Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary

Enhancing the Use of the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) Tool in Early Care and Education Settings

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The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) is a tool designed to evaluate practices, environmental attributes, and policies of early care and education (ECE) settings that influence children’s nutrition and physical activity. The purpose of this project is to provide easy-to-use and readily available resources to facilitate the EPAO tool’s use by researchers and More

Understanding the Feasibility of Implementing the Recommendations for Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies for Small Retail Food Stores

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The purposes of this project are to: 1) understand the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies of Healthful Foods for Small Retail Food Stores recommendations developed in 2015 among stores most likely to face challenges (rural and urban, dollar and family-owned stores), and 2) obtain a baseline More

Evaluating Healthy Fast-Food Kids’ Meal Defaults

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This project will determine whether restaurants have implemented healthier kids’ meal default policies and whether healthy defaults successfully reduce calories and improve the overall nutritional quality of fast-food meals consumed by children. The team will conduct two studies to update research conducted in 2010 and 2013 and measure change over time. In the first study, More

Examining State Policy Approaches to Promoting Implementation of Out-of-School Time Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards

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The purpose of this project is to examine the use of state policy approaches to promote the implementation of the National AfterSchool Association Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (NAA HEPA) standards. The research team will build a conceptual framework, elicit expert opinion on state policy approaches, analyze real-world experiences using case studies in two states, More

Examining Equity in Complete Streets Policies

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Complete streets policies have existed since the early 1970s. These policies typically require that all road construction and reconstruction create streets that are safe and convenient for all users and all modes of transportation. The purpose of this project is to examine the equity and active living-oriented components of complete streets policies. Specifically, the project will More

Assessing Nutrition Quality in CACFP Participating Child-Care Centers Prior to Implementation of Revised Meal Patterns

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In January 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a proposed rule detailing potential changes to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) regulations, which are expected to improve the nutritional quality of foods served in CACFP-participating child-care centers. This study will collect baseline data for Connecticut CACFP-participating child-care centers to document More