Aspectos metodológicos e desafios da Coorte On-line Comportamento Alimentar e Saúde Mental (COCASa) de docentes e discentes universitários durante a pandemia da COVID-19

O distanciamento social adotado para controle da COVID-19 obrigou Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) a aderirem a novas estratégias para realização das atividades acadêmicas e muitas pesquisas passaram a ser realizadas em ambientes virtuais. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever os aspectos metodológicos e principais desafios enfrentados para a execução do projeto COCASa, um estudo de coorte on-line sobre comportamento alimentar e saúde mental de docentes e discentes de IES do Brasil. O estudo foi iniciado em julho de 2020 e acompanhará os participantes por dois anos. Adotou-se amostragem não probabilística estratificada proporcional com a utilização de escalas, de inquérito alimentar e de questões estruturadas elaboradas pela equipe do projeto. Entre os participantes do baseline, 4.074 discentes e 2.210 docentes iniciaram o questionário e, respectivamente, 76,8% e 85,1% finalizaram o preenchimento. Em ambos os grupos, a maior participação foi de mulheres (docentes: 66,7% e discentes: 76,2%) e residentes nas regiões Nordeste (docentes: 37% e discentes: 50,9%) e Sul (docentes: 27,1% e discentes: 22,5%) do Brasil. A pesquisa on-line amplia a possibilidade de recrutamento de participantes e alcança limites territoriais com menor demanda por financiamento. Durante a pandemia da COVID-19, o uso do ambiente virtual tornou-se uma estratégia viável e acessível para a manutenção das atividades de pesquisa, configurando-se como uma provável tendência a ser adotada pela comunidade científica

Food Insecurity among Low-Income Food Handlers: A Nationwide Study in Brazilian Community Restaurants

This study aims to evaluate food insecurity (FI) among Brazilian Community restaurant food handlers and its associated factors. This cross-sectional study was performed with a representative sample of 471 food handlers working in community restaurants (CR) from all Brazilian regions. Participants are mostly female (62.2%), ≤40 years old (67.7%), with a partner (52.0%), and with up to eight years of education (54.1%). Predictors of participants’ socioeconomic status and CR geographic location are associated with the household food insecurity categories (p < 0.05). The predictors of socioeconomic conditions are associated with mild and moderate/severe FI category. Workers with less education are twice as likely to belong to the category with the highest FI severity. Lower per capita household income increased the chances of belonging to the mild insecurity category by 86%. It more than doubled the chance to be in the category of moderate/severe insecurity. Predictors of health status, lifestyle, and work are not associated with any multinomial outcome categories. However, working in the South, Southeast, or Midwest regions of Brazilian decreased the chances of belonging to one of the FI categories, with significance only for the mild category. Variables that show an association for this population are per capita household income for the different levels of FI and the CR region for mild FI. A high prevalence of FI in this population points to the need for more studies with low-income workers to prevent FI and its health consequences

Occupational risk assessment in school food services : instruments’ construction and internal validation

Occupational risk assessment in school food services (SFS) should include factors related to occupational hygiene, physical–functional planning, worker health, and good meal production practices. This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess occupational risk in school food services and perform content validation and semantic evaluation. The research included three steps: (i) instrument’s development; (ii) content validation (Delphi); and (iii) semantic evaluation (focus group). After an extensive literature review, four instruments were developed. The Delphi was validated by the Content Validity Coefficient (CVC), with an agreement greater than 90%. The semantic analysis was performed through four meetings using a focus group. After the content and semantic evaluation, there were four final instruments: Identification of Socioeconomic and Demographic Conditions of Food Handlers and Geographical Mapping of SFS (30 items); Knowledge and Attitudes in Food Hygiene Assessment (33 items); Perception of Occupational Risks (16 items); and Mapping of Occupational Risks in SFS (97 items). Instrument’s content validation and semantic evaluation contributed to constructing and validating forms for analyzing occupational risks and adjusting respondents’ language and sociocultural components

Occupational Risk Assessment in School Food Services: Instruments’ Construction and Internal Validation

Occupational risk assessment in school food services (SFS) should include factors related to occupational hygiene, physical–functional planning, worker health, and good meal production practices. This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess occupational risk in school food services and perform content validation and semantic evaluation. The research included three steps: (i) instrument’s development; (ii) content validation (Delphi); and (iii) semantic evaluation (focus group). After an extensive literature review, four instruments were developed. The Delphi was validated by the Content Validity Coefficient (CVC), with an agreement greater than 90%. The semantic analysis was performed through four meetings using a focus group. After the content and semantic evaluation, there were four final instruments: Identification of Socioeconomic and Demographic Conditions of Food Handlers and Geographical Mapping of SFS (30 items); Knowledge and Attitudes in Food Hygiene Assessment (33 items); Perception of Occupational Risks (16 items); and Mapping of Occupational Risks in SFS (97 items). Instrument’s content validation and semantic evaluation contributed to constructing and validating forms for analyzing occupational risks and adjusting respondents’ language and sociocultural components

Brazilian Food Handlers' Years of Work in the Foodservice and Excess Weight: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to evaluate the association between the years of work of food handlers in the foodservice and excess weight among Brazilian low-income food handlers. A total of 559 food handlers from all Brazilian regions were characterized using a questionnaire. Weight and height were measured to estimate the Body Mass Index and classify the individuals. The association between food handlers’ years of work in the foodservice, anthropometric status, and other variables (gender, age group, educational level, participation in a government program and per capita income at home and energetic consumption) were performed using Pearson’s chi-square test (p < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed (p < 0.05) as well as sensitivity tests using the outcome continuously and transformed, excluding underweight individuals, in a multivariate linear regression model. Most of the sample was female (63.1%), aged between 21 and 40 years old (63.5%), and 53.3% had studied up to complete elementary school. Almost 41% of the food handlers had less than half the minimum wage per capita income. Of the evaluated individuals, 59.9% presented excess weight. There was an association with family per capita income (Odds Ratio - OR: 1.73; Confidence interval - CI95%: 1.09–2.75); handlers whose per capita income was ≤0.5 minimum wage had a 73% higher chance of obesity than those with higher income. Working in foodservive ≥3 years increased the chance of being overweight by 96% compared to those who work for <3 years (OR: 1.96; CI95%: 1.11–3.49). No significant association was found between the years of work of food handlers in the foodservice and obesity. Since work-related factors may contribute to the high prevalence of excess weight, including working in a food handling environment, the government and employers should consider workplace interventions. These would guide the food handlers in avoiding high rates of excess weight and their consequences on public health. Excess weight is an important driver of costs in the workplace associatedwith absenteeism, job change, and diseases. More studies are necessary to clarify the relationship between the factors related to work and the anthropometric status of food handlers since excess weight is multifactorial