Abstract

PRADA, Gloria Esperanza; DUBEIBE-BLANCO, Lucia Yalile; HERRAN, Oscar F.  and  HERRERA-ANAYA, Martha. Evaluation of the impact of a community intervention on the consumption of fruits and vegetables in Colombia. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2007, vol.49, n.1, pp.11-19. ISSN 0036-3634.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of an alimentary intervention on the frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) in the municipality of Girón, Santander, Colombia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A community intervention was carried out over a ten-month period, where 66 families who use fourteen community homes (HC) received an alimentary intervention based on educational strategies. Seventy-three families in twelve HC served as a control group. The frequency of FV consumption was evaluated by repeated measurements using a food frequency questionnaire. The evaluation was carried out on two levels: the family and the HC. The Bland-Alman method was used to determine the intra- and inter-group impact. A multiple linear regression model enabled the evaluation of the intervention's effect on consumption frequency, adjusted for economic and demographic variables. RESULTS: The frequency of consumption of fruits increased an average of 1.3 times per week (CI 0.3, 1.8, p= 0.040). This was achieved when the probability of having a blender was higher than 75% (R² for the regression 0.33; n= 26). The frequency of vegetable consumption did not increase. CONCLUSIONS: In poor populations an increase in the consumption of fruits can be achieved through educational strategies. However, the limited access to equipment for transforming and preserving alimentary products is decisive to the final result.

Keywords : impact evaluation; fruits; vegetables; randomized controlled trials; intervention studies; Colombia.

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