Ashley Hickson

Introduction: Mass incarceration has mental health consequences on those directly affected; some studies have also shown spillover effects on the physical health of the surrounding population. There is a dearth of research on the spillover mental health consequences of mass incarceration. This study aimed to quantify a consequence of mass incarceration which may adversely affect the population’s health and widen health disparities. Methods: Using data from the Vera Institute’s Incarceration Trends 2.2 and the Robert Wood Johnson County Health Rankings, the association between county-level (n = 2823) counts of jail incarceration and reported number of poor mental health days within the past 30 days in the United States in 2018 was examined. To conduct the analysis, a negative binomial regression model was fit, adjusting for State and key demographic covariates. Results: A change in jail incarceration rate from the first to the second and third tertiles was associated with 10.14% and 14.52% increases, respectively. For every 1% increase in the rate of mass incarceration, there was a statistically significant 15% increase in the average number of reported poor mental health days over the past 30 days. Discussion: Mass incarceration is a threat to mental health as well as the well-being of the surrounding population. This can be attributed to the spillover effects that extend beyond those who are directly affected by mass incarceration. Interventions to reduce jail incarceration as well as address the mental health needs of those living in high-incarceration rate areas should be prioritized in order to reduce health inequities and augment health outcomes for all residents of the United States.

In the United States, low-income, underserved rural and urban settings experience poor access to healthy, affordable food. Introducing new food outlets in these locations has shown mixed results for improving healthy food consumption. The Healthy Community Stores Case Study Project (HCSCSP) explored an alternative strategy: supporting mission-driven, locally owned, healthy community food stores to improve healthy food access. The HCSCSP used a multiple case study approach, and conducted a cross-case analysis of seven urban healthy food stores across the United States. The main purpose of this commentary paper is to summarize the main practice strategies for stores as well as future directions for researchers and policy-makers based on results from the prior cross-case analyses. We organize these strategies using key concepts from the Retail Food Environment and Customer Interaction Model. Several key strategies for store success are presented including the use of non-traditional business models, focus on specific retail actors such as store champions and multiple vendor relationships, and a stores’ role in the broader community context, as well as the striking challenges faced across store locations. Further exploration of these store strategies and how they are implemented is needed, and may inform policies that can support these types of healthy retail sites and sustain their efforts in improving healthy food access in their communities.

Community engagement is well established as a key to improving public health. Prior food environment research has largely studied community engagement as an intervention component, leaving much unknown about how food retailers may already engage in this work. The purpose of this study was to explore the community engagement activities employed by neighborhood food retailers located in lower-income communities with explicit health missions to understand the ways stores involve and work with their communities. A multiple case study methodology was utilized among seven retailers in urban U.S. settings, which collected multiple sources of data at each retailer, including in-depth interviews, store manager sales reports, store observations using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores, public documents, and websites. Across-case analysis was performed following Stake’s multiple case study approach. Results indicated that retailers employed a wide variety of forms of community engagement within their communities, including Outreach, Building Relationships through Customer Relations, Giving Back, Partnering with Community Coalitions, and Promoting Community Representation and Inclusiveness. Strategies that built relationships through customer relations were most common across stores; whereas few stores demonstrated community inclusiveness where members participated in store decision making. Findings provide a more comprehensive view of the ways local food retailers aim to develop and sustain authentic community relationships. Additional research is needed to evaluate the impact of community engagement activities on improving community health.