A social marketing approach to improve to improving the nutrition of low-income women and children: an initial focus study group

Objective: to identify approaches for interventions to improve the nutrition of low-income women and children.Design: seven focus groups were conducted with low-income women caring for young children in their households. They discussed shopping, eating at home, eating out and healthy eating. The discussions were recorded and subjected to qualitative thematic analysis.Setting: a semi-rural community in Oregon, USA.Subjects: there were seventy-four women (74 % White), most of whom were 18–29 years old.Results: four broad themes were identified, i.e. cost-consciousness, convenience, social influences and health issues.Conclusions: the target population would benefit from improved understanding of what constitutes a balanced diet, with a greater emphasis on a more central role for fruit and vegetables. To persuade this population to change their eating habits, it will be necessary to convince them that healthful food can be low-cost, convenient and palatable for children. Comparing findings from the present study with a similar one in the UK suggests that the US women faced many of the same barriers to healthy eating but displayed less helplessnes