Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item The Role of Urban Agriculture in Baltimore Food Systems(2024) Mathews, Meghna Anjali; Zhang, Xin; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The United States is one of the most agriculturally productive countries; and yet, food insecurityremains a significant issue. Urban agriculture in Baltimore, Maryland should be studied further because of its potential to address food insecurity while overcoming systemic barriers created and embedded within food systems. While numerous previous studies have explored food insecurity, knowledge gaps still exist regarding how urban agriculture has influenced food accessibility, and how availability, cultural values of foods, etc. can be improved through increased production and distribution practices of fresher fruits and vegetables in Healthy Food Priority Areas. To address these knowledge gaps, we queried food insecure community members and urban farmers in Baltimore, Maryland to better understand the underlying factors that influence low fruit and vegetable consumption and how they can be mitigated through the establishment of urban agriculture. Urban farmers were interviewed in detail about their production and distribution patterns, and factors influencing the low consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by community members in Baltimore. Food insecure individuals were asked about their food consumption habits and the accessibility of fruit and vegetables, their food purchasing behavior and related challenges, and community needs. Results indicate that while accessibility and availability are two main factors in fresh produce consumption, there are other important factors that might have received limited attention in existing literature. Our interviews revealed that income, cultural value, and a lack of knowledge in food preparation are key factors in low consumption and purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. To address the underlying factors and improve the accessibility and availability of fresh produce to low-income communities, it is important to assess community needs and provide policy recommendations that can potentially enhance their nutrition. Ensuring access to individuals with limited resources is a critical component of advancing social justice.Item Examining Maternal Experiences of Food Insecurity on Birth and Early Childhood Outcomes(2020) De Silva, Dane André; Thoma, Marie E; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Food insecurity, or the inadequate access to nutritionally-acceptable food, has been increasingly recognized as a distal determinant of poor health outcomes. While 11.1% of U.S. households suffer from food insecurity, specific populations are disproportionately affected, including pregnant women and single mothers. From a life course perspective, growth trajectories may be influenced by both prenatal exposures and postpartum practices, such as breastfeeding. Since food insecurity is associated with stress and poor nutrition, when occurring during critical periods of development, the fetus may be programmed to have poor future health. Other research on developmental origins have identified patterns that exhibit sex differences, particularly around growth. Therefore, this investigation sought to examine maternal food insecurity on: (i) low birthweight and sex-specific differences; (ii) breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding duration; and (iii) obesity at age two and sex-specific differences. In Aim 1, mothers experiencing prenatal food insecurity had a higher odds of delivering a low birthweight infant, though much of the association was explained by sociodemographic factors after adjustment (OR 1.10 [95%CI 0.98, 1.25]), with female infants showing OR 1.21 (95%CI 1.02, 1.43). For Aim 2, food insecurity did not appear to deter women from initiating breastfeeding (OR 1.41 [95%CI 0.58, 3.47]), and minimal differences in exclusive breastfeeding duration between food insecure and food secure women were found (TR 0.89 [95%CI 0.57, 1.39]). Finally, Aim 3 revealed that sociodemographic factors explained much of the association between maternal food insecurity and childhood obesity at 2 years (OR 1.15 [95%CI 0.75, 1.75]), though male offspring showed a stronger magnitude (OR 1.54 [95%CI 0.86, 2.74]). Maternal food insecurity is a multi-faceted exposure that is related to other covariates, which may interact in multiple ways to influence health outcomes through both biologic and behavioral pathways. This preliminary investigation highlights the importance of exploring exposures occurring during critical periods, including food insecurity, on birth and childhood outcomes, and how it may affect the later health of offspring differently by sex. Additional longitudinal data with accurate measures of food insecurity are needed to fully ascertain how it affects the health of mothers and children, and to identify possible mediating pathways.