Work site food purchases among healthcare staff: Relationship with healthy eating and opportunities for intervention

Aim: The current study describes food-purchasing behaviours of healthcare staff, determines whether purchasing food at work is associated with overall indicators of healthy eating, and explores opportunities for improving the hospital food environment. Methods: A secondary analysis of a health and wellbeing survey of healthcare workers (n = 501) in Queensland, Australia. Multiple regression models describe the associations between food purchases and indicators of healthy eating, while controlling for age, gender and work role. Results: More than 60% of staff purchased food/drinks at work in the past week, and this was inversely associated with indicators of healthy eating. For example, among those purchasing food/drinks at work on most days, only 18% reported their overall diet as excellent or very good, compared to 50% of those who do not purchase food/drink at work (odds ratio [OR] = 0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.12,0.48] in adjusted models). Staff feedback prioritised strategies to make healthy meals more accessible and affordable. Conclusion: Improvements to the retail food environment in hospitals could have a positive impact on the overall nutritional wellbeing of staff.