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Topical Area: Community and Public Health Nutrition

Community and Public Health Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P24-040-23) "Gotta eat it to survive": A Mixed Methods Study of Youth Experiencing Homelessness and Their Food Environment

Monday, July 24, 2023
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 451

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Sarah B. Dunn, M.S.

    Student
    The Ohio State University
    Columbus, Ohio, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SL

    Stacy V. Lu, MSPH

    Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  • IH

    Irene Hatsu, PhD, RD

    Associate Professor, Department of Human Sciences
    The Ohio State University
    Columbus, Ohio, United States

Disclosure(s):
Sarah B. Dunn, M.S.: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: This mixed methods study aimed to 1) Measure the perceptions of youth facing homelessness about their physical food environment; 2) Understand the environmental, social, and individual priorities and preferences related to food among youth experiencing homelessness; and 3) Identify key socioecological factors influencing food choice among youth experiencing homelessness.

Methods: This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design with qualitative prioritization. We administered quantitative surveys and conducted semi-structured individual qualitative interviews with youth aged 18-23 years experiencing homelessness (n=14) who accessed services from a drop-in center in a large Midwestern city from August to November 2022. We used inductive and abductive approaches and thematic analysis to identify salient themes in the qualitative data. Quantitative analyses focused on areas of convergence and divergence with findings from the qualitative analysis. We performed bivariate descriptive statistics to analyze quantitative survey data about individual-level food security and perceptions of the food environment, including availability and accessibility of food in youth’s physical environment at retailers identified during participant interviews.

Results: Participants in our study described various social and environmental factors that constrained or enabled their individual food choice. We identified three themes: challenges with food choice experienced by youth facing homelessness, youth’s perceived reasons for these challenges, and facilitators of food choice in this population.

Conclusions: This study provides important insight regarding the perceived social and environmental factors constraining individual food choice in young people experiencing homelessness. Future research is warranted to strengthen community-, state-, and national-level programs and policies to better support the nutrition and health of youth facing homelessness.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by The Ohio State University Department of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program.