Food Purchasing Behaviors of a Remote and Rural Adult Solomon Islander Population.

The aim of this study was to investigate the food purchasing behaviors of an adult Solomon Islander population within a transitioning food system in Auki, Malaita. Food purchasing behavior measures included; venue type and transportation for purchasing food, previous day expenditure on food purchases, number of weekly shopping experiences for store foods (generally long-life shelf and frozen items) and fresh foods (such as fruits and vegetables and fresh fish) and the importance of factors (i.e., price) on purchasing decisions. One hundred and thirty-three adults (aged 18 to 74 years; female: 63%, males: 37%) completed an interviewer administered questionnaire during December 2018. Food items were primarily sourced from Auki markets (n = 70) and stores (n = 40). Food purchasing differed between fresh and semi-perishable foods (store food). Participants reported similar shopping experiences for store food and fresh food (M = 3.87 and M = 3.25 times a week, respectively) and spending between $1 and $200 (M = $56.12) Solomon Island dollars on food in the previous day. The most reported purchased item was white rice (n = 117, 88%), with taste, freshness and family preference the most important factors reported as influencing food purchasing choices. While our findings are from a small sample in Auki, further research could build upon this work by investigating food purchasing behaviors at other times of the year, and more widely in the Solomon Islands and greater Pacific region.

Dietary Diversity of an Adult Solomon Islands Population.

Ongoing dietary transitions in the Solomon Islands has resulted in an over-reliance on commercially sourced foods, leading to food insecurity, and a subsequent rise in multiple forms of malnutrition. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual dietary diversity and food preferences of the adult population living in Auki, Solomon Islands. A cross-sectional study involving 133 adults was undertaken in the Auki district via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Individual dietary diversity scores (DDS) were determined based on the results of a 24-h recall method. Overall mean DDS was 7.27 (range 2-12). Females and participants who lived outside the Auki town center had significantly higher dietary diversity scores. Low consumption of a variety of nutritious foods within food groups and high consumption of energy dense processed foods, indicates that diet quality is likely limited in some of this population. Participants desire for a diverse diet including local foods suggests that current dietary diversity status in this population may be influenced by food security rather than food preference.

A comparison of two measures of hospital foodservice satisfaction.

There are few published papers on patient satisfaction with food or nutrition services in either acute or chronic health care settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate two questionnaires for measuring patient satisfaction with hospital foodservice, the "Parkside Inpatient Questionnaire" and the "Wesley Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire". Data were collected from 540 patients at a Queensland Public Hospital. Results indicated the Wesley Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire obtained more positive patient feedback and was more reliable at measuring patient satisfaction (is porportional to = 0.89) than the Parkside Inpatient Questionnaire (is porportional to = 0.75), thus it is a more effective foodservice quality management tool.