Early Childhood Nutrition-Related Policy, System, and Environmental-Focused Evaluation: A Qualitative Study Exploring Knowledge, Barriers, and Opportunities.

OBJECTIVE

To explore stakeholders' perceptions of the barriers, facilitators, and existing needs associated with evaluating policy, system, and environmental (PSE) strategies focused on early childhood nutrition within Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) programming using the Capabilities, Opportunities, and Motivations of Behavior Model.

METHODS

Stakeholders (n = 32) implementing and evaluating SNAP-Ed-approved PSE nutrition-related strategies across the US participated in virtual semistructured interviews. Audio transcripts were deidentified, coded, and analyzed manually by 2 research assistants using thematic analysis with a hybrid deductive and inductive coding approach.

RESULTS

Participants described existing evaluation tools as primarily descriptive, focusing on the PSE change process, implementation details, and reach. While recognizing the value and efficacy of current tools, participants highlighted the need for new metrics to assess the medium- and long-term behavioral impacts and sustainability of these PSE strategies.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

There is a need to develop and validate a feasible nutrition-related PSE change evaluation tool that measures behavioral outcomes and sustainability to fully understand the effectiveness of PSE change strategies in SNAP-Ed programs affecting young children.