title: Online canteens: awareness, use, barriers to use, and the acceptability of potential online strategies to improve public health nutrition in primary schools.
abstract: Issue addressed This study of primary school principals assessed the awareness, use, barriers to use and acceptability of online canteens. Methods A telephone survey of 123 primary school principals within the Hunter New England Region of New South Wales, Australia was conducted from September 2014 to November 2014. Results Fifty-six percent of principals were aware of the existence of online canteens, with 8% having implemented such a system, and 38% likely to do so in the future. Medium/large schools were more likely to be aware of or to use online canteens, however there were no differences in awareness or use in relation to school rurality or socioeconomic advantage. Principals cited parent internet access as the most commonly identified perceived barrier to online canteen use, and the majority of principals (71-93%) agreed that it would be acceptable to implement a range of consumer behaviour strategies via an online canteen. Conclusions Study findings suggest that despite relatively low levels of current use, online canteens have the potential to reach a large proportion of school communities in the future, across geographical and socioeconomic divides, and that the nutrition interventions which they have the capacity to deliver are considered acceptable to school principals. So what? Online canteens may represent an opportunity to deliver nutrition interventions to school communities. Future research should examine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of interventions delivered via this modality.
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wyse
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Sze Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Yoong
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
authors.forename: Pennie
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dodds
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Libby
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Tessa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Delaney
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nathan
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiggers
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Population Health, Locked Bag 10, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wolfenden
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005522:Food Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D009517:New South Wales; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires