Expert insights into public health nutrition challenges: a rapid group model building demonstration workshop

Objective: This paper explored international experts’ views on what influences the development and implementation of local government (LG) planning policy to support healthy food retail environments; and 2) whether a rapid group model building (RGMB) approach can successfully be applied to capture valuable insights.
Design: Adaptation of methods from community-based system dynamics in the form of RGMB.
Setting: In person, facilitated workshop at the World Public Health Nutrition Congress (WPHNC) June 2024, London, England.
Participants: WPHNC delegates.
Results: Sixty-six participants contributed to the RGMB. Factors identified that influence the development and implementation of LG planning to support healthy food retail environments centred around community, evidence, policy, political leadership/priorities and capitalism. Feedback loops identified in the causal loop diagram showed the potential influence of policies to support healthy food retail environments on public health outcomes. Research evidence and data were key factors in supporting community demand for healthy food policies and raising the profile of health as a priority, which, in turn, could support funding to support healthy food environments. Political will and corporate influence in the system were shown to be highly influential.
Conclusions: International experts identified that data is urgently needed to support demand for healthy food policies and political will to address key nutrition issues. The influence of corporate interests was viewed as highly influential over the current system across the world. RGMB workshop activities and processes described in this paper can be used successfully to capture expert insights into complex problems using interactive technologies.

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