Last data update: Jun 03, 2024. (Total: 46935 publications since 2009)
Records 1-4 (of 4 Records) |
Query Trace: Gase LN [original query] |
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Integrating sodium reduction strategies in the procurement process and contracting of food venues in the County of Los Angeles government, 2010-2012
Cummings PL , Kuo T , Gase LN , Mugavero K . J Public Health Manag Pract 2014 20 S16-22 Since sodium is ubiquitous in the food supply, recent approaches to sodium reduction have focused on increasing the availability of lower-sodium products through system-level and environmental changes. This article reviews integrated efforts by the Los Angeles County Sodium Reduction Initiative to implement these strategies at food venues in the County of Los Angeles government. The review used mixed methods, including a scan of the literature, key informant interviews, and lessons learned during 2010-2012 to assess program progress. Leveraging technical expertise and shared resources, the initiative strategically incorporated sodium reduction strategies into the overall work plan of a multipartnership food procurement program in Los Angeles County. To date, 3 County departments have incorporated new or updated nutrition requirements that included sodium limits and other strategies. The strategic coupling of sodium reduction to food procurement and general health promotion allowed for simultaneous advancement and acceleration of the County's sodium reduction agenda. |
Evaluative thinking: a tool to inform policy development and policy impact evaluations
Dunet DO , Gase LN , Oliver ML , Schooley MW . Am J Health Promot 2012 26 (4) 201-3 Policy is generally understood to be a set of guidelines or acourse of action that may be shaped as a law, regulation, rule,procedure, or practice.1Whether public or organizational,policy aims to effect and focus change. In health promotionand health protection, policy can be an efficient strategy foradvancing health initiatives, influencing whole systems, andshifting cultural norms.2,3Evaluative thinking offers a way to consider problemsand potential policy solutions through the lens of logicalreasoning, explicit criteria, and data. Such thinkingexamines how problems are defined and what assumptionsare being made about the underlying causes of a problem.Although many tools and frameworks exist for planningand evaluating health-related programs, fewer resourcesare available for developing and evaluating policies forhealth promotion and disease prevention. Fortunately, themind-set of evaluative thinking that guides programplanning and evaluation methods can be used tostrengthen a policy development process, shape policyoptions, and set the stage for successful policy im-plementation and impact evaluation. When evaluationfindings demonstrate a policy’s effectiveness in advancinghealth goals, this information can become a powerfulmechanism for encouraging the adoption of the policy in other contexts, thus broadening the reach of health-promoting policies. |
Estimating the potential health impact and costs of implementing a local policy for food procurement to reduce the consumption of sodium in the County of Los Angeles
Gase LN , Kuo T , Dunet D , Schmidt SM , Simon PA , Fielding JE . Am J Public Health 2011 101 (8) 1501-7 OBJECTIVES: We examined approaches to reduce sodium content of food served in settings operated or funded by the government of the County of Los Angeles, California. METHODS: We adapted health impact assessment methods to mathematically simulate various levels of reduction in the sodium content of food served by the County of Los Angeles and to estimate the reductions' potential impacts on mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) among food-service customers. We used data provided by county government food-service vendors to generate these simulations. RESULTS: Our analysis predicted that if the postulated sodium-reduction strategies were implemented, adults would consume, on average, 233 fewer milligrams of sodium each day. This would correspond to an average decrease of 0.71 millimeters of mercury in SBP among adult hypertensives, 388 fewer cases of uncontrolled hypertension in the study population, and an annual decrease of $629,724 in direct health care costs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a food-procurement policy can contribute to positive health and economic effects at the local level. Our approach may serve as an example of sodium-reduction analysis for other jurisdictions to follow. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print June 16, 2011: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300138). |
Facilitators and barriers to implementing a local policy to reduce sodium consumption in the County of Los Angeles government, California, 2009
Gase LN , Kuo T , Dunet DO , Simon PA . Prev Chronic Dis 2011 8 (2) A33 INTRODUCTION: This qualitative study explores facilitators and barriers to a proposed food procurement policy that would require food purchasers, distributors, and vendors of food service in the County of Los Angeles government to meet specified nutrition standards, including limits on sodium content. METHODS: We conducted 30 key informant interviews. Interviewees represented 18 organizations from the County of Los Angeles government departments that purchased, distributed, or sold food; public and private non-County entities that had previously implemented food procurement policies in their organizations; and large organizations that catered food to the County. RESULTS: Study participants reported 3 key facilitators: their organization's authority to impose nutrition standards, their organization's desire to provide nutritious food, and the opportunity to build on existing nutrition policies. Eight key barriers were identified: 1) unique features among food service settings, 2) costs and unavailability of low-sodium foods, 3) complexity of food service arrangements, 4) lack of consumer demand for low-sodium foods, 5) undesirable taste of low-sodium foods, 6) preference for prepackaged products, 7) lack of knowledge and experience in operationalizing sodium standards, and 8) existing multiyear contracts that are difficult to change. Despite perceived barriers, several participants indicated that their organizations have successfully implemented nutritional standards that include limits on sodium. CONCLUSION: Developing or changing policies for procuring food represents a potentially feasible strategy for reducing sodium consumption in food service venues controlled by the County of Los Angeles. The facilitators and barriers identified here can inform the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of sodium reduction policies in other jurisdictions. |
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