The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48161

Kevin D. Frick, PhD, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Rm. 606, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-614-4018, kfrick@jhsph.edu and Joel Gittelsohn, PhD, Center for Health Promotion, Johns Hopkins University, 1830 E. Monument Street, Room 8024, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Interventions to improve a population’s dietary habits can be effective, although health impacts may not appear until the distant future and the value of the delayed benefits may not offset short-term costs. Food store interventions can be (1) passive (healthy labeling); (2) incentivized (coupons for healthier foods); or (3) active (cooking demonstrations). Formative research in the Marshall Islands suggests that urban consumers are most concerned about selection at the store at which they shop most often (32.3%) and also concerned about proximity (27.3%) and price (23.2%). 56.0% of these consumers shop at the store used most frequently at least three times per week. Consumers in more remote areas have a similar list of priorities, but proximity is noted most often (38.9%). Only 33.9% of individuals in more remote areas shop at the store used most frequently at least three times per week. The data suggest that individuals are concerned about the time and monetary costs of food shopping and would be unlikely to accept interventions requiring large additional expenditures. In areas with little infrastructure for coupons (an intervention requiring little consumer time), planners face a tradeoff between passive interventions that require little consumer time and more active interventions that require more time but that provide additional information that could be useful in efforts to change behavior. Store-owners’ and government costs and benefits would also need to be considered in a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. Based on the results of this formative work, a successful pilot intervention in Marshallese stores was implemented.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the sesison, participants will be able to

(
• Discuss a cost-benefit analysis of a dietary intervention to improve the healthiness of foods sold in stores in the Marshall Islands; (
• Describe the store-based dietary intervention developed; (
• Understand the formative research that was done on the likely costs and benefits of a store-based dietary intervention in the Marshall Islands.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Economic Analysis

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.