Development of a Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool for Latino Ethnic Stores

Jenny L. Baier, Shelly M. Palmer, Donna M. Winham and Mack C. Shelley
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Jenny L. Baier: Mercy Hospital, Joplin, MO 64804, USA
Shelly M. Palmer: Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61801, USA
Donna M. Winham: Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA
Mack C. Shelley: Departments of Political Science and Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: The objectives were to: (1) adapt the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) to better culturally fit small Latino grocery stores ( tiendas ) in Iowa; (2) assess the newly adapted Latino NEMS-S for inter-rater and test-retest reliability; and (3) compare Latino and original NEMS-S summary scores. This pilot instrument, containing culturally appropriate foods from the original NEMS-S and 2015 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans, underwent two rounds of formative evaluation. The new instrument and scoring protocol were applied to a random sample of 42 of 81 possible tiendas in Iowa. Cohen’s kappa was used to assess inter-rater and test-retest reliability for availability and quality of indicator food items (total scores and food category sub scores). There were no differences in summary scores for inter-rater or test-retest reliability using paired t -tests. Inter-rater agreement was high (range 0.82–1.00; p < 0.001). Tiendas averaged 42.0 ± 7.5 of 57 possible points on the Latino NEMS-S, but only 12.0 ± 4.6 of 54 points on the original NEMS-S ( p < 0.001). The Latino NEMS-S is a reliable tool for assessing the food environment within Iowa tiendas . Culturally specific instruments can describe diverse food environments more accurately and guide public health nutrition interventions within communities.

Keywords: food environment; Hispanic; NEMS-S; reliability; culture; food desert; food retail; dietary guidelines; ethnic market; Mexican American (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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