Instruments for assessing organisational food environments of workplaces: a scoping review

To map out evidence on instruments for evaluating organisational food environments of workplaces and the components and dimensions considered in the identified instruments.

A scoping review that includes studies published as of January 2005, the year of publication of the model developed by Glanz et al. (2005). The databases consulted were PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus and Google Scholar until November 2024, without language restrictions. Studies were included if they evaluated the food environment of workplaces such as companies/factories, universities/post-secondary institutions/technical colleges and hospitals/health care units. The conceptual model of Castro and Canella (2022), considering its components and dimensions, was used to synthesise the data.

After a full reading, fifty-four articles were selected. Most were conducted in the United States and Brazil, although there were studies from sixteen countries. A total of thirty-six instruments were identified: nineteen were used in universities, eight in hospitals, and eleven in companies. No instrument included all components and dimensions of the conceptual model; however, three instruments included most of them. The most evaluated component was the internal level of eating spaces, and the most evaluated dimensions were the availability and quality of foods/beverages in eating spaces. Of the thirty-six instruments, twenty-nine reported some measure of validity or reproducibility. The limitation most reported by the studies was the non-generaliation of results because samples are limited.

Evaluations of the organisational food environment of workplaces can be used for monitoring, planning interventions and formulating public policies for such places, thereby enhancing workers' health.