Serving seniors better: service guidelines for supermarkets

Objective: Generate a list of service guidelines to enable supermarket managers to accommodate the needs of their older customers. Methods: Focus groups and a national telephone survey were conducted with Australian seniors to generate 10 service guidelines for supermarkets. Results: The 10 guidelines produced are considered to be of significant importance by Australian seniors, with some apparent differences in importance and relevance ratings between older and younger seniors, and males and females. Conclusions: Seniors have distinct service preferences when grocery shopping and their needs require special attention in the supermarket environment. In particular, they feel strongly about the quality of staff and equipment with which they come into contact.     

A Qualitative Exploration of Predominantly White Non-Hispanic Tennessee WIC Participants’ Food Retail and WIC Clinic Experiences During COVID-19

BackgroundThe novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has widened many existing nutrition disparities. In response, federal nutrition assistance programs have introduced flexibility waivers in programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), to rapidly respond to support the nutritional health status of income-eligible participants during COVID-19. Waivers were approved that permitted flexibilities in the WIC food package, WIC vendor guidelines, and WIC clinic experience. The impact of these waivers on WIC participants’ retail and clinic experiences remains unknown.ObjectivesOur aims were to understand the experiences of WIC participants in food retail settings and with WIC clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore WIC participants’ perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on their family’s overall health, well-being, and daily lives.DesignWe conducted semi-structured phone interviews between April 30 and May 7, 2020.Participants/settingParticipants were 24 adults in WIC-enrolled families residing in Tennessee.AnalysisUsing grounded theory as the analytical framework, 2 coders completed an iterative, data-driven analytic process within NVivo, version 12. Hierarchical maps, coding matrices, and concept maps were used to aid direct content analysis for theme detection.ResultsFive primary themes emerged, including shopping barriers (existing compounded with new), coping strategies, impact on mental and emotional health, social comparison, and unintended consequences of COVID-19 on WIC families.ConclusionsCOVID-19 created additional barriers to food security among WIC families and negatively affected their health and well-being. To meet the needs of this vulnerable population during and beyond the pandemic, the carryover of WIC flexibilities (ie, physical presence and food package substitution waivers) after COVID-19 may improve the ease of overall program participation.     

Web Data Mining: Validity of Data from Google Earth for Food Retail Evaluation

To overcome the challenge of obtaining accurate data on community food retail, we developed an innovative tool to automatically capture food retail data from Google Earth (GE). The proposed method is relevant to non-commercial use or scholarly purposes. We aimed to test the validity of web sources data for the assessment of community food retail environment by comparison to ground-truth observations (gold standard). A secondary aim was to test whether validity differs by type of food outlet and socioeconomic status (SES). The study area included a sample of 300 census tracts stratified by SES in two of the largest cities in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. The GE web service was used to develop a tool for automatic acquisition of food retail data through the generation of a regular grid of points. To test its validity, this data was compared with the ground-truth data. Compared to the 856 outlets identified in 285 census tracts by the ground-truth method, the GE interface identified 731 outlets. In both cities, the GE interface scored moderate to excellent compared to the ground-truth data across all of the validity measures: sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy (ranging from 66.3 to 100%). The validity did not differ by SES strata. Supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants yielded better results than other store types. To our knowledge, this research is the first to investigate using GE as a tool to capture community food retail data. Our results suggest that the GE interface could be used to measure the community food environment. Validity was satisfactory for different SES areas and types of outlets.     

A relational approach to evaluate food environments finds that the proximate food environment matters for those who use it

Using a relational approach, this study investigates whether shopping close to home moderates the relationship between the proximate food environment and diet. To address this question, we develop the proximate food retail quality (PFRQ) score, an inverse-distance weighted measure of all food retailers within a resident's neighborhood that incorporates audit data of each food retailer. This study relies on data collected through 24-h dietary recalls and psychosocial surveys administered to 449 adults in two socioeconomically matched neighborhoods. Food retailer audits collected data on the availability, price, and quality of healthful foods. Seventy-one percent of study participants report conducting at least 50% of their food shopping within approximately one mile of their home. Household income and education are associated with likelihood to shop close to home, while access to a personal vehicle is not. Finally, results suggest that, for residents who shop primarily close to home, a one unit increase in proximate food retail environment score is associated with a 17.2-point increase in HEI-2010 score, a measure of overall diet quality that ranges from zero to 100. This study suggests that the food environment matters for those who use it and that a low-quality proximate food environment can amplify individual disadvantage.     

Association between density and proximity of tobacco retail outlets with smoking: A systematic review of youth studies

BackgroundReducing the retail availability of tobacco has been proposed as a component of tobacco endgame, yet it is not known whether retail availability has a direct impact on smoking behaviours. A narrative review and a meta-analysis have been undertaken to examine the density and proximity of tobacco retail outlets, but were limited in scope, exposure and outcome variables. The aim of this current study was to undertake a systematic review of the international literature on the density and proximity of tobacco retail outlets to homes, schools and communities and their association with smoking behaviours among youth.MethodsWe reviewed and critically appraised the evidence documenting the association between density or proximity of tobacco retail outlets and smoking behaviours among school-age youth (18 and under), between 1 January 1990 and 21 October 2019. We reviewed original quantitative research that examined the associations of tobacco retail outlet density and proximity with individual smoking status or population-level smoking prevalence; initiation of smoking; frequency of tobacco use; sales to minors; purchasing by minors; susceptibility to smoking among non-smokers; perceived prevalence of smoking, and quitting behaviours.FindingsThirty-five peer-reviewed papers met the inclusion criteria. This review provided evidence of a relationship between density of tobacco retail outlets and smoking behaviours, particularly for the density near youths’ home. A study using activity spaces also found a significant positive association between exposure to tobacco retail outlets and daily tobacco use. The review did not provide evidence of an association between the proximity of tobacco retail outlets to homes or schools and smoking behaviours among youth.ConclusionsThe existing evidence supports a positive association between tobacco retail outlet density and smoking behaviours among youth, particularly for the density near youths’ home. This review provides evidence for the development and implementation of policies to reduce the density of tobacco retail outlets to reduce smoking prevalence among youth.     

北京部分市售整鸡中沙门菌和弯曲菌协同定量污染研究

目的对2013年北京部分市售整鸡样品中沙门菌和弯曲菌的定量污染水平、沙门菌血清型和弯曲菌种水平分布进行研究。方法 2013年5—7月采集北京市售整鸡样品33份,进行样品中沙门菌和弯曲菌的定量检测,并分别对沙门菌和弯曲菌进行血清分型和种水平鉴定。结果 19个样品检出沙门菌,检出率为57.6%;5个样品检出弯曲菌,检出率为15.2%;阳性样品中沙门菌和弯曲菌平均污染水平分别为119.4 MPN/100g和58.6 CFU/g。分离出的166株沙门菌被鉴定为14种血清型,最常见的为肠炎沙门菌,其次为印第安纳沙门菌。从同一样品中分离到共11种2个以上不同血清型组合的沙门菌,最常见的血清型组合为肠炎-印第安纳沙门菌。结论 2013年5—7月北京部分市售整鸡中沙门菌污染率较高、污染水平严重、血清型复杂。     

社会药店药品经营质量管理规范认证检查中存在的问题分析及对策

目的 分析社会药店药品经营质量管理规范认证检查中发现的缺陷问题,探讨进一步改善对社会药店监管的措施及对策。 方法 对65家社会药店药品经营质量管理规范认证现场检查报告中出现的缺陷项目进行统计,分析存在的主要问题。 结果 共发现缺陷项396项次,其中主要缺陷项目168项次,一般缺陷项目228项次,平均每家6.1条缺陷项。缺陷项目频率较高的主要集中在人员管理、文件、采购与验收方面。 结论 贯彻实施药品经营质量管理规范,深化药品零售监管,应强化宣传教育和培训,加强监管队伍建设,建立信用监管机制,提高舆论监督作用。     

药学服务与零售药店的关系探讨

本文分析了我国零售药店开展药学服务存在的问题,指出开展药学服务能够提升零售药店的核心竞争力,从而带来经济效益。通过提升药学技术人员的药学服务能力、配备必要设备、建立顾客健康档案等措施能够推进零售药店的药学服务工作。     

基本医疗保险定点零售药店的配置公平性分析 ——以深圳市为例

目的:探究深圳市医保定点零售药店的公平性及分布特征的变化,为进一步优化医保零售药店资源配置的公平性提供思路.方法:运用基尼系数、洛伦兹曲线和集聚度等方法衡量深圳市医保零售药店的公平性,再通过地理信息系统(Geographic Information System,GIS)技术将其布局可视化,分析其空间差异.结果:深圳市...