Determinants of fruit and vegetable availability in hispanic head start families with preschool-aged children living in an urban midwestern area.

OBJECTIVE: Determine relationships between self-efficacy, decisional balance, and processes of change and Stages of Change (SOC) related to fruit and vegetable (FV) availability among Hispanic Head Start parents. DESIGN: A 2-phase descriptive study with mixed methodology. SETTING: Two Head Start sites in a city in the midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of Hispanic Head Start parents/guardians recruited to complete a FV survey and focus groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Amount of FV served; distribution of participants between SOC; level of self-efficacy, decisional balance, and use of cognitive and behavioral processes. ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance was conducted using the SOC as the independent variable and Transtheoretical Model construct scales as dependent variables. Significance was set at P < .05. Focus groups were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Of the 113 participants, 60% were in pre-action stages. Compared to those of parents in higher stages, intentions of parents in lower stages to serve more FV were impeded by cost and preparation time (P = .028). Focus groups confirmed low self-efficacy as the common barrier to serving more FV. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Nutrition education for low-income Hispanic parents should include components focused on increasing self-efficacy and minimizing perceived barriers; quick and tasty FV recipes; shopping for economical FV; and promoting parental role modeling. Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.