ABSTRACT
Introduction: The provincial and federal governments provided emergency funding to local community organizations for free food support to people affected by COVID-19. The study's goals were to explore the barriers of the people and the organizations while receiving and providing free food support and what further was needed to give the people food support in the priority neighborhood. Methods: Nine representatives of the local community organizations and 15 volunteers participated in the community conversation or the extensive group discussion. They shared their experiences about barriers and what we further needed to provide food support for the priority neighborhood like Taylor Massey. Two note-takers obtained data from the community conversation. This is a qualitative study. It used a thematic approach to analyze the data and interpretation. Results: Information lacking about free food, language barriers, the social stigma associated with free food support, and fear of COVID-19 were the barriers of community people to receiving food support. On the other hand, the community organizations lacked information about who needed real food support, lacked enough transportation support to distribute the food, enough empty spaces to store food, and enough numbers of committed and trained volunteers to help with the food distribution. Also, the community organizations had limited funding to meet people's food needs. The local community organizations needed an assessment to understand the available resources so that local organizations could use the resources for an effective food program. Furthermore, the organizations required coordination and extended food funding to affected families. In addition, the local organizations needed to work with community gardens, community kitchens, and food banks to support and meet the community's demands. Conclusion: People and local organizations had information and communication, social, structural and systemic, and financial barriers while receiving and providing food in the priority neighborhood. The study indicated what were needed to make the food support program effective.
ABSTRACT
RESUMEN Introducción: La buena salud depende de factores como la nutrición, determinante para garantizar un adecuado estado físico, mental y académico, aspectos indispensables para el desarrollo individual y social de cualquier persona. Objetivo: Caracterizar los hábitos alimentarios y estado nutricional de los preescolares de un centro de educación inicial. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal correlacionar, en un centro de educación inicial en Santa Elena, Ecuador, durante 2016. Universo constituido por 125 binomios padres-escolares, entre tres y cinco años. Se utilizó el método observacional y encuesta, las variables estudiadas fueron edad, hábitos alimentarios, nivel de instrucción, adquisición de alimentos, peso, talla. Para el análisis de datos, se utilizó el software IBM-SPSS-Statistics-21.0; en el descriptivo se utilizaron promedios, media, moda, desviación estándar, valores máximos y mínimos. Para la comparación entre los grupos, se utilizó prueba de Anova de muestras independientes y Χ2, considerando significativo p < 0,05. Para comparar el estado nutricional se analizó la concordancia e índice Kappa, considerándose una buena concordancia un valor ≥ 0,80. Resultados: En cuanto a los padres: 53,60 pòr ciento eran jóvenes, 32,00 por ciento entre 21 a 25 años de edad, 85,00 por ciento con nivel de instrucción medio, 26,40 por ciento con dificultad para adquirir alimentos. El estado nutricional en los niños fue deficiente, debido al consumo de proteínas de alto valor biológico (3,97 por ciento) y 8,32 por ciento, 7,94 por ciento y 4,70 por ciento demostraron alto consumo en alimentos de baja calidad nutricional. Conclusiones: Los hábitos alimentarios de los preescolares se caracterizaron por una alimentación hiperglucídica e hipoproteica, alta en sodio, deficiente en hierro y zinc, evidenciando baja calidad nutricional en los alimentos consumidos(AU)
ABSTRACT Introduction: Good health depends on factors such as nutrition, a determinant to guarantee proper physical, mental and academic state, essential aspects for the individual and social development of any person. Objective: To characterize the eating habits and nutritional status of preschoolers in an initial education center. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional, correlation study carried out in an initial education center in Santa Elena, Ecuador, during 2016. The study population consisted of 125 parent-schoolchild binomials, the school children aged between three and five years. The observational method and the survey were used. The variables studied wereage, eating habits, school level, food acquisition, weight, height. The software IBM-SPSS-Statistics-21.0 was used for data analysis. The results were expressed in average, median, mode, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values. For the comparison between the groups, the Anova test of independent samples and the chi-square test were used, considering p bellow 0.05 significant. To compare the nutritional status, the concordance and Kappa index were analyzed, considering a good value as being higher or equal than 0.80. Results: As for the parents, 53.60 percent were young; of them, 32 percent were between 21 and 25 years old, 85 percent had completed the average education level, and 26.40 percent expressed difficulties in acquiring food. The nutritional status in children was poor, due to the consumption of proteins of high biological value (red meat, 3.97 percent) and foods of poor nutritional quality such as soft drinks (8.32 percent), sweets (7.94 percent) and snacks (4.71 percent). Conclusions: The preschooler's eating habits were characterized by a hyperglycidic and hypoproteic diet, high in sodium, deficient in iron and zinc, which shows low nutritional quality in the food consumed(AU)