Should infant formula be available at UK food banks? Evaluating different pathways to ensuring parents in financial crisis can access infant formula.

英国食品银行应该提供婴儿配方奶粉吗？

• 批准号: MR/Z503575/1
• 负责人: Amy Brown
• 金额: $ 18.06万
• 依托单位: Swansea University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FZ503575%2F1
• 关键词: Should; infant; formula; available; UK

The cost-of-living crisis is increasing food insecurity, causing stress particularly for families with babies and young children. Within this, high infant formula costs and supply issues mean that formula fed babies are increasingly vulnerable.Foodbanks offer important help for those experiencing financial insecurity or crisis. However, at present, guidance is to not allow donations of infant formula milk. This is in place to protect babies from harm and ensure that breastfeeding is not undermined. Donations are likely to be inconsistent due to high product cost and may include milks unsuitable for young babies. Allowing donations of infant formula is likely to lead to infant formula companies seeing this as a promotional opportunity, taking advantage of parents at a stressful time. Instead, it is recommended that families in need are directed to their health visitor, to receive a package of support including additional support to access formula.Given the health implications of infant feeding, and that infants who are not breastfed must receive formula milk until they are 12 months old, the issue is seen as too important to be dependent on donations. More suitable options to help families may include a cash first approach or further allowances to the Healthy Start scheme which can be used to purchase formula. However, recent media articles argue that this stance is unequitable and discriminatory against families who rely on infant formula. Proponents criticise the need to seek further support via a health professional, arguing that this causes delay and places babies at harm. Together with perceptions of poor infant feeding support this can increase risk of mental health difficulties at a time of significant stress.This presents a clear public health dilemma. Although the food bank guidance has a clear rationale, research has not explored the breadth and impact of this issue. The aim of our research is therefore to explore the perspectives of a range of key groups affected by this guidance including parents on a low income and/or who have accessed food banks, health professionals, third sector and charity organisations and food banks to co-develop an intervention to test for future provision. Using surveys and interviews we will explore:To what extent is there a need and desire for donations of formula milk to be allowed via UK food banks? Who has asked for formula, in what context and what is the impact of supplying or not supplying formula?How do families living in poverty or those in crisis currently access formula milk? How visible, transparent, acceptable and equitable are these current processes?What are the potential new models and what might those look like?What are the potential risks and benefits for these different models to provide formula including safety, consistency, equity, protection of breastfeeding and impact upon parental mental health?Bringing these findings together we will invite parents, professionals and organisations to workshops to consider what the impacts, including risks and benefits of different approaches to accessing formula milk for families in need could be, such as via food banks, health professional referral or cash first approaches / Healthy Start allowance increases.Together we will develop a preferred intervention and then seek to test its impact upon access to infant formula, parental mental health and safe infant feeding practices.

生活费用危机加剧了粮食不安全，特别是给有婴幼儿的家庭造成压力。其中，婴儿配方奶粉成本高和供应问题意味着配方奶粉喂养的婴儿越来越脆弱。食品银行为那些经历财务不安全或危机的人提供了重要帮助。不过，目前的指导意见是不允许捐赠婴幼儿配方奶粉。这是为了保护婴儿免受伤害，并确保母乳喂养不受破坏。由于产品成本高，捐赠可能不一致，可能包括不适合幼儿的牛奶。允许捐赠婴儿配方奶粉很可能会导致婴儿配方奶粉公司将此视为促销机会，在紧张的时刻利用父母。相反，建议有需要的家庭直接向他们的健康访问员，以获得一揽子支持，包括获得配方奶粉的额外支持。鉴于婴儿喂养对健康的影响，以及非母乳喂养的婴儿必须在12个月大之前接受配方奶粉，这个问题被视为太重要了，不能依赖捐赠。帮助家庭的更合适的选择可能包括现金优先的方法或健康开始计划的进一步津贴，这些津贴可用于购买配方奶粉。然而，最近的媒体文章认为，这一立场对依赖婴儿配方奶粉的家庭是不公平和歧视的。支持者批评需要通过卫生专业人员寻求进一步的支持，认为这会导致延误并使婴儿受到伤害。再加上对婴儿喂养支持不足的看法，这可能会增加在压力很大的时候出现心理健康问题的风险，这显然是一个公共卫生困境。虽然粮食银行的指导有明确的理由，但研究尚未探讨这一问题的广度和影响。因此，我们研究的目的是探索受此指导影响的一系列关键群体的观点，包括低收入和/或已访问食品银行的父母，卫生专业人员，第三部门和慈善组织以及食品银行共同开发干预措施，以测试未来的供应。使用调查和访谈，我们将探讨：在多大程度上是有需要和愿望的捐赠配方奶粉被允许通过英国食品银行？谁要求提供配方奶粉，在什么情况下要求提供配方奶粉，提供或不提供配方奶粉有什么影响？生活在贫困或危机中的家庭目前如何获得配方奶粉？目前这些进程的可见度、透明度、可接受性和公平性如何？潜在的新模式是什么，它们可能是什么样子？这些不同模式提供配方奶粉的潜在风险和益处是什么，包括安全性、一致性、公平性、保护母乳喂养以及对父母心理健康的影响？结合这些研究结果，我们将邀请家长、专业人士和组织参加研讨会，考虑为有需要的家庭提供配方奶的不同方法（例如通过食物银行）的影响，包括风险和益处，保健专业人员转诊或现金优先办法/健康的开始津贴增加。我们将共同制定一个首选的干预措施，然后试图测试其对获得婴儿配方奶粉的影响，父母的心理健康和安全的婴儿喂养做法。