Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Department of Hospitality Management, School of Professional Studies, New York City College of Technology, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Apr 27;22(1):843. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13294-7.
Restaurants, particularly independently-owned ones that serve immigrant communities, are important community institutions in the promotion of dietary health. Yet, these restaurants remain under-researched, preventing meaningful collaborations with the public health sector for healthier community food environments. This research aimed to examine levels of acceptability of healthy eating promotion strategies (HEPS) in independently-owned Latin American restaurants (LARs) and identify resource needs for implementing HEPS in LARs.
We completed semi-structured, online discussions with LAR owners and staff (n = 20), predominantly from New York City (NYC), to examine current engagement, acceptability, potential barriers, and resource needs for the implementation of HEPS. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed independently by two coders using Dedoose, applying sentiment weighting to denote levels of acceptability for identified HEPS (1 = low, 2 = medium/neutral, 3 = high). Content analysis was used to examine factors associated with HEPS levels of acceptability and resource needs, including the influence of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
The most acceptable HEPS was menu highlights of healthier items (mean rating = 2.8), followed by promotion of healthier items (mean rating = 2.7), increasing healthy offerings (mean rating = 2.6), nutrition information on the menu (mean rating = 2.3), and reduced portions (mean rating = 1.7). Acceptability was associated with factors related to perceived demand, revenue, and logistical constraints. COVID-19 had a mixed influence on HEPS engagement and acceptability. Identified resource needs to engage in HEPS included nutrition knowledge, additional expertise (e.g., design, social media, culinary skills), and assistance with food suppliers and other restaurant operational logistics. Respondents also identified potential policy incentives.
LARs can positively influence eating behaviors but doing so requires balancing public health goals and business profitability. LARs also faced various constraints that require different levels of assistance and resources, underscoring the need for innovative engagement approaches, including incentives, to promote these changes.
餐厅，尤其是为移民社区服务的独立餐厅，是促进饮食健康的重要社区机构。然而，这些餐厅的研究仍然不足，这使得它们无法与公共卫生部门就更健康的社区食品环境进行有意义的合作。本研究旨在检查独立的拉美裔餐厅（LAR）对健康饮食促进策略（HEPS）的接受程度，并确定在 LAR 中实施 HEPS 的资源需求。
我们与 LAR 的所有者和员工（n=20）进行了半结构化的在线讨论，这些人主要来自纽约市（NYC），以检查他们对实施 HEPS 的当前参与度、可接受性、潜在障碍和资源需求。两位编码员使用 Dedoose 独立分析逐字记录，使用情感加权来表示对已确定的 HEPS 的可接受性水平（1=低，2=中/中性，3=高）。内容分析用于检查与 HEPS 可接受性和资源需求相关的因素，包括冠状病毒大流行（COVID-19）的影响。
最可接受的 HEPS 是菜单上健康食品的突出显示（平均评分=2.8），其次是健康食品的促销（平均评分=2.7）、增加健康食品的供应（平均评分=2.6）、菜单上的营养信息（平均评分=2.3）和减少份量（平均评分=1.7）。可接受性与感知需求、收入和后勤限制等相关因素有关。COVID-19 对 HEPS 的参与度和可接受性有混合影响。确定实施 HEPS 的资源需求包括营养知识、额外的专业知识（例如，设计、社交媒体、烹饪技能）以及食品供应商和其他餐厅运营后勤方面的协助。受访者还确定了潜在的政策激励措施。
LAR 可以积极影响饮食行为，但这样做需要平衡公共卫生目标和商业盈利性。LAR 还面临着各种限制，这些限制需要不同程度的帮助和资源，这突显了需要采用创新的参与方法，包括激励措施，来推动这些变化。
