Distribution of fresh foods in food pantries: challenges and opportunities in Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The charitable food system distributes free food to clients across the U.S., but many nutrition and health-focused efforts encounter barriers to success, which were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the current study was to understand barriers and facilitators to distributing nutritious, fresh foods in food pantries across Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Forty-nine pantry representatives participated in focus groups in October 2021. A codebook was created based on relevant literature, stakeholder interests, and an initial review of the recordings. Transcripts of each group were coded and analyzed using a basic interpretive approach. RESULTS: Pantries distribution of fresh foods was impacted by community partners, food bank policies and practices, and the quality of the donated fresh foods. Physical constraints of pantries limit fresh food storage capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified stressors in the charitable food system which highlighted how community partners might improve fresh food distribution. CONCLUSION: Focus groups with food pantry representatives across Illinois provided key insights that can inform future efforts to facilitate fresh food distribution in the charitable food system. Future studies should evaluate the effects of the suggested initiatives and changes at the food pantry, food bank, and policy levels.

Development and evaluation of the Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Efforts to improve the nutritional quality and health promotion in the charitable food system have been undertaken. Though methods exist to track these efforts in terms of food banks' inventory, there are not research-tested tools to assess, monitor and influence policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes. The study objective was to develop and evaluate a novel assessment tool that could be used to evaluate a food bank's efforts to improve the promotion of health and nutritious foods. DESIGN: The study had five phases: (1) initial development; (2) iterative review and revisions; (3) pilot testing; (4) content validity assessment and (5) inter-rater and test-retest assessment. The Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment (FB-HANA) was drafted after reviewing existing policies, nutrition-focused charitable food systems guidance and similar tools for food pantries. SETTING: Midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Eleven food banks. RESULTS: Stakeholders and pilot testers provided initial feedback to refine the FB-HANA's flow, ease of completion and collection of contextual information. External experts rated the FB-HANA and each of the eight objectives as content valid. A set of two assessments completed by twenty-six community-based professionals, employed by Extension and fourteen food bank staff across eleven food banks, supported moderate to excellent inter-rater and test-retest reliability for the FB-HANA overall and each of its objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that the FB-HANA can be used by either food bank or community-based professionals, such as Extension staff, to provide a perspective on ways food banks promote health and nutrition through PSE approaches.

Preparación de los colegios y profesores de educación física en prevención de muerte súbita y soporte vital básico / Competence of schools and physical education teachers for sudden death prevention and basic life support

OBJETIVO: Conocer el nivel de preparación de colegios y profesores de educación física en prevención de muerte súbita (MS) y soporte vital básico, incluyendo disponibilidad y uso del desfibrilador externo automático (DEA). MÉTODOS: Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, en profesores de educación física de establecimientos educacionales de distintos tipos de sostenedores (municipales, subvencionados y particulares) de Santiago, Chile, a través de un cuestionario online. Se analizaron datos demográficos del profesor, antecedentes de preparación y disposición de reanimación cardiopulmonar (RCP), presencia y uso de DEA y preparación del establecimiento ante un caso de MS. RESULTADOS: De 97 profesores encuestados, 71,1% no se siente capacitado para realizar RCP a pesar que un 70% del total ha realizado un curso. La disposición para realizar reanimación en aquellos que han realizado un curso, es 99%, comparado con 83% en quienes no lo han realizado (p=0,003). Existe una marcada diferencia en disponibilidad de DEA según tipo de sostenedor (52,4% en particulares, 29,6% en municipales y 15% en subvencionados, p=0,001), pero transversalmente no saben cómo utilizarlo (42,9 %, 40,7% y 25%, p=0,43). La mayoría de los colegios no cuenta con un plan de acción ante MS. CONCLUSIONES: Los colegios y profesores de educación física tienen una preparación insuficiente y desactualizada en prevención de muerte súbita y soporte vital básico, con una distribución heterogénea de DEA en establecimiento según tipo de sostenedor.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the competence of schools and physical education teachers in the prevention of sudden death (SD) and basic life support meassures, including availability and use of the automatic external defibrillator (AED). METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study included physical education teachers from different Schools (public, subsidized and private) in Santiago, Chile. An online questionnaire was applied including demographic data of the teacher, comentence and willingness to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), presence and use of AED and school preparation in case of a SD. RESULTS: From a total of 97 teachers surveyed do not feel capable of performing CPR, in spite of the fact that 70% of them completed a CPR course. Among those who took a course, their willingness to perform resuscitation was 99%, compared to 83% en those not having taken the course (p = 0.003). There was a marked difference in DEA availability according to class of school (private 52,4%, public 29,6 subsidized 15%, p=0,001), but the knowledge on how to use de DEA was uniformly insufficient (42,9 %, 40,7% and 25%, p=0,43) Most schools do not have a protocol to face SD. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that schools and physical education teachers have an insufficient and outdated preparation in sudden death prevention and basic life support. The availability of AED differed according to the class of establishment.

A Retrospective Cohort Study of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in China: Associations of Hypoglycemia with Health Care Resource Utilization and Associated Costs.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to examine the associations of hypoglycemia with health care resource utilization (HCRU) and health care costs among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted with 23,680 T2DM patients >18 years old who visited the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015. Univariate descriptive statistics were used to relate the HCRU and associated costs to patient characteristics, and regression analysis was used to examine the association between hypoglycemia and HCRU, controlling for other confounding factors. RESULTS: In the T2DM patients with or without insulin treatment, when compared with nonhypoglycemic patients, hypoglycemia was associated with more medical visits (all T2DM patients 19.48 vs. 10.46, insulin users 23.45 vs. 14.12) and higher diabetes-related medical costs (all T2DM patients ¥5187.54 vs. ¥3525.00, insulin users ¥6948.84 vs. ¥3401.15) and medication costs (T2DM patients ¥1349.40 vs. ¥641.92, insulin users: ¥1363.87 vs. ¥853.96). Controlling for age, gender, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score, hypoglycemia and insulin intake were associated with greater health care resource utilization. As compared to nonhypoglycemic patients, hypoglycemic T2DM patients and those on insulin therapy performed more outpatient visits (proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic T2DM patients performing 3+ visits: 72.69% vs. 65.49%; proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic patients on insulin therapy performing 3+ visits: 78.26% vs. 71.73%) and were hospitalized more often (proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic T2DM patients with 3+ admissions 75.90% vs. 50.24%; proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic patients on insulin therapy with 3+ admissions: 83.19% vs. 58.51%). CONCLUSION: Hypoglycemia in diabetes patients was associated with increased healthcare resource utilization and health-related expenditure, especially for patients on insulin treatment. Insulin treatment regimens should be more individualized and account for hypoglycemia risk.