Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, Houston, TX, United States of America.
Brighter Bites, Houston, TX, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2020 Oct 1;15(10):e0240009. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240009. eCollection 2020.
Brighter Bites is a school-based health promotion program that delivers fresh produce and nutrition education to low-income children and families. Due to COVID-19-related school closures, states were under "shelter in place" orders, and Brighter Bites administered a rapid assessment survey to identify social needs among their families. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the methodology used to identify those with greatest social needs during this time ("high risk"), and to describe the response of Brighter Bites to these "high risk" families.
The rapid assessment survey was collected in April 2020 across Houston, Dallas, Washington DC, and Southwest Florida. The survey consisted of items on disruption of employment status, financial hardship, food insecurity, perceived health status and sociodemographics. The open-ended question "Please share your greatest concern at this time, or any other thoughts you would like to share with us." was asked at the end of each survey to triage "high risk" families. Responses were then used to articulate a response to meet the needs of these high risk families.
A total of 1048 families completed the COVID-19 rapid response survey, of which 71 families were triaged and classified as "high risk" (6.8% of survey respondents). During this time, 100% of the "high risk" participants reported being food insecure, 85% were concerned about their financial stability, 82% concerned about the availability of food, and 65% concerned about the affordability of food. A qualitative analysis of the high-risk group revealed four major themes: fear of contracting COVID19, disruption of employment status, financial hardship, and exacerbated food insecurity. In response, Brighter Bites pivoted, created, and deployed a framework to immediately address a variety of social needs among those in the "high risk" category. Administering a rapid response survey to identify the immediate needs of their families can help social service providers tailor their services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
Brighter Bites 是一个基于学校的健康促进项目，为低收入儿童和家庭提供新鲜农产品和营养教育。由于与 COVID-19 相关的学校关闭，各州都处于“就地避难”状态，Brighter Bites 进行了快速评估调查，以确定其家庭的社会需求。本研究的目的是展示在此期间确定那些社会需求最大的（“高风险”）人群的方法，并描述 Brighter Bites 对这些“高风险”家庭的反应。
快速评估调查于 2020 年 4 月在休斯顿、达拉斯、华盛顿特区和佛罗里达州西南部进行。调查包括就业状况中断、经济困难、粮食不安全、健康状况和社会人口统计学方面的项目。在每个调查的末尾都问了一个开放式问题：“请分享你此时最大的担忧，或任何你想与我们分享的想法。”以甄别“高风险”家庭。然后，根据这些回答制定了应对措施，以满足这些高风险家庭的需求。
共有 1048 个家庭完成了 COVID-19 快速反应调查，其中 71 个家庭被甄别为“高风险”（调查受访者的 6.8%）。在此期间，100%的“高风险”参与者报告粮食不安全，85%担心财务稳定，82%担心食物供应，65%担心食物负担能力。对高风险群体的定性分析揭示了四个主要主题：担心感染 COVID19、就业状况中断、经济困难和粮食不安全加剧。作为回应，Brighter Bites 转变方向，创建并部署了一个框架，立即解决“高风险”类别中各种社会需求。快速反应调查以确定其家庭的即时需求，可以帮助社会服务提供商调整其服务，以满足最脆弱人群的需求。
