Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL60608, USA.
UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT06103, USA.
Public Health Nutr. 2020 Aug;23(11):2024-2031. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019004804. Epub 2020 Apr 29.
Children are surrounded by ubiquitous forms of unhealthy food marketing at home and in schools. The US Department of Agriculture now restricts food and beverage marketing that does not meet Smart Snacks in School standards. School superintendents, as districts' top administrators, play a critical role in ensuring marketing policies are implemented and adhered to; however, there is limited research involving this stakeholder group. The current study examined superintendents' perspectives on food marketing in schools and the marketing provision in wellness policies, as well as experiences with the implementation of such policies.
Qualitative focus groups and follow-up interviews (with focus group participants) were conducted by trained researchers.
Focus groups occurred at The School Superintendents' annual meeting; follow-up interviews were over the telephone.
Superintendents and assistant superintendents (n 39) from twenty-three states participated. Interviews were recorded and professionally transcribed; transcripts were team-coded in Atlas.ti using an iteratively revised coding guide to facilitate theme generation.
Despite common concerns that marketing to children was 'insidious', superintendents reported a wide range of food and beverage marketing policies. In addition, the main issue is fundraising - such as 'restaurant nights' - that results in marketing that occurs on- and off-campus and afterschool.
Discrepancies between perspectives and practices point to the challenges that superintendents face with budgetary constraints, as well as relationships with parent-teacher organisations. These findings provide important insights about superintendents' perspectives and challenges, particularly for government and child health advocates supporting school districts, to implement these policies.
儿童在家庭和学校中处处都能接触到不健康的食品营销。美国农业部现在限制不符合“学校智能零食”标准的食品和饮料营销。作为学区的最高管理者，学校总监在确保实施和遵守营销政策方面发挥着关键作用；然而，涉及这一利益相关者群体的研究有限。本研究调查了总监们对学校食品营销的看法以及健康政策中的营销规定，以及实施这些政策的经验。
由训练有素的研究人员进行了定性焦点小组和后续访谈（与焦点小组参与者）。
焦点小组在学校总监年度会议上进行；后续访谈通过电话进行。
来自 23 个州的 39 名总监和助理总监参加了访谈。访谈进行了录音并由专业人员进行了转录；使用 Atlas.ti 对转录本进行了团队编码，使用迭代修订的编码指南来促进主题生成。
尽管普遍担心向儿童营销是“阴险的”，但总监们报告了广泛的食品和饮料营销政策。此外，主要问题是筹款——例如“餐厅之夜”——导致校园内和校外以及课后的营销活动。
观点和实践之间的差异表明，总监们面临着预算限制以及与家长教师组织的关系方面的挑战。这些发现为总监们的观点和挑战提供了重要的见解，特别是对于支持学区的政府和儿童健康倡导者，以实施这些政策。
