Early Childhood Nutrition-Related Policy, System, and Environmental-Focused Evaluation: A Qualitative Study Exploring Knowledge, Barriers, and Opportunities.

Mar 10, 2025

Experts: Elder Garcia Varela,Alaina M Mitchell,Isabella Bolivar,Megan A McVay,Karla P Shelnutt,David Miller,Amy R Mobley

To explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers, facilitators, and existing needs associated with evaluating policy, system, and environmental (PSE) strategies focused on early childhood nutrition within Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) programming using the Capabilities, Opportunities, and Motivations of Behavior Model.
Stakeholders (n = 32) implementing and evaluating SNAP-Ed-approved PSE nutrition-related strategies across the US participated in virtual semistructured interviews. Audio transcripts were deidentified, coded, and analyzed manually by 2 research assistants using thematic analysis with a hybrid deductive and inductive coding approach.
Participants described existing evaluation tools as primarily descriptive, focusing on the PSE change process, implementation details, and reach. While recognizing the value and efficacy of current tools, participants highlighted the need for new metrics to assess the medium- and long-term behavioral impacts and sustainability of these PSE strategies.
There is a need to develop and validate a feasible nutrition-related PSE change evaluation tool that measures behavioral outcomes and sustainability to fully understand the effectiveness of PSE change strategies in SNAP-Ed programs affecting young children.

Copyright © 2025 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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ABOUT THE EXPERTS

Elder Garcia Varela,Alaina M Mitchell,Isabella Bolivar,Megan A McVay,Karla P Shelnutt,David Miller,Amy R Mobley

Elder Garcia Varela

Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Alaina M Mitchell

Department of Family, Youth & Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Isabella Bolivar

Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Megan A McVay

Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Karla P Shelnutt

Department of Family, Youth & Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

David Miller

School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Amy R Mobley

Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Electronic address: amy.mobley@ufl.edu.