Dataset Information

P22 COVID-19 Impacts on Self-Reported Food Safety Behaviors in Florida Youth

ABSTRACT:

Background

Measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19 include guidance on personal and environmental hygiene. Some guidelines related to COVID-19 directly align with or have similarity to evidence-based food safety practices (FSP) taught in nutrition education classes, including handwashing and washing produce before eating.

Objective

To understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth handwashing and washing produce before eating behaviors.

Study Design, Setting, Participants

Data were collected from youth (N = 1,098) in grades 3-5 who participated in SNAP-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) in Florida. Utilizing common self-report survey measures, baseline measures from 3 years prior to the pandemic and 3 months during the pandemic were compared for handwashing before eating and washing produce before eating. Due to incomplete data collection during the first 8 months of the pandemic, only behaviors from October 20-January 31 intervals (October 2018- January 2021) were compared to control for seasonal differences.

Measurable Outcomes/Analysis

Behavioral measures are based on a frequency scale from 1 to 4 (4 being the most frequent). An independent samples t test was used to compare baseline FSP scores from intervals before and during the pandemic.

Results

No significant difference was found in the frequency of handwashing before and during COVID-19 (3.16 vs 3.18, respectively; P = 0.76). A significant increase was found in the frequency of washing produce before eating before and during COVID-19 (3.14 vs 3.31, respectively; P = 0.008).

Conclusion

This study did not find any significant changes in handwashing frequency during COVID-19, however, a significant increase in washing produce prior to eating was found. Handwashing prior to eating is a current CDC guideline for COVID-19 mitigation while washing produce prior to eating is not (CDC 2021). Changes in lifestyle and/or eating arrangements during the pandemic might explain these findings.

SUBMITTER: Saqib H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8261026 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:IntroductionHousehold food insecurity and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) contribute to ill health. However, the interactions between household food insecurity, WASH and health have been rarely assessed concurrently. This study investigated compounded impacts of household food insecurity and WASH on self-reported physical and mental health of adults in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional survey interviewed 552 households in one northern and one southern province of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The survey incorporated previously validated tools such as the Short Form 12-item Health Survey, Household Food Insecurity Assessment Scale, and the Access and Behavioural Outcome Indicators for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Physical and mental health were quantified using the physical health composite score (PCS) and mental health composite score (MCS), respectively. These measures were the dependent variables of interest for this study.ResultsStatistical analysis revealed that household food insecurity and using <50 litres of water per person per day (pppd) were independently associated with lower PCS (p<0.05), after adjusting for socio-economic confounders. Household food insecurity and lack of food availability, using <50 litres of water pppd, and the use of untreated drinking water were associated with lower MCS (p<0.05), with water usage being an effect modifier of the relationship between household food insecurity and MCS. The results indicate that being food insecure and having limited potable quality water had a compounding effect on MCS, compared to being individually either food insecure or having limited water.ConclusionThis study is one of only a few that have established a link between potable water availability, food insecurity and poorer physical and mental health. The results also indicate a need to validate national data with fine-scale investigations in less populous regions to evaluate national initiatives with local populations that may be at higher risk. Adopting joint dual-action policies for interventions that simultaneously address water and food insecurity should result in larger improvements in health, particularly mental health, compared to targeting either food or water insecurity in isolation.