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Portland, Maine

Michele Polascek article published in Health Promotion Practice

Michele Polacsek is a co-author of a new article published in 'The BMJ'
Michele Polacsek Ph.D., M.H.S., professor of public health and director of the UNE Center for Excellence in Public Health.

Michele Polacsek Ph.D., M.H.S., professor of public health and director of the UNE Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH), is the senior author of an Implementation Science article recently published in Health Promotion Practice entitled “Implementation of a 2-for-1 Price Incentive for Fruits and Vegetables in a Grocery Retail Setting.”

The study evaluated the implementation of a successful 2-for-1 price incentive for fruits and vegetables, including frozen and canned, that took place in partnership with a large chain grocery retailer in Maine. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) pilot study was conducted in between 2015 and 2016, followed by a larger RCT in 2016 and 2017, to assess whether a supermarket double-dollar fruit and vegetable (F&V) incentive increased purchases of these items.

A convergent, parallel mixed-methods design was used to examine barriers and facilitators to implementing the interventions, using six implementation outcomes: acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, implementation fidelity, and perceived cost.

The intervention was deemed highly acceptable, appropriate, and feasible by shoppers, retailers, and researchers, the researchers found, and the F&V discount had a high rate of initial adoption. There was a moderate degree of fidelity, which improved over time based on lessons learned from the pilot and applied to the subsequent RCT.

The research team said there is growing interest in expanding health promotion in the retail setting.

Specific costs associated with implementation from the research perspective are reported, with several implications for practice, policy, and research.

Partnerships between academic researchers and retailers can be an effective model for improving healthful purchases among shoppers, the researchers reported. These findings are relevant for investigators, public health advocates, and retailers interested in implementing similar grocery retail-based interventions, researchers said.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest private university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.