Abstract
Background
American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals experience disproportionate levels
of chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity that
are influenced by dietary patterns and food choices. Understanding factors that influence
healthy food choices among tribal college students can enrich education and programs
that target dietary intake.
Objective
To build an understanding of factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal
college students at increased risk for college attrition.
Design
A nonexperimental cohort design was used for qualitative descriptive analysis.
Participants/setting
Participants (N=20) were purposively sampled, newly enrolled, academically underprepared
tribal college students enrolled in a culturally relevant life skills course at an
upper Midwest tribal college between September 2013 and May 2015. Participant demographic
characteristics included various tribal affiliations, ages, and number of dependents.
Main outcome measures
Participant responses to qualitative research questions about dietary intake, food
choices, self-efficacy for healthy food choices, psychosocial determinants, and barriers
to healthy food choices during telephone interviews were used as measures.
Analysis
Qualitative analysis included prestudy identification of researcher bias/assumptions,
audiorecording and transcription, initial analysis (coding), secondary analysis (sorting
and identifying meaning), and verification (comparative pattern analysis).
Results
Qualitative analysis revealed a variety of themes and subthemes about healthy food
choices. Main themes related to barriers included taste, food gathering and preparation,
and difficulty clarifying healthy food choices. Main themes related to strategies
included taste, cultural traditions and practices, and personal motivation factors.
Conclusions
Qualitative analysis identified barrier and strategy themes that may assist nutrition
and dietetics practitioners working with tribal/indigenous communities, tribal college
educators and health specialists, and tribal community health workers who target health
and dietary intake of American Indian and Alaskan Native students.
Keywords
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Biography
J. F. Keith is an assistant professor, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie.
Biography
S. Stastny is an associate professor, Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo.
Biography
A. Brunt is a professor, Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo.
Biography
W. Agnew is a faculty and extension nutrition educator, Land Grant Department, United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, ND.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 20, 2017
Accepted:
August 2,
2017
Received:
September 14,
2016
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT Funding support for the Life Skills at a Tribal College project was provided by US Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture grant funding for Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program.
Identification
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© 2018 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
