The Philadelphia's Healthy Corner Store Initiative

The Philadelphia’s Healthy Corner Store initiative was started in response to the obesity crisis. This initiative was designed to highlight bad food choices, and to make healthier choices with nutritious food by partnering with grocery/corner stores. Over 600 corner stores committed to promoting/selling healthy products, i.e. fruits/vegetables. This initiative targeted minority neighborhoods suffering from highest poverty rates which is directly linked to higher obesity rates, health issues (type 2 diabetes), and lowest access to healthy foods.
This initiative provided support to these Corner Stores to supply/market/make accessible healthy foods in the high need neighborhoods. Furthermore, this initiative provided for the opening of more farmers
The Socioecological Model (SEM) considers the relationship between behavior and the environment (Glanz & Rimer, 1997). SEM accounts for many factors that influence the health behavior change process by utilizing a five level model as follows, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Institutional, Community, and Public factor. Following the SEM approach with the Corner Store initiative an educator could implement a program with store owners using the five levels of influence in this manner: Intrapersonal: educate/encourage store owners about the healthy food choices to combat obesity, Interpersonal: encourage store owners awareness/connect to peers, Institutional: store owners provide more healthy food options, Community: store owners/local leaders use social media emphasizing the healthy food choices that combat obesity, Public: local legislators working with store owners, providing incentives/funds supporting healthy food
Philly Play used HBM to develop interventions to combat obesity and prevent diabetes. HBM addresses the readiness to act upon a health behavior based upon individual beliefs (Glanz & Rimer, 1997). The beliefs include a perceived susceptibility to a disease, perceived severity of a disease, perceived benefits reducing the risk of disease, perceived barriers to behavior change, cues to action, what makes an individual change, and self-efficacy, an individual’s confidence to make behavior change. Most Philadelphians are aware that obesity often leads to diabetes. HBM develops behavior change interventions to address obesity to avoid diabetes. The HBM approach starts with perceived susceptibility by educating on obesity/diabetes, perceived severity discusses effects of diabetes management and complications to quality of life, perceived benefits educates individuals about healthy lifestyles/diet/exercise to reduce risk of diabetes, perceived barriers educates individuals to discuss potential barriers to lack of healthy foods, exercise, and support facilities. Education is the key factor to bring about the desired health behavior with the HBM