The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64622

Lori Miller Nascimento, MPH¹, LaVonna Blair Lewis, PhD, MPH², Gwendolyn Flynn³, Joyce Jones Guinyard, DC³, David Sloane, PhD⁴, and Allison Diamant, MD, MSHS⁵. (1) Department of Family Medicine, Division of Community Health, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, 3375 S. Hoover Street, Suite H201, Los Angeles, CA 90007, (213)821-0702, lorimill@usc.edu, (2) Health Administration Program, University of Southern California, School of Policy, Planning and Development, Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall 309, Los Angeles, CA, CA 90089-0626, (3) REACH 2010 African Americans Building a Legacy of Health Project, Community Health Councils, Inc., 3741 Stocker Street, Ste. 208, Los Angeles, CA 90008, (4) School of Policy, Planning and Development, University of Southern California, 650 Childs Way, RGL 313, Los Angeles, CA 90089, (5) Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, UCLA, 911 Broxton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095

The American lifestyle continues to embrace convenient options to save time and energy, like dining out instead of cooking at home. But how are these conveniences influencing our health? And, can you find the same quality and variety of restaurants in different neighborhoods within the same city? The answer to this question is under investigation, thanks to the African Americans Building a Legacy of Health (AABLH) Project, part of the REACH 2010 endeavor to address racial and ethnic disparities in health. This project has launched a multi-pronged approach to address diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention and management among African Americans in three Los Angeles Communities - South Los Angeles, East Inglewood, and North Long Beach.

AABLH created a mini-grant program to work with local community members to assess local restaurants across three predominantly African American communities and one contrast area. A unique Restaurant Survey was developed to examine the availability and promotion of healthy food options in restaurants, among other factors. The purpose of this study is to have community members complete the restaurant assessment surveys, present the findings in community forums, and work together to improve conditions. By using this community-based participatory approach, the community members may learn more about their local resources and how to work together to address disparities in regard to restaurants. This study demonstrates the process of participatory data collection, and will reveal findings from the restaurants surveyed in the AABLH target areas, compared to those surveyed in a contrast area.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to:
• 1. Describe how a community-based participatory research approach was applied to collect data on local restaurants;
• 2. Identify the percentage of restaurants in the target and contrast areas which promoted healthier foods, or included nutritional information on the menu;
• 3. Recognize the availability of at least five specific food options in the target areas compared to the contrast areas; and
• 4. Articulate key qualitative findings that describe the restaurants that were surveyed.

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.