-person survey (53 .1±16 .34 years; 63% female; 94% non-Hispanic white) . Respondents indicated the extent to which they agreed that F/V were available in their town and whether cost made healthy eating hard for them . Four Chi-Squared Tests were conducted to determine whether these responses were associated with educational attainment or annual household income . There was no association between educational attainment or income and respondents’ perceived availability of F/V within their town . Cost as a barrier to healthy eating varied significantly by respondents’ educational attainment (X2 (2, 150)= 7 .90, Cramer’s = 0 .23, p < 0 .05) and income (X2 (2, 147)= 25 .85, Cramer’s V= 0 .420, p < 0 .05); such that those with less education and lower incomes were more likely to report that cost was a barrier to healthy eating . Study findings highlight sub-groups (low-income, low-education) among rural Oregon residents who may be at higher risk for experiencing cost barriers to healthy eating, informing future chronic disease prevention interventions .

What does it mean to be Latinx to you?: An Analysis of Oregon Latinx Students and Their Ethnic Identity

Presenter(s): Maya Auld—Family and Human Services

Faculty Mentor(s): Ellen McWhirter

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Ethnic and Racial Identity (ERI) refers to a multidimensional psychological construct that represents the beliefs, values, and attitudes that an individual has about their ethnic-racial group and group membership and the process by which these beliefs develop over the lifespan (Umaña-Taylor et al ., 2014). ERI is a protective factor for Latinx adolescents that can enable resiliency when confronted with discrimination (Phinney, 2003; Romero & Roberts 2003) . ERI is positively related to academic self-efficacy, social competence, leadership, and social responsibility among Latinx high school students (Umaña-Taylor et al ., 2014) .

The current political and social environment threatens positive identity as anti-immigration and anti-Latinx sentiments are increasing (Muste, 2013; Rogers et al ., 2017) . This negative public regard for the Latinx community has fueled several thousand pieces of legislation in regard to immigration in the past decade at the state level, largely involving law enforcement of verification of immigration status (Stupi et al ., 2016) . Both US and foreign-born Latinx individuals suffer similar levels of psychological destress related to negative public regard of immigrants (Szkupinski et al ., 2014) .

The setting for the current study is a Pacific Northwest state in which 23% of k-12 students are Latinx (Gill et al ., 2019) . Data for the present study, collected in spring of 2019, is written responses to the question “What does it mean to you to be Latina/o/x?” Participants were 495 Latinx high school students attending a one-day leadership conference . First, responses were coded using inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006) . Themes present in open ended responses include culture, pride, community, family, language, and resistance . Second, we explored relationships between themes, academic achievement, and attendance in school . This part of the analysis is ongoing . We elaborate on findings and highlight the importance of positive regard of ethnic identity for Latinx high school students in the Pacific Northwest .