Sweetened Beverage Tax Implementation and Change in Body Mass Index Among Children in Seattle.

Importance: Sweetened beverage taxes have been associated with reduced purchasing of taxed beverages. However, few studies have assessed the association between sweetened beverage taxes and health outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the association between the Seattle sweetened beverage tax and change in body mass index (BMI) among children.

Seattle's sweetened beverage tax implementation and changes in interior marketing displays.

Policymakers aim sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes at decreasing SSB consumption; however, little is known about their impact on beverage marketing in the retail environment. We assessed changes in interior marketing displays within large food stores before and after the implementation of Seattle's SSB tax. We used Poisson difference-in-difference (DID) models to estimate whether presence and variety of interior beverage marketing displays in Seattle changed from before to after the tax compared to displays in non-taxed comparison area stores, overall, and by beverage type.

Sweetened beverage taxes: Economic benefits and costs according to household income.

Taxing sweetened beverages has emerged as an important and effective policy for addressing their overconsumption. However, taxes may place a greater economic burden on people with lower incomes. We assess the degree to which sweetened beverage taxes in three large US cities placed an inequitable burden on populations with lower incomes by assessing spending on beverage taxes by income after taxes have been implemented, as well as any net transfer of funds towards lower income populations once allocation of tax revenue is considered.

A Qualitative Study of Living in a Healthy Food Priority Area in One Seattle, WA, Neighborhood.

Policy makers in several major cities have used quantitative data about local food environments to identify neighborhoods with inadequate access to healthy food. We conducted qualitative interviews with residents of a healthy food priority area to assess whether residents' perceptions of food access were consistent with previous quantitative findings, and to better understand lived experience of food access. We found that proximity to stores, transportation mode, and cost shaped decisions about food shopping.

Countermarketing About Fruit Drinks, Alone or With Water Promotion: A 2019 Randomized Controlled Trial in Latinx Parents.

To test whether fruit drink countermarketing messages alone or combined with water promotion messages reduce Latinx parents' purchases of fruit drinks for children aged 0 to 5 years. We performed a 3-arm randomized controlled online trial enrolling 1628 Latinx parents in the United States during October and November 2019. We assessed the effect of culturally tailored fruit drink countermarketing messages (fruit drink‒only group), countermarketing and water promotion messages combined (combination group), or car-seat safety messages (control) delivered via Facebook groups for 6 weeks on parental beverage choices from a simulated online store.

Qualitative Study on Participant Perceptions of a Supermarket Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program.

Background: Complete Eats Rx is a fruit and vegetable prescription program designed to incentivize fruit and vegetable consumption among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants via $10 incentives distributed either weekly or per encounter to purchase fruits and vegetables at a mid-price supermarket chain in Washington State.

Objective: To better understand SNAP participants' experience, and to determine perceived impacts and consequences of the program.

Design: Qualitative analysis of nine photovoice sessions.

Is the public sweet on sugary beverages? Social desirability bias and sweetened beverage taxes.

Social desirability bias has been documented in self-reported diet as well as in voting behavior, but not in regards to sweetened beverage consumption or sweetened beverage taxes. We find evidence that respondents in a mixed-mode opinion survey exhibit social desirability bias in both reported sweetened beverage consumption and beliefs about the health and economic benefits of sweetened beverage taxes. We do so in a study of 1704 adults residing in Seattle, Minneapolis, and the D.

Development and Validation of a Photo-Evidence Tool to Examine Characteristics of Effective Drinking Water Access in Schools.

Background: Federal law requires water access in schools where meals are served. Schools report high rates of water accessibility in cafeterias, but observations indicate lower adherence. Although observation is costly, it permits a more detailed assessment of a water source to determine whether it provides effective access that encourages water consumption and thus, healthy hydration for students.

Training High School Student "Citizen Scientists" to Document School Water Access: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Youth water consumption is inadequate. Increasing adolescent water consumption could support decreased dental caries and body mass index (BMI). Most schools are required to provide free, potable water.

Casino Ownership and Health-Related Community Resources Among Native American Tribes in California.

Introduction: Casinos are significantly associated with improved health among some Native Americans living on tribal lands. An increase in health-related community resources related to tribal ownership of casinos may be one mechanism through which the health of Native Americans is improved. However, no studies have quantitatively assessed whether casinos are associated with having more community resources.

An Assessment of Perceived Barriers to Farmers' Market Access.

Objective: To explore whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) stakeholders (individuals involved in work to increase access to farmers' markets [FMs] for low-income populations) perceive the same barriers to shopping at FMs as those reported by SNAP participants in Washington State.

Design: Descriptive study; data included a stratified clustered random sample of SNAP participants and stakeholder interviews.

Setting: Washington State.

An Evaluation of Washington State SNAP-Ed Farmers' Market Initiatives and SNAP Participant Behaviors.

Objective: To describe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed)-supported farmers' market (FM) access activities in Washington State communities and identify associations between participation in these activities and SNAP participants' FM shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Design: Descriptive study; data included stakeholder interviews and surveys with FM managers and a stratified clustered random sample of SNAP participants.

Setting: Washington State.

Creating Environments to Support Breastfeeding: The Challenges and Facilitators of Policy Development in Hospitals, Clinics, Early Care and Education, and Worksites.

Objectives Supportive organizational breastfeeding policies can establish enabling environments for breastfeeding. In this qualitative study we identify facilitators and barriers to the development, adoption, and implementation of supportive breastfeeding policies and practices in four influential sectors for breastfeeding women: hospitals, clinics, early care and education settings, and worksites. Methods We interviewed 125 individuals representing 110 organizations in Washington State about their breastfeeding policy development and implementation process between August 2014 and February 2015.

Process evaluation of a regional public health model to reduce chronic disease through policy and systems changes, Washington State, 2010-2014.

Introduction: Although the regionalization of public health systems has been well documented in the case of emergency preparedness, there is little literature on the application of regional approaches to other aspects of public health. From 2011 through 2014 the Washington State Department of Health implemented a Community Transformation Grant to support community-level policy and systems changes to decrease chronic disease risk factors and increase access to clinical preventive services. The Department of Health implemented the grant through a regional model, grouping 32 of the state's 35 local health jurisdictions into 5 regions.

Risk factors for infections in international travelers: an analysis of travel-related notifiable communicable diseases.

Background: We sought to describe travel-related illness among our residents and gain insight into targeting pre-travel health advice to prevent travel-related illness.

Methods: A supplemental travel questionnaire was developed and administered for cases with a legally notifiable communicable disease reported in 2011-2012, who spent at least part of their exposure period outside the United States.

Results: Among 451 cases meeting the eligibility criteria, 259 were interviewed.