Increasing the Potential Effectiveness of Universal School Meals through Community- Engaged Implementation Mapping: A...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Implementation Science
• Health Equity

Background:

• Universal School Meals (USM) are crucial for addressing student hunger in marginalized communities, yet uptake remains low due to various barriers.
• Community- and school-led strategies are underutilized for improving USM implementation and addressing food insecurity sustainably.
• Existing barriers exist within both the internal and external school environments affecting student participation in meal programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engage diverse school and district representatives in a structured implementation mapping process using implementation science and health equity frameworks.
• To understand the constraints and supports influencing implementation mapping from the perspectives of policy implementers and recipients.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 4 schools (2 intervention, 2 waitlist) for a 4-5 meeting planning process involving school food service, students, parents, teachers, and administrators.
• Conducted needs assessments, identified target objectives, selected enhancement strategies, and developed implementation plans.
• Coded meeting transcripts using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation and Sustainment (EPIS) and Getting to Equity (GTE) frameworks.

Main Results:

• Engaged 19 participants across 2 intervention schools, with data primarily coded to 'Culture' (EPIS) and 'Increase Healthy Options' (GTE).
• Analysis revealed that school/district operations and social drivers of health impact equitable USM implementation.
• Identified four key themes: Infrastructure/Material Barriers, Communication, Stigma & Social Drivers, and Autonomy & Decision Making.

Conclusions:

• Engaging school and district partners is essential for creating lasting health improvements in underrepresented communities.
• Successfully facilitated implementation mapping and strategy development through community-partnered research.
• Demonstrated a model for leveraging community partnerships to drive systemic change in school meal programs.