A More Efficient Method of Assessing Corner Store Healthfulness

Le résumé fourni par la source

Introduction Compared to supermarkets, small/corner stores tend to stock lower proportions of healthy foods. Interventions targeting corner stores to increase healthy foods have been launched in many communities, and validated survey instruments have been developed to evaluate intervention effectiveness. However, in‐store evaluations can be infeasible and resource‐prohibitive due to time requirements. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and feasible short form corner store audit tool (SCAT) that could be used in‐store or over the phone to capture the healthfulness of corner stores. Methods An adapted version of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Corner Stores (NEMS‐CS) was used to conduct store audits of 229 corner stores in four New Jersey cities in 2014. Audit results were used in exploratory factor analysis and item response theory to develop the SCAT. In 2014 and 2015, a second round of audits was conducted in 96 corner stores to confirm the validity of the SCAT and to test its feasibility as a phone audit tool. Results The SCAT was highly correlated with the adapted NEMS‐CS (r=0.79). SCAT scores placed stores in the same healthfulness categories as did the adapted NEMS‐CS in 88% of cases. Phone response matches indicated that store owners did not distinguish between 2% and low‐fat milk, and tended to round up the fruit and vegetable count to five if they had fewer varieties. Conclusion The SCAT discriminates between higher versus lower healthfulness scores of corner stores and is feasible for use as a phone audit tool. Support or Funding Information This research was funded by a National Institute of Food and Agriculture predoctoral dissertation fellowship (20146701122279) and by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1R01HD071583‐01A1)

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