Organization-Level Factors Associated With Burnout: Guided Discussions With Micropolitan Public Health Workers During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To understand how micropolitan public health workers (PHWs) experienced burnout antecedents during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted in-depth guided discussions with 34 representatives from 16 micropolitan public health departments using semistructured, open-ended questions about departments' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. We coded discussion transcripts to develop themes according to the Six Areas of Worklife model. RESULTS: PHWs described antecedents of burnout that stemmed from organizational and external forces, most notably within the workload, control, reward, and values dimensions of the Six Areas of Worklife model, as well as instances of workplace violence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support organization-level approaches to reducing and preventing burnout in the micropolitan public health workforce. We discuss addressing specific dimensions of the Six Areas of Worklife model when designing burnout solutions for this essential workforce.

How Home Child Care Providers Purchase, Prepare, and Serve Healthy Foods: In-Depth Interviews with Child and Adult Care Food Program Participants.

Background: Child care settings can enhance children's access and exposure to healthy foods through participation in The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which reimburses child care providers for purchasing healthy foods. To identify challenges and facilitators to CACFP participation, we carried out in-depth interviews with CACFP-participating home child care providers to discuss purchasing, preparing, and serving food under CACFP guidelines. Methods: We carried out 20 in-depth telephone interviews with CACFP-participating home child care providers. Transcribed interviews were coded to develop themes using a deductive approach. Results: Interviews indicated that food costs still burden CACFP-participating child care providers despite reimbursements. CACFP-participating providers who described prioritizing healthy foods and nutrition showed a greater inclination toward purchasing, preparing, and serving healthy foods to children. Conclusions: We offer recommendations for how to effectively support CACFP-participating providers in offering healthy food to their children within a food choice framework, a multilevel categorization of factors that influence food choice. Recommendations include increased reimbursement rates for food purchases under CACFP and support for peer-to-peer mentoring and health promotion programs targeting child care provider health.