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Community listening to understand determinants of healthy eating in an Australian priority community
Kadariya, Shanti Parkinson, Joy Marsh, Julie Ball, Lauren
Kadariya, Shanti
Parkinson, Joy
Marsh, Julie
Ball, Lauren
Abstract
Unhealthy dietary behaviour is associated with several adverse health outcomes. However, individual dietary choices aren’t solely the function of personal habits and are influenced by various environmental factors. This study aimed to identify the social determinants of dietary behaviours in a priority Australian community. We utilized community listening to explore the priority community members’ narratives and experiences about the determinants influencing their dietary behaviour. Those determinants were then categorized under the lens of the Socio-ecological Model. The suburb of Inala; a low socioeconomic, multiethnic community in Southwest Brisbane, Queensland, Australia was selected to listen to the voices of community members, health professionals, social workers, teachers, and community service providers. Researchers listened to hundreds of stories from 168 community members throughout the project. Participants identified personal interest in healthy eating, knowledge of healthy food and preparation; and time constraints for healthy food preparation, which were subsequently categorized under individual-level (microsystem) determinants of dietary behaviour. Family support, parental influence, and commitments were identified as other determinants that were categorized under social-environment level (mesosystem) determinants. Availability of fresh fruits and vegetables and ubiquity of fast-food outlets were the other factors identified, which were listed under physical-environment (exo-system) determinants; and finally, cost of living, inculturation, and dissatisfaction with health practitioners were identified and categorized under policy-level (macrosystem) determinants. The complex relationship between personal, sociocultural, and environmental factors with dietary behaviour presented in this study highlights the need for multi-component and culturally tailored initiatives to enable healthy eating in priority communities.
Keywords
community listening, socio-ecological model, dietary behaviour, healthy eating
Date
2025
Type
Journal article
Journal
Health Promotion International
Book
Volume
40
Issue
2
Page Range
1-11
Article Number
Article daaf040
ACU Department
Faculty of Law and Business
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press.
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