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Factors Influencing the Implementation of the Ohio Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: A Place-Based Multiple-Case Study

Pence, Erica
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu165825188504104

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Social Work.
The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a federal food and nutrition program administered by USDA and is intended to increase low-income older adults’ access to locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables (LGFFV) and support small-scale farmers (United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. USDA first piloted the program in 2001, and SFMNP has since expanded into most U.S. states, Washington D.C., multiple Indian Tribal Organizations (ITO), and Puerto Rico. In Ohio, SFMNP is administered in 81 of the state’s 88 counties. Despite widespread administration, relatively little is known about the implementation of SFMNP, including in Ohio. This dissertation study was undertaken to increase the knowledge of the program’s implementation throughout Ohio. The overall goal of the dissertation is to begin to understand the implementation of the Ohio Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) from multiple perspectives, including the perspectives of administrators (i.e., Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), AAA-contracted agencies), farmers, and older adults. This goal was accomplished by answering the question, “What influences the implementation of the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) throughout Ohio?” To answer this question, three aims were pursued: Aim 1) Identify the barriers and facilitators influencing implementation of the Ohio SFMNP from the perspectives of 1) AAAs or AAA-contracted agencies, and 2) farmers; Aim 2) Assess older adult participant outcomes of the SFMNP including facilitators and barriers to participation, program benefits gained, and access to and consumption of LGFFV; and Aim 3) Identify indicators of successful implementation of the SFMNP from the perspectives of 1) program administrators (AAAs or contracted agencies), 2) farmers, and 3) older adults. The study was guided by implementation science (IS), and I adapted Bullock et al.’s (2021) implementation science determinants framework to develop a conceptual framework specifically to explore SFMNP implementation. I used a qualitative place-based multiple-case study design to accomplish the three research aims. In this study, 12 individual cases make up the multiple-case design. Each case is one of the 12 Planning and Service Areas (PSA) in Ohio. Each case includes data from the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) or AAA-contracted agency that is responsible for serving the PSA and two farmers who are SFMNP vendors within the PSA. Three of the 12 cases were purposively selected to also include data from older adults who participate in the SFMNP. Using thematic analysis, I conceptualized multiple cross-case and individual-case themes that identified SFMNP implementation barriers and facilitators from the perspectives of AAAs/AAA-contracted agencies and farmers, which included insufficient administrative funding, transportation, support from the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA), and lack of understanding seasonality (Aim 1). I also conceptualized multiple cross-case and individual-case themes that identified older adult participant outcomes from the perspectives of older adults, including transportation and mobility issues, helpfulness of farmers, and food preservation (Aim2). I then analyzed the themes from Aim 1 and Aim 2 to identify 18 indicators of successful SFMNP implementation (Aim 3) that can be used in future research and practice to study the success of SFMNP implementation. The dissertation concludes with an analysis of my findings and considerations of the study limitations. I also present future research ideas and consider implications for policy and practice.
Michelle Kaiser (Committee Chair)
Katie Vinopal (Committee Member)
Holly Dabelko-Schoeny (Committee Member)
350 p.
Social Work
Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program; SFMNP; Ohio; implementation science; policy implementation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pence, E. (2022). Factors Influencing the Implementation of the Ohio Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: A Place-Based Multiple-Case Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu165825188504104

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pence, Erica. Factors Influencing the Implementation of the Ohio Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: A Place-Based Multiple-Case Study. 2022. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu165825188504104.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pence, Erica. "Factors Influencing the Implementation of the Ohio Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: A Place-Based Multiple-Case Study." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu165825188504104

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu165825188504104
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.