Dania Orta-Aleman

• PhD
• Assistant Scientist at University of California, Berkeley

Objectives The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is an effective intervention to support maternal practices around breastfeeding. However, little is known about its impact on participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether Baby Friendly Hospital (BFH...

Objective: To reveal students' experiences and perspectives related to Universal School Meals (USM) under the federal coronavirus disease 2019 waivers during school years 2021−22. Design: Qualitative; 17 focus groups in June−July 2022. Setting: Virtual; students from 9 California regions in public and charter schools. Participants: 67 students (n =...

Objective To examine the association between red and processed meat consumption and total food expenditures in US households and explore whether households could reduce food costs by substituting these meats with other protein sources such as poultry, seafood, eggs and plant proteins. Design Cross-sectional study using data from the National House...

Objective To understand caregivers’ perceptions about their children’s mealtime social experiences at school, and how they believe these social experiences impact their children’s consumption of meals at school (both meals brought from home and school meals). Design Qualitative data were originally collected as part of a larger mixed methods study...

Background Incorporating scratch‐cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems. Methods 430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch‐cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and opera...

Background/Objectives: School meals are an important source of nutrition for children and have been found to help mitigate food insecurity. This study evaluated the association between food insecurity and school meal participation and whether parental perceptions about school meals differ by food security status. Methods: In May 2022, 1110 Californ...

States in the U.S. are newly implementing universal school meal (USM) policies, yet little is known about the facilitators of their success and the challenges they confront. This study evaluated the challenges and facilitators faced by school food authorities (SFAs) implementing California’s universal school meal (USM) policy during its inaugural y...

Objective: To evaluate if parent perceptions of school meals influence student participation. Design: In May 2022, an online survey was used to evaluate parents' perceptions of school meals and their children's participation. Participants: A total of 1,110 California parents of kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Main Outcome Measures: Studen...

Parental perceptions of school meals can affect student participation and overall support for school meal policies. Little is known about parental school meal perceptions under universal free school meals (UFSM) policies. We assessed California parents' perceptions of school meals during the COVID-19 emergency response with federally funded UFSM an...

In 2020, 149.2 million children worldwide under 5 years suffered from stunting, and 45.4 million experienced wasting. Many infants are born already stunted, while others are at high risk for growth faltering early after birth. Growth faltering is linked to transgenerational impacts of poverty and marginalization. Few interventions address growth fa...

Background Breastfeeding imparts numerous health and social benefits for families. Barriers deter some individuals from breastfeeding. Rates are lower among certain populations, including participants of the federally funded Women, Infants, and Children's Program (WIC). Women, Infants, and Children's Program provides low‐income pregnant and postpar...

Caregivers are often concerned about baby behaviours. Without adequate counselling, parental response can lead to altering infant feeding and jeopardizing breastfeeding. We conducted a systematic review to assess the evidence about the influence of baby behaviours perceived as problematic (crying, sleep waking and posseting) on infant feeding decis...

Background The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is an effective intervention to support maternal practices around breastfeeding. However, adherence of hospitals to the Baby-Friendly 10 Steps, as determined from the perspective of women participating in the United States Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, has n...

The paper presents the effects of Mexico’s conditioned cash-transfers programme (PROSPERA programme, formerly Oportunidades) on household poverty in the Northeast urban areas. The estimate was calculated using the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Index. We use three poverty lines (i.e. food, capability, and patrimonial poverty) which costs were established b...

Objective: To examine the relationships between caregiver perceptions of neighborhood food environment and home food environment and between caregiver perceptions of neighborhood food environment and childhood obesity. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: A total of twenty-six primary schools in northeast China. Participants: Anthropometric mea...

Objectives: Salvation Army opened its first non-profit, retail food store, DMG Foods, on March 2018, in Baltimore, MD. DMG Foods aims to have the lowest food prices in the neighborhood and make healthful options affordable to low-income households; currently, however, the store's reach is limited with only 100-150 customers daily, with an average...

Purpose: To examine factors associated with food insecurity among urban older adults (65 years and older). Methods: Three hundred and fifty two older adults attending community centers in a neighborhood of Mexico City were surveyed for food insecurity, functional impairments, health and mental health status, cash-transfer assistance, socio-demog...

Background. Older adults in Mexico are a growing share of the population and are a largely vulnerable group with increased risk of food insecurity and potential detrimental health effects stemming from it. Objectives. This study assesses the face validity of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) among Mexican urban older adul...