Qualitative Study of Participation Facilitators and Barriers for Emergency School Meals and Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) in an Urban Setting during COVID-19.
Qualitative Study of Participation Facilitators and Barriers for Emergency School Meals and Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) in an Urban Setting during COVID-19.
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在COVID-19大流行期间，纽约市110万公立学校儿童中参加紧急抢餐的人数明显减少，这加剧了纽约市许多最脆弱居民营养安全不足的风险。本研究旨在探讨学生家庭的促进者和障碍，参与抢和去膳食服务和他们的经验与流行病电子福利转移（P-EBT）基金，现金福利分配时，学校关闭。我们招募了126名纽约公立学校的孩子的父母，他们参加了“抓到就走”服务。使用开放式的问题，我们采访了101名家长在25个1小时的在线焦点小组。我们确定了四个主要主题，广泛影响学校供餐的参与：沟通，物流，膳食上诉，和个人情况。关键的促进次主题包括清晰的沟通，方便访问网站，和高品种。对参与产生负面影响的关键次主题包括沟通有限和膳食种类少。准确、及时的沟通;容易到达的分发地点和方便的分发时间可以增加参与和满意度。对于P-EBT，家长欢迎这些资金并愿意使用它们，但有些人在获得付款方面遇到困难。在评估紧急供餐计划的同时纳入基于社区的研究，可以改善未来的结果，为学校供餐参与和电子福利。
During the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly fewer of New York City’s (NYC’s) 1.1 million public school children participated in emergency grab-and-go meals—heightening the risk of inadequate nutrition security for many of NYC’s most vulnerable residents. This study sought to examine student families’ facilitators and barriers to participation in the grab-and-go meal service and their experiences with pandemic-electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) funds, a cash benefit distributed when schools were closed. We recruited 126 parents of children in NYC public schools who had participated in the grab-and-go service. Using opened-ended questions, we interviewed 101 parents in 25 1-h online focus groups. We identified four main themes which broadly impacted school meal participation: communication, logistics, meal appeal, and personal circumstances. Key facilitating subthemes included clear communication, ease of accessing sites, and high variety. Key sub-themes negatively impacting participation included limited communication and low meal variety. Accurate, timely communication; easily accessible distribution locations; and convenient distribution times could have increased participation and satisfaction. For P-EBT, parents welcomed the funds and used them readily, but some experienced difficulties obtaining payments. The simultaneous inclusion of community-based research in the evaluation of emergency feeding programs could improve future outcomes for school meal participation and electronic benefits.