Developing Content for the Food Environment Assessment Survey Tool (FEAST): A Systematic Mixed Methods Study with People with Disabilities

Rebecca E. Lee, Alicia O’Neal, Chelsea Cameron, Rosemary B. Hughes, Daniel P. O’Connor, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, Michael Todd and Margaret A. Nosek
Additional contact information
Rebecca E. Lee: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Alicia O’Neal: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Chelsea Cameron: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Rosemary B. Hughes: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
Daniel P. O’Connor: Department of Health and Human Performance, HEALTH Research Institute, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati: College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Michael Todd: Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Margaret A. Nosek: Center for Research on Women with Disabilities, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Almost 1 in every 8 adults in the U.S. have a physical disability that impairs mobility. This participatory project aimed to identify and describe environmental and personal barriers to healthy eating among people with mobility impairments using a rigorous, structured mixed methodology. Community-dwelling adults with a self-reported mobility impairment ( N = 20, M = 40.4 years old, 60% female) participated in nominal group technique focus groups. The Ecologic Model of Obesity grounded stimulus questions asked about barriers to obtaining and preparing healthy food. Participants emphasized common barriers across everyday settings—focusing, for example, on the ability to reach shelved food inside the home, navigating to and inside stores and restaurants, and using delivery services. Home environments often did not afford suitable spaces for food preparation and storage. Participants reported inadequate transportation and numerous additional barriers in many settings to be able to eat healthfully. Participants reported lack of accessible transportation and architectural barriers inside stores, restaurants, and their own homes, highlighting the need for efforts aimed at improving accessibility and usability. Findings support the use of the Ecologic Model of Obesity to guide research and suggest the need for improvement in assessment practices and policies that enhance access to healthy food.

Keywords: ecologic model of obesity; mobility impairment; disability; access; healthy eating (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7781/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7781/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:21:p:7781-:d:434057

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().