Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1, 264 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, Victoria, 3168, Australia.
Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA), 70 O'Sullivan Circuit, East Arm, Northern Territory, 0822, Australia.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2023 Jun;47(3):100056. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100056. Epub 2023 May 12.
This article aims to investigate the capacity of nutrition professionals to engage in food retail practice change to improve population diet.
Convergent mixed method design was used that includes pre-interview surveys, in-depth interviews, and retrospective mapping of service provision. The study was conducted in organisations that provide a nutrition professional service to food retail stores in remote Australia. The study participants include 11 nutrition professionals and eight organisation representatives, including managers, organisation directors and policy officers. Systems-mapping and thematic analysis of the in-depth interviews were conducted using a capacity development framework. Descriptive analysis was applied to pre-interview survey and mapping data.
A gap between the aspirational work and current capacity of nutrition professionals to engage effectively with stores was identified. Engagement with stores to improve population health was valued by organisations. Dominance of the medical health model limited organisation strategic support for store work and created barriers. Key barriers included the limited access to training, decision-support tools, information, financial resources and organisational structures that directed store work.
Provision of adequate store-specific training, resources and organisational support may empower the nutrition professional workforce to be powerful leaders in co-design for healthy food retail.
Building capacity for this critical workforce to engage in food retail practice change must consider the influence of the broader health system and employer organisations and need for access to evidence-based decision-support tools.
本文旨在探讨营养专业人员在推动食品零售实践改变以改善人群饮食方面的能力。
采用收敛混合方法设计，包括预访谈调查、深入访谈和服务提供的回溯映射。该研究在澳大利亚偏远地区为食品零售商店提供营养专业服务的组织中进行。研究参与者包括 11 名营养专业人员和 8 名组织代表，包括经理、组织主任和政策官员。使用能力发展框架对深入访谈进行系统映射和主题分析。对预访谈调查和映射数据进行描述性分析。
发现营养专业人员有意愿但能力有限，无法有效地与商店合作，以改善人群健康。组织重视与商店合作，以促进公众健康。医疗保健模式的主导地位限制了组织对商店工作的战略支持，并造成了障碍。主要障碍包括培训、决策支持工具、信息、财务资源和组织架构的获取有限，这些都限制了商店工作的开展。
为营养专业人员提供充足的特定于商店的培训、资源和组织支持，可能会使他们有能力成为健康食品零售合作设计的有力领导者。
为这一关键劳动力建设从事食品零售实践改变的能力，必须考虑到更广泛的卫生系统和雇主组织的影响，以及获取基于证据的决策支持工具的必要性。
