Journal article
Meal provision in early childhood education and care programs: Association with geographic disadvantage, social disadvantage, cost, and market competition in an Australian population
Social Science & Medicine, Vol.312, pp.1-10
2022
PMID: 36137366
Abstract
Background
Across developed economies, most children attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs attending up to 10,000 h prior to school. These programs present significant opportunity for public health nutrition interventions through provision of healthy food. We sought to identify whether this opportunity is being taken through analysis of population data from Queensland, Australia. Specifically, we asked if meal provision occurs in locations where risk of food insecurity is high and how economic functioning of ECEC services is associated with meal provision.
Methods
Of ECEC services in Queensland, (N = 1623) administrative data on meal provision (2020) was available for 947 ECEC services (58.4% of cohort). We assessed the association of meal provision in these services with area indices of social disadvantage (geographic location, social disadvantage, proportion of child developmental vulnerability) and ECEC service economic functioning (fee structure, market competition).
Findings
ECEC services in remote and rural communities were less likely to provide meals. A similar but weaker trend was evident in socio-economically disadvantaged metropolitan communities. In these locations market competition increased likelihood of meal provision but without fee increase.
Interpretation
The competitive market works contrary to the potential for ECEC services to support child nutrition and promote public health. Children living in disadvantaged communities, where food insecurity is inevitably higher, are less likely to have meals provided by their ECEC service. Market competition increases the likelihood of meal provision, yet in disadvantaged communities, parents’ ability to pay constrains fees that can be charged raising concern about food quality and effects on quality of provision more broadly. Systemic public supports to enable high quality food provision without compromising other aspects of quality, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities, should be a public health priority.
Details
- Title
- Meal provision in early childhood education and care programs: Association with geographic disadvantage, social disadvantage, cost, and market competition in an Australian population
- Authors
- Karen Thorpe (Corresponding Author) - University of QueenslandAzhar Hussain Potia (Author) - ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseBonnie Searle - ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseOlivia Van Halen - University of QueenslandNicole Lakeman - University of QueenslandCandice Oakes - University of QueenslandHolly Harris - ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseSally Staton - ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course
- Publication details
- Social Science & Medicine, Vol.312, pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115317
- ISSN
- 1873-5347
- PMID
- 36137366
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991149439802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- Social Sciences, Biomedical
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