Technical Assistance From Public Health Practitioners to Small Food Retailers to Implement Minimum Stocking Standards.

Implementing minimum stocking standard policies in food retail settings has been one strategy used to address lack of healthy food availability. Policies alone may not be enough to increase healthy options, as barriers may arise during implementation, such as lack of distributors and/or refrigeration. Technical assistance (TA) from public health practitioners (PHPs) can bolster the implementation of such policies. This study describes the impact of a pilot intervention where PHPs provided TA to store managers/owners aimed to increase healthy options through implementing minimal stocking standards. This intervention consisted of TA about healthy products, placement, and promotion from state to county/city PHPs and from PHPs to managers/owners of small food retail stores. Thirteen food retailers and PHPs from 11 different agencies participated in this intervention. PHPs interviewed managers/owners pre- and post-intervention to understand perceptions and practices and collected data about the availability of healthy options. PHPs tracked the TA provided to managers/owners and completed a postsurvey, assessing their experience. During the pilot, stores increased the median number of varieties of healthy options. PHPs provided TA around healthy products, placement; and promotion building relationships with distributors and farmers, and overcoming infrastructure barriers. Finding distributors with healthy options remained challenging for some managers/owners. PHPs indicated that continued TA for managers/owners is necessary for sustainability and additional support around distribution and business/economic challenges is needed. Overall, this pilot indicates that PHPs are valuable partners to small food retailers, and in partnership, they have potential to address healthy food access issues.

The impact of cooking classes on food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of school-aged children: a systematic review of the evidence, 2003-2014.

INTRODUCTION: Cooking programs have been used to promote healthful eating among people of all ages. This review assesses the evidence on childhood cooking programs and their association with changes in food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of school-aged children. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Ovid-Medline, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases. We included primary research articles that involved cooking education programs for children and searched reference lists for eligible articles. Studies considered for review contained a hands-on cooking intervention; had participants aged 5 to 12 years; were published in a peer-reviewed journal on or after January 1, 2003; and were written in English. We used the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies to rate the strength of each article and assess bias. The following information was extracted from each study: study design, sample size, location, duration, intervention components, data collection methods, and outcomes. RESULTS: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and used cooking education to influence children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. Programs varied in duration, evaluation methods, and outcomes of interest. Self-reported food preparation skills, dietary intake, cooking confidence, fruit and vegetable preferences, attitudes toward food and cooking, and food-related knowledge were among the outcomes measured. Program exposure ranged from 2 sessions to regular instruction over 2 years, and the effect of cooking programs on children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors varied among the reviewed studies. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that cooking programs may positively influence children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. However, because study measurements varied widely, determining best practices was difficult. Further research is needed to fill knowledge gaps on ideal program length, long-term effects, and usefulness of parent engagement, tasting lessons, and other intervention components.

A call to action: bold ideas from the Minnesota Women's Heart Summit.

Minnesota has the lowest overall coronary heart disease mortality rate in the United States. Yet disparities between men and women persist with regard to prevention, detection, and treatment. This has led to a gender gap not only in terms of care but also in survival rates. In an effort to better understand and close the gender gap, the Minneapolis Heart Institute, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, the University of Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic hosted a multidisciplinary Women's Heart Summit in April 2010. The goals of the summit were to stimulate dialogue and devise strategies to eliminate untimely deaths of women from heart disease. Summit participants were asked to contribute suggestions--called "Bold Ideas"--to address sex-based differences in the prevention, detection, and treatment of heart disease. Ideas were categorized according to three themes: educational programming, modifications to the health care system, and government involvement and funding. From these, several solutions emerged: 1) Involve obstetric/gynecologic physicians in providing heart-health education; 2) involve mid-level providers (midwives and other advanced practice women's health care providers) and other health professionals in women's heart health education, and 3) maximize the use of social media and online newsfeeds to raise awareness of heart disease in women. This article summarizes the discussion of the main ideas submitted by summit participants.