College of Nursing, Institute for Health Science Research, Inje University, Busan 47392, Republic of Korea.
Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, WISE Campus, Dongguk University, Dongdaero 123, Gyeongju-si 38066, Republic of Korea.
Nutrients. 2023 Apr 18;15(8):1940. doi: 10.3390/nu15081940.
Diet-related disparities that have often been observed in vulnerable families may play a negative role in children's health and health-related quality of life. In South Korea, an afterschool care policy, called Community Childcare Center (CCC), was established in the 1960s to protect and educate vulnerable children; this role has expanded to provide meal services in recent times. Therefore, the CCCs' food environment has become a pivotal platform for observing children's nutrition and health-related disparities. Using a mixed-methods approach including a survey with self-reported questionnaires, field observation, and participant interviews, the food environment of CCC was explored alongside children's eating behaviors. Eating behaviors were not as healthy as expected. Although service providers and cooks reported in the survey responses that the centers' food environment was healthy, participant observations and interviews revealed a significant gap. Establishing a standardized food environment and improving the nutrition literacy of workers as a significant human resource at a CCC can promote healthy eating for vulnerable children. The findings suggest that in the absence of steps to improve the food environment of CCC, diet-related disparities may affect children's health in the future.
在弱势家庭中经常观察到的与饮食相关的差异可能对儿童的健康和健康相关生活质量产生负面影响。在韩国，一项名为“社区儿童保育中心”（CCC）的课外保育政策于 20 世纪 60 年代成立，旨在保护和教育弱势儿童；近年来，这一角色已经扩大到提供膳食服务。因此，CCC 的食品环境已成为观察儿童营养和健康相关差异的重要平台。本研究采用混合方法，包括问卷调查、实地观察和参与者访谈，探讨了 CCC 的食品环境以及儿童的饮食行为。儿童的饮食习惯并不像预期的那样健康。尽管服务提供商和厨师在调查回复中报告称，中心的食品环境是健康的，但参与者观察和访谈揭示了一个显著的差距。在 CCC 建立标准化的食品环境和提高工作人员的营养素养作为重要的人力资源，可以促进弱势儿童的健康饮食。研究结果表明，如果不采取措施改善 CCC 的食品环境，与饮食相关的差异可能会影响儿童未来的健康。
