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Research Project: Preventing the Development of Childhood Obesity

Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center

Title: Designing a digital culinary education intervention for parents with low income

Author
item RABER, MARGARET - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item VILLARREAL, ISABELLA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item VAZQUEZ, MARIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item Thompson, Deborah - Debbe

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2023
Publication Date: 7/28/2023
Citation: Raber, M., Villarreal, I., Vazquez, M., Thompson, D.J. 2023. Designing a digital culinary education intervention for parents with low income. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2023.06.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2023.06.002

Interpretive Summary: Healthy cooking interventions may improve household diet quality by improving the nutritional content of foods cooked at home. Current approaches to cooking interventions mainly rely on in-person programming, limiting scalability to low-resource populations. Digital platforms may offer low-cost, scalable platforms for communicating healthy cooking content to families with low income, however little research has explored this potential. Our study examined cooking practices, online information-seeking habits, and intervention preferences among parents with low income to inform the development of a digital culinary education program. We found that online culinary programs would be an attractive approach to nutrition education in this population and should consider short, mobile-friendly video formats and focus on easy-to-prepare recipes that are adaptable to family preferences.

Technical Abstract: Our objective was to examine cooking practices, online information-seeking habits, and intervention preferences among parents with low income to inform the development of a digital cooking intervention on the basis of the Healthy Cooking Index. This formative research study included a brief survey followed by in-depth interviews (from February to April, 2021) with parents aged 6-11 years with low income (n=20; 100% female, 70% African American or Hispanic White). Interview transcripts were analyzed using a semistructured hybrid coding approach. Three main themes were identified to inform the development of the intervention: (1) current Healthy Cooking Index behaviors, (2) preferences for digital cooking intervention content, and (3) design and delivery preferences. A 7-step process was used to develop the intervention and integrate qualitative findings. Online culinary programs targeting parents with low income may consider short, mobile-friendly video formats and focus on easy-to-prepare recipes adaptable to family preferences.