Abstract
BackgroundThere is a desperate need to address diet-related chronic diseases in Mexican-origin women, particularly for those in border region colonias (Mexican settlements) and other new destination communities in rural and non-rural areas of the U.S. Understanding the food choices of mothers, who lead food and health activities in their families, provides one way to improve health outcomes in Mexican-origin women and their children. This study used a visual method, participant-driven photo-elicitation, and grounded theory in a contextual study of food choices from the perspectives of Mexican-origin mothers.MethodsTeams of trained promotoras (female community health workers from the area) collected all data in Spanish. Ten Mexican-origin mothers living in colonias in Hidalgo County, TX completed a creative photography assignment and an in-depth interview using their photographs as visual prompts and examples. English transcripts were coded inductively by hand, and initial observations emphasized the salience of mothers' food practices in their routine care-giving. This was explored further by coding transcripts in the qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti.ResultsAn inductive conceptual framework was created to provide context for understanding mothers' daily practices and their food practices in particular. Three themes emerged from the data: 1) a mother's primary orientation was toward her children; 2) leveraging resources to provide the best for her children; and 3) a mother's daily food practices kept her children happy, healthy, and well-fed. Results offer insight into the intricate meanings embedded in Mexican-origin mothers' routine food choices.ConclusionsThis paper provides a new perspective for understanding food choice through the eyes of mothers living in the colonias of South Texas -- one that emphasizes the importance of children in their routine food practices and the resilience of the mothers themselves. Additional research is needed to better understand mothers' perspectives and food practices with larger samples of women and among other socioeconomic groups.
Highlights
There is a desperate need to address diet-related chronic diseases in Mexican-origin women, for those in border region colonias (Mexican settlements) and other new destination communities in rural and non-rural areas of the U.S Understanding the food choices of mothers, who lead food and health activities in their families, provides one way to improve health outcomes in Mexican-origin women and their children
Mothers generated more than 200 photographs in the photography activity
The photography assignment intended to capture mothers’ food experiences, all but two of the mothers took photographs of their children and selected photographs of their children to discuss with the promotoras
Summary
This study used a visual method, participant-driven photo-elicitation, and grounded theory in a contextual study of food choices from the perspectives of Mexican-origin mothers. Mexican-origin women in South Texas colonias (neighborhoods) have some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the U.S [1], while maintaining lead roles in their families regarding food and health [2,3,4,5,6,7]. Existing quantitative studies have provided limited insight into understanding dietary patterns and general food choice for Mexican-origin women/mothers living decisions and activities which are critical to improving their own and their children’s health. We believe this study is the first of its kind to use a data-driven approach, like grounded theory, combined with participant-driven photo-elicitation (PDPE) to understand how Mexican-origin mothers approach every day food choices in their families
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