scholarly journals Lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation in food purchasing and preparation among low-income mothers

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Dubowitz ◽  
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia ◽  
Judy Salkeld ◽  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
SV Subramanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Immigrant Status ◽  
Food Purchasing ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Low Income Women ◽  
Access To Food

AbstractObjectivesThis study investigates how lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation, and neighbourhood of residence influence food purchasing and preparation among low-income women with children, living in the USA. This research sought to understand physical and economic access to food, from both ‘individual’ and ‘community’ perspectives.DesignThis study used qualitative methodology (focus groups) to examine the mechanisms and pathways of food preparation and purchasing within the context of daily life activity for US- and foreign-born women, living in the USA. The study methodology analysed notes and verbatim transcripts, summarised recurring responses and identified new themes in the discussions.Setting and subjectsA total of 44 women were purposively sampled from two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, USA, based on (1) neighbourhood of residence and (2) primary language spoken. All focus groups were conducted in community health centres and community centres co-located with offices of the special supplemental nutritional programme for Women, Infants, and Children.ResultsAnalysis of key response themes suggested that scarcity of food and physical access to food purchasing points did not influence food purchasing and preparation as much as (1) limited time for food shopping, cooking and family activities; and (2) challenges in transportation to stores and childcare. The study results demonstrated differing attitudes toward food acquisition and preparation between immigrant and US-born women and between women who lived in two metropolitan areas in the western and eastern regions of the state of Massachusetts, USA.ConclusionsThe findings illustrate ‘hidden’ constraints that need to be captured in measures of physical and economic access and availability of food. US policies and programmes that aim to improve access, availability and diet quality would benefit from considering the social context of food preparation and purchasing, and the residential environments of low-income women and families.

scholarly journals Structural community factors and sub-optimal engagement in HIV care among low-income women in the Deep South of the USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 682-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melonie Walcott ◽  
Mirjam-Colette Kempf ◽  
Jessica S. Merlin ◽  
Janet M. Turan
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Deep South ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Low Income Women ◽  
Engagement In Hiv Care

Factors That May Discourage Annual Mammography among Low-Income Women with Access to Free Mammograms: A Study Using Multi-Ethnic, Multiracial Focus Groups

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Kay Bobo ◽  
Denita Dean ◽  
Christina Stovall ◽  
Margaret Mendez ◽  
Lee Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cancer Early Detection ◽  
Breast And Cervical Cancer ◽  
National Breast ◽  
Detection Program ◽  
Low Income Women ◽  
Early Detection Program ◽  
Prior Mammogram

Age-eligible women enrolled in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program can obtain free or low-cost mammograms annually, but many do not routinely complete rescreening. This study investigated the rescreening behavior of low-income women by conducting 8 focus groups in Texas with enrollees who had access to free mammograms. Concerns mentioned in the focus groups included fear of radiation, anxiety that the test might not find a cancer that was there, and worries that cancer might be detected. In all groups, some women mentioned the embarrassment, discomfort, or pain they experienced during a prior mammogram, although no one indicated they would refuse to have another mammogram because of these concerns. Findings highlight the useful insights that can be obtained from focus groups and underscore the need for more research on aspects of the experience of mammography that may affect rescreening.

How do low-income commuters get to work in US and Mexican cities? A comparative empirical assessment

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802096544
Author(s):  
Erick Guerra ◽  
Shengxiao Li ◽  
Ariadna Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Mode Choice ◽  
Housing Type ◽  
Working At Home ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Land Use Policies ◽  
In Transit

This paper applies multinomial logit models to examine how metropolitan urban form, housing type and socioeconomic factors covary with individuals’ commute mode choice for 1.2 million low-income workers in the USA and Mexico. Comparing the commute patterns of low-income households across the USA–Mexico border sheds light on the consistency of estimated relationships across global contexts and the likely transferability of transportation and land use policies from the Global North to the Global South. We find many common relationships on each side of the border, despite substantial socioeconomic and urban differences. For example, wealthier and better-educated low-income workers in low-density metropolitan areas with substantial road supply are more likely to drive to work and less likely to use active modes. We also find some considerable differences between the magnitude and even direction of associations between predictor variables and commuter mode choice. In terms of public policy, efforts to reduce driving or promote compact development are more likely to reduce driving and more likely to be pro-poor in Mexico than in the USA. In Mexico, just 13% of low-income workers commute by car and dense urban form is relatively strongly associated with increases in transit, non-motorised modes and working at home. High rates of driving and auto-oriented urban form make policies to reduce driving particularly likely to be regressive in most US metropolitan areas.

Complexity of Food Preparation and Food Security Status: In Low-income Young Women

2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Engler-Stringer ◽  
Bernadette Stringer ◽  
Ted Haines
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Baked Goods ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Cooking Practices ◽  
Exposure Variable ◽  
Low Income Women

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore whether preparing more complex meals was associated with higher food security status. Methods: This mixed-methods, community-based study involved the use of semistructured interviews to examine the cooking practices of a group of young, low-income women in Montreal. Fifty participants aged 18 to 35 were recruited at 10 locations in five low-income neighbourhoods. Food security status was the main outcome measure and the main exposure variable, “complex food preparation,” combined the preparation of three specific food types (soups, sauces, and baked goods) using basic ingredients. Results: Low-income women preparing a variety of meals using basic ingredients at least three times a week were more than twice as likely to be food secure as were women preparing more complex meals less frequently. Conclusions: Women who prepared more complex meals more frequently had higher food security. Whether this means that preparing more complex foods results in greater food security remains unclear, as this was an exploratory study.

scholarly journals Psychosocial Determinants of Food Acquisition and Preparation in Low-Income, Urban African American Households

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 898-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
JaWanna L. Henry ◽  
Angela C. B. Trude ◽  
Pamela J. Surkan ◽  
Elizabeth Anderson Steeves ◽  
Laura C. Hopkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Psychosocial Factors ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Food Acquisition ◽  
Psychosocial Determinants ◽  
Food Purchasing ◽  
Prepared Food

Background. Psychosocial factors are important determinants of health behaviors and diet-related outcomes, yet relatively little work has explored their relation to food-purchasing and preparation behaviors in low-income populations. Aim. To evaluate the psychosocial factors associated with food-related behaviors. Methods. Cross-sectional data collected from 465 low-income African American adult caregivers in the baseline evaluation of the B’more Healthy Communities for Kids obesity prevention trial. Questionnaires were used to assess household sociodemographic characteristics, food sources frequently used, and food preparation and food acquisition behaviors. Multiple linear regression models explored the associations between caregiver psychosocial variables and food-related behaviors, controlling for caregivers’ age, sex, household income, household size, and food assistance participation. Results. Caregivers purchased prepared food at carry-outs on average 3.8 times (standard deviation [ SD] = 4.6) within 30 days. Less healthy foods were acquired 2 times more frequently than healthier foods ( p < .001). Higher food-related behavioral intention and self-efficacy scores were positively associated with healthier food acquisition (β = 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.09, 1.4]; β = 0.04; 95% CI [0.02, 0.06]) and negatively associated with frequency of purchasing at prepared food sources (β = −0.4; 95% CI [−0.6, −0.2]; β = −0.5; 95% CI [−0.7, −0.3]), respectively. Higher nutrition knowledge was associated with lower frequency of purchasing food at prepared food venues (β = −0.7; 95% CI: [−1.2, −0.2]). Discussion. Our findings indicate a positive association between psychosocial determinants and healthier food acquisition and food preparation behaviors. Conclusion. Interventions that affect psychosocial factors (i.e., food-related behavioral intentions and self-efficacy) may have the potential to increase healthier food preparation and food-purchasing practices among low-income African American families.

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