Building a Healthier Food Environment for UWM Young-Adult Students

Bricco, Sammantha, Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, Mentor, Nikravan, Shabnam, Poster Presentation, Public Health, School and College, Sharkey, Maxwell, Student, Thome, Ashlyn

Ashlyn Thome, Sammantha Bricco, and Maxwell Sharkey, “Building a Healthier Food Environment for UWM Young-Adult Students”
Mentor: Shabnam Nikravan, Public Health
Poster #189

The unhealthy food environment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) campus is an issue for young adult (18–24-year-old) undergraduate students that compromises habits of a healthy diet and negatively impacts academic performance and overall quality of life. Research shows that failure to supply a healthy food environment leads to eating foods that lack nutritional value. Healthy food is defined as food that gives you all the nutrients you need to stay healthy, feel well, and have plenty of energy. Expanding healthy food options on the UWM campus is crucial to supporting student health and well-being. The research will use a modified version of Intervention Mapping to plan a hypothetical program that will address the food environment issue on the UWM campus. To develop the program, we will look at how food environments impact young adult undergraduate students. We will use evidence-based practices and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to develop an intervention plan. A logic model is developed to assess the inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impact of the program. The findings of this research will be synthesized to construct a hypothetical program addressing the lack of healthy food options on UWM’s campus. Achievement of this will be through the creation of a logic model, using evidence-based strategies and utilizing them with the SCT. This program would be expected to increase accessibility and knowledge of healthy food options at UWM. Modified Intervention Mapping and the Logic Model provides a clear visual from program planning to evaluation. This project will contribute to the discussion of food environments with a perspective from students. Future public health initiatives should consider diet trends and stakeholder funding for food environment planning. By enhancing the campus food environment, the promotion of healthy diets for students allows for better well-being now, and healthier behavior and outcomes in the future.