Youth Opinions on Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity Screening and Produce Prescriptions

Ainsley Meyerson

Research Mentor(s): Nina Hill
Mentor Department: Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation
Authors:
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 36

Abstract

Title: U.S. Youth attitudes toward healthy eating, food insecurity screening and fresh produce prescriptions Authors: Ainsley Meyerson, Ali Atoui, Tammy Chang, Nina Hill Research objective: Food insecurity is common in the U.S., and contributes to poor diet quality and high rates of chronic disease. Youth are more likely to be food insecure than children or older adults and can benefit from increasingly common “food is medicine” interventions to improve diet quality, such as produce prescriptions. However, few studies describe youth attitudes toward food insecurity screening or produce prescriptions. We examined youth attitudes toward healthy eating, food insecurity screening, and produce prescriptions. Population studied: We conducted a qualitative study using the MyVoice Nationwide Poll of Youth, a nationwide text message-based survey of U.S. youth aged 14-24 years recruited using benchmarks based on weighted samples of the American Community Survey. Study design: In this qualitative study, five open-ended questions were sent to the MyVoice cohort. We used inductive content analysis to iteratively develop a qualitative codebook. The codes were independently applied to all responses by three investigators, with discrepancies resolved through discussion. Participant demographics are described using summary statistics. Principal findings: A total of 573 of 760 youths (75%) responded to the survey. Participants were 20.2 years old (SD 2.7), on average. About half (52%) identified as female, 57% identified as Caucasian/White and 29% reported currently or previously participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Four key findings emerged: 1) Many youth felt that healthy eating is important for both physical and mental health. 2) Despite concerns about embarrassment, many youth felt that doctors provide better care when they know if their patient can access healthy foods (“Yes because sometimes they give stupid advice assuming ppl have money”). 3) Youth emphasized the importance of a non-judgmental environment when discussing healthy food access, such as universal food insecurity screening to normalize discussions (“…like oh we offer this to all our patients”, “they can offer it to everyone, not just people who ‘seem poor’”, and “…use non-judgmental language, and focus on the link to health”). 4) Youth were generally supportive of doctors providing free produce prescriptions, and many stated it would improve their access to healthy food and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Several participants were concerned about logistical barriers (“it depends almost exclusively on how difficult it is to access…it needs to not only be seamless, but also discreet”). Others suggested prioritizing people with the greatest need (“I would use [a produce prescription], but I would hope it’d be prescribed to people who need it more than I do…”). Conclusions: Participants emphasized the role of healthy food access in physical and mental well-being, as well as the importance of non-judgmental healthcare interactions when addressing food insecurity. Many youth were interested in receiving a produce prescription, but expressed concern about logistical barriers. Implications for policy or practice: Our findings provide key insights from a nationwide sample of youth to inform the design of “food is medicine” programs and policies for this vulnerable population.