Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Health Education and Promotion
Advisor
Lara Latimer
Abstract
Many food desert residents suffer from food insecurity as a result of residing in communities where access to affordable, healthy foods is limited. This limited access can make it difficult for these residents to consume healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, on a consistent basis. To increase access to healthy foods, interventions such as the building of supermarkets, the introduction of mobile farmers markets or mobile produce markets, and the conversion of local corner stores into healthy corner stores are often introduced to food desert communities. However, these intervention efforts fail to focus on non-physical factors, such as the food insecure residents’ beliefs about healthy food preparation and consumption, which may be affecting their consumption of healthy foods. To explore these beliefs, a qualitative study was conducted in which 18 participants were recruited using convenience sampling at mobile farmers market locations. Intercept interviews were used to collect the data, which were analyzed using the inductive coding process and Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory. The study results indicated that individuals living in food insecure areas believe that exposure to food education could boost their self-efficacy in utilizing this education and that this exposure could also lead to the consumption of more fruits and vegetables. These findings have the potential to affect positive social change on an individual, familial, and organizational level if incorporated as a foundational element in interventions aimed at addressing food insecurity.
Recommended Citation
Drummond, Eboni, "Beliefs about Food Education and Healthy Food Consumption in Food Insecure Areas" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 12673.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12673
