Validity of a Market Basket Assessment Tool for Use in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education Healthy Retail Initiatives

Objective: To assess the validity of the Market Basket Analysis Tool (MBAT) for food environment quality within various retail environments compared to the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S). Methods: In-store assessments using the MBAT and the NEMS-S on the same day in a given store were con-ducted in grocery stores, corner stores, pharmacies, and dollar stores in a metropolis, and urban and rural coun-ties across 4 states: Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and ANOVAs were used to assess store location, store type differences, and MBAT and NEMS-S scores. Results: Market Basket Analysis Tool and NEMS-S data were collected from 114 stores. Market Basket Analysis Tool and NEMS-S total and all individual component scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.84, P <= 0.0001; r range, 0.51-0.88; P <= 0.0001). Conclusions and Implications: The MBAT offers a methodology to measure the food retail environ-ment focusing on the availability of healthful food items with a reduced training time and streamlined data collection compared with the NEMS-S. Future work can assess the completion time of the MBAT com-pared with the NEMS-S and the ability of the MBAT to detect changes in food environment quality post healthy food retail interventions.

Automated summary

This study assessed the validity of the Market Basket Analysis Tool (MBAT) for measuring food environment quality in various retail settings compared to the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S). The results showed significant correlations between MBAT and NEMS-S scores. The study suggests that MBAT offers a more streamlined data collection process and shorter training time compared to NEMS-S.