Facilitators and barriers to healthy eating in a worksite cafeteria: a qualitative study

BMC Public Health

Dalia Stern¹  Ilian Blanco²  Joel J. Valdivia²  Lucy A. Olmos²  Archana Shrestha³  Donna Spiegelman⁴  Josiemer Mattei⁵ 

[1] CONACyT-Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, 7ª Cerrada Fray Pedro de Gante # 50, Col. Sección XVI Tlalpan, 14080, Mexico City, Mexico;Lown Scholar, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Center for Research on Population Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico;Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA;Department of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Nepal;Institute of Implementation Science and Health, Kathmandu, Nepal;Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA;Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA;Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;

关键词: Facilitators;    Barriers;    Healthy eating;    Cafeteria;    Worksite;    Cardiometabolic diseases;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-11004-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWorksite-based nutrition interventions can serve as access points to facilitate healthy eating and translate existing knowledge of cardiometabolic disease prevention. We explored perceptions, facilitators, and barriers for healthy eating in a cafeteria at a large worksite in Mexico City.MethodsWe conducted an exploratory qualitative study in a large department store in Mexico City with ~ 1500 employees. We conducted eight focus group discussions (FGD) with 63 employees stratified by job category (sales, maintenance, shipping, restaurant, cafeteria, administrative staff, and sales managers). Employees were invited to participate in the FGD if they were at the store at the day and time of the FGD for their job type. FGDs were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the thematic method. This process involved the researches´ familiarizing themselves with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing the themes, defining and naming themes, and then interpreting the data.ResultsEmployees defined healthy eating as eating foods that are fresh, diverse, and prepared hygienically. The most commonly reported facilitators of healthy eating at the worksite were availability of affordable healthy food options and employees’ high health awareness. Major barriers to healthy eating included unavailability of healthy foods, unpleasant taste of food, and preference for fatty foods and meat. For lower-wage workers, affordability was a major concern. Other barriers included lack of time to eat work and long working hours.ConclusionA broad range of factors affect healthy eating at the cafeteria, some related to nutrition and some related to the employees type of job. Availability of healthy, hygienic, and tasty food at an affordable price could lead to healthier food choices in the worksite cafeteria. These strategies, along with work schedules that allow sufficient time for healthy eating, may help improve dietary behaviors and health of employees.

【 授权许可】

CC BY