Charity stakeholder perspectives on the healthy eating behaviours of low-income families during the Cost-of-Living Crisis in England

Objective: To explore stakeholder perspectives of the barriers and facilitators that low-income families are facing regarding their child’s eating behaviours during the United Kingdom’s Cost-of-Living Crisis. Design: Qualitative study of five interview dyads and 12 individual interviews. Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used via reflexive thematic analysis to explore the barriers and facilitators that low-income families were facing regarding their children’s eating behaviours during the UK’s Cost-of-Living Crisis. Setting: Conducted online, with one in-person interview.Participants: 22 participants were recruited. Stakeholders were recruited within charities (n=12), and community centers (n=1) in London, England, comprising of both volunteers (n=5) and employees (n=17). Results: Perceived barriers to children’s healthy eating in low-income families were i) environmental context and resources (100% of participants), ii) beliefs about capabilities (100% of participants), iii) knowledge (77% of participants), iv) social and professional role and identities (68% of participants), and v) beliefs about consequences (55% of participants). Perceived facilitators of how charities can further support families were i) environmental context and resources (100% of participants), ii) knowledge (82% of participants), iii) motivation and goals (73% of participants); iv) social professional role and identity (68% of participants), and v) social influences (50% of participants). Conclusion: Using the TDF gained a deeper understanding of how the Cost-of-Living Crisis has impacted eating behaviours of children in low-income families and how they can be supported. These findings provide valuable insight towards a behavioural diagnosis needed for intervention development to further support eating behaviours of low-income families during the Cost-of-Living Crisis. Key Words: Cost-of-Living Crisis, child healthy eating, food insecurity, behaviour change interventions, charity stakeholders