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Evidence to catalyse food environment policy actions towards healthy diets and prevention of the double burden of malnutrition in Kenya (FEP- ACTION), Consumer perceptions on proposed front-of-pack labels for foods and drinks in Kenya; A qualitative study

Kenya, 2023
Health and Well-Being (HaW)
Dr. Gershim Asiki
Last modified November 13, 2024 Page views 940 Metadata DDI/XML JSON

Identification

IDNO
DDI-KEN-APHRC-FEP1-2023-V10
Title
Evidence to catalyse food environment policy actions towards healthy diets and prevention of the double burden of malnutrition in Kenya (FEP- ACTION), Consumer perceptions on proposed front-of-pack labels for foods and drinks in Kenya; A qualitative study
Subtitle
Consumer perceptions on proposed front-of-pack labels for foods and drinks in Kenya; A qualitative study
Country
Name Country code
Kenya KEN
Abstract
Background:
Kenya lacks comprehensive policies for regulating the food environment, thus there is a high level of unhealthy food consumption. The goal of the Food Environment Policy-Action project is to build evidence and mobilize multi-stakeholder actions towards the development of a double-duty bundle of four food environment policies that prevent the consumption of unhealthy diets and promote the consumption of nutrient rich and energy-dense healthy foods.
Objective: This study aimed to explore consumers' perceptions and understanding of proposed Front of Pack Labelling symbols to be placed on foods and non-alcoholic beverages in Kenya and their insights into features that could influence the effectiveness of the symbols.
Study methods: We adopted a qualitative design using focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect data. Data collection was carried out in four counties in Kenya: Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Garissa. The four Counties were selected to represent different socio-economic contexts, varying access to supermarkets, and diverse consumer behaviours related to packaged food consumption. Data collection took place in October 2023. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse emerging themes for the qualitative data using Nvivo version 14.0. Three FoPLs were assessed: Red and Green (RG), Red and Green with icons (RGI) and the Black Warning label (WL) were tested with Kenyan consumers. Results showed that Kenyan consumers have varied perceptions about the proposed FoPL symbols. Majority of the participants found the black WL to be most visible and memorable citing its good blend of black and white colours. Although the RG and RGI symbols were also found to be eye-catching due to their bright colours, it also emerged that the colours caused confusion to the participants on what they mean. Most of the participants understood the WL compared to the RG and RGI because they found the additional text more educative. Generally, the WL was preferred as the symbol most likely to influence consumer purchase behaviours and hence unhealthy food consumption. All the three FoPLs tested were found to be culturally appropriate.
This project was funded through the Catalyzing Change for Health and Sustainable Food Systems (CCHeFS) Initiative, a co-funding partnership between IDRC and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Version

Version Date
2023-12-15

Scope

Keywords
Keyword
Kenya
Front-of-pack labels
Non-communicable diseases
Consumers
Perceptions

Coverage

Geographic Coverage
Regional coverage (Four counties representing four ethno-linguistic regions in Kenya). These were Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Garissa Counties. From each County, two sub-counties were selected, Fafi and Garissa Township in Garissa, Embakasi and Langata in Nairobi, Nyando and Kisumu Central in Kisumu and Mvita and Kisauni in Mombasa.
Unit of Analysis
Focus groups. This study used 12 focus group discussions composed of between 10 and 15 participants. These participants were consumers aged between 18 and 60 who regularly bought packaged food products. The Focus groups were composed of both males and females, peopple from similar socio-economic backgrounds and within the same region. The discussions were conducted by trained moderators with the help of a FGD guide and the discussion was recorded.
Universe
The survey covered populations aged 18-60 from diverse socio-demographic and socio-economic backgrounds.

Producers and sponsors

Authoring entity/Primary investigators
Agency Name Affiliation
Dr. Gershim Asiki African Population and Health Research Center
Producers
Name Affiliation Role
Dr. Shukri Mohamed APHRC Project manager
Veronicah Ojiambo APHRC Research Officer
Jane Mangwana APHRC Advocacy manager
Hellen Gitau APHRC System dynamics modelling
Milka Wanjohi APHRC Research officer
Caliph Kirui APHRC Data Document Specialist
Boniface Ingumba APHRC Data Document Reviewer
Funding Agency/Sponsor
Name Abbreviation Role
International Development Research Center IDRC Research
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
Name Affiliation Role
Leila Akinyi Ministry of Health Ministry Lead contact person
Data collectors African Population and Health Research Center Data collection

Sampling

Sampling Procedure
Selection of the four Counties was based on stratification of the country's main ethno-linguistic regions i.e (Western Kenya, Rift Valley or Central, Coastal and Eastern). Recruitment of the study participants was done prior to the discussions in each of the study sites. Trained research assistants approached shoppers randomly as they exited selected supermarkets in low (n=6) and high (n=6) SES neighbourhoods, as per the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Potential study participants were screened for eligibility using a 12-point screener. People who indicated that they often bought branded packaged foods or drinks and were the main decision makers for food purchases were included in the study. Individuals who worked as healthcare professionals, in the tobacco, food, advertising industries, and market research companies were excluded from the study.
Response Rate
NA

Data Collection

Dates of Data Collection (YYYY/MM/DD)
Start date End date
2023-10-16 2023-10-18
Mode of data collection
Focus Group [foc]
Supervision
The discussions were moderated by trained research assistants. Two research assistants (1 moderator and an assistant) together with a member of the project team from APHRC conducted the three FGDs in each County. All the FGDs were conducted in pre-identified public facilities such as schools, church buildings or mosques that were free of noise and interruptions and lasted between one and half to two hours. To ensure credibility, the research team had sit-ins during all the focus group discussions and held debriefing sessions with the moderators and research assistants after data collection.
Type of Research Instrument
The study used a comprehensive FGD guide to collect data from the participants. The FGD guide had two sections. The questions in the first section explored the label's visibility and memorability to the participants, their understanding of the FOPLs and perceived effect on purchasing habits and cultural appropriateness. In the second section, participants were asked to select the FoPL format that was most memorable and stood out. The guide was adapted from similar studies conducted in other countries. To accommodate participants' language preferences, the researchers translated the focus group discussion guide to Swahili and Somali and the moderators, then facilitated the discussions in the language preferred by the participants.

Data Processing

Cleaning Operations
The data collected were transcribed verbatim, translated into English where applicable and then coded and analysed using Nvivo version 14.0. Transcriptions were analysed using a three-stage process. First, the transcripts were read repeatedly to determine appropriate code terms that reflected the research question. Having identified the parent themes, they then re-read the transcripts again to identify emerging child codes related to each parent code. The two coders then compared their codes and agreed on the codes that best represented participants' perceptions. Similar codes were then grouped into broader categories and connections between categories were examined. Categories that emerged were considered important based on length, depth of discussion, order of emergence as well as tendency to appear in more than one focus group. The coders then harmonized the codebook which they used to code all the 12 transcripts from the study. A qualitative data analysis expert reviewed the data before and during analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurrent themes and patterns within the qualitative data. Five major themes were deductively developed from the data; 1) visibility and memorability, 2) comprehensibility, 3) potential effectiveness, 4) cultural appropriateness and 5) comparative rating of the labels. A report was then drafted from the data and reviewed to answer the research questions. The results of the preliminary analysis were reviewed and discussed with the research team to refine themes before writing up the final conclusions.

Data access

Contact
Name Affiliation Email URI
African Population and Health Research Center None datarequests@aphrc.org/info@aphrc.org aphrc.org
Conditions
APHRC GUIDELINES ON DATA ACCESS AND SHARING
APHRC premises its data access and sharing practices on the principle that data is a public good
and should be made available to all authorized users in a timely manner and in a user-friendly
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required to abide by strict conditions as set out below.
This component of the research policy outlines the conditions under which APHRC data should
be used, the responsibilities users must commit to, and procedures for accessing APHRC data.
PLs are responsible for approving requests to use APHRC data generated by projects under their
Programs. For external data request, final approval should be sought from the DR office. SSU is
responsible for processing all external data requests at the Center upon approval. To promote
synergy and cross program collaboration, data sharing is encouraged with approval from
respective program leaders.
Data users are expected to respect the confidentiality and privacy of individuals whose records
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or use of any such data for one's own personal gain is strictly prohibited and considered a gross
misconduct.
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Authorization for external users (non-APHRC staff) to use APHRC data will be granted by the
DR, in consultation with the concerned Principal Investigator and Program Leader. APHRC data
are made available to external users through the APHRC Microdata Portal. While decisions to
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apply in considering such applications:
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collaborative partnerships with other scholars or institutions. Modalities for data sharing and
publication among members of a partnership should be established in a memorandum of
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1. Agreement on access to data will apply only to the data collected through the joint project. If
there is need to extend access to other related data collected by the Center, an agreement on this
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should not share/use the data with non-authorized persons. Unless specifically negotiated and
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2. APHRC data (particularly cross-sectional data)1
may be released to the public domain two years
after the release of analytical data sets. The 24 month embargo is meant to enable investigators
and other staff working on the project to finalize defined papers addressing core study objectives
and allow other interested APHRC staff to use the data.
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copies of the publication must be sent to the PEC division’s director at APHRC.
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(particularly data that has been made publicly available) for writing their theses and dissertations.
Students seeking to use APHRC data that are not yet in the public domain may be given permission
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1. They are supervised by collaborative partners and the data access to the students is agreed
upon in the MOU guiding the partnership
2. The student is a former employee of APHRC
1 As member of the INDEPTH network, APHRC adheres to the network’s data access and
sharing policy for sharing longitudinal data with other users
(http://www.indepth-network.org/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=1403&Itemid=3).
The Center may request/demand that one of its staff members be appointed to serve on the student’s
dissertation committee in instances in which the student requires access to non-publicly available
APHRC data sets.
If a student fulfills either of the two conditions above, APHRC expects him/her to carry out his/her
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including data processing, analysis or management of fieldwork.
Students who have authorized access to APHRC data are bound by the guidelines and restrictions
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purpose other than the dissertation (unless specifically authorized to do so) and shall not share the
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Students who intend to publish their work after completing their dissertation should seek special
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to be signed between APHRC and the training institution.
Citation requirement
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download

Metadata production

Document ID
DDI-KEN-APHRC-FEP1-2023-V10
Producers
Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
African Population Health Research Center APHRC African Population and Health Research Center Documentation of the FoPL Qualitative data
Date of Production
2024-05-15
Document version
Version 1.0