Francesco Acciai
Biographic Data
| ID | 271091 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Francesco Acciai |
| GIVEN NAMES | Francesco |
| FAMILY NAME | Acciai |
| SIGNATURE | ACCIAI F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Arizona State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7881-7593 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 59 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Competitive food availability in schools before and after the onset of Covid-19: An interrupted time series analysis
Purpose: School meal programs often offer competitive foods (CF), sold during lunch outside school meals and/or in vending machines. Although required to meet nutrition guidelines, CF are often less nutritious than school meals, and their presence is associated with lower meal participation. This study examines the prevalence of CF in public schools before and after COVID-19. Methods: Surveys examining the school food environment were conducted i…
Emergency Free School Meal Distribution Across Phases of the Covid ‐19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered nationwide school closures in March 2020, putting millions of children in the United States who depended on subsidized school meals at risk of hunger. In response, the US Department of Agriculture activated the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program to provide emergency free school meals. This study examined organizations' experiences implementing these programs from…
WIC Participant and Local Agency Staff Perspectives on Increased Cash‐Value Benefits for Fruits and Vegetables Within an American Indian Tribal Organization
In 2021, participants in the United States Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) received an unprecedented increase in a cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables (CVB) as a part of their monthly food package. Responses to this increase among WIC staff and American Indian populations are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and diet-related behaviors of both WIC staff …
Drinking Water Availability in Public Schools: An Assessment of Four New Jersey School Districts
While most schools surveyed provide access to clean, free drinking water, students in some schools still lack free access to drinking water during school meals, which may affect overall water consumption among students
US state-level containment policies not associated with food insecurity changes during the early Covid-19 pandemic: A multilevel analysis
Objective: To investigate the relationship between US containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and household food insecurity. Design: To investigate these relationships, we developed a framework linking COVID-19-related containment policies with different domains of food security and then used multilevel random effects models to examine associations between state-level containment policies and household food security. Our framework depic…
School staff perspectives on Universal Free Meals in the USA
Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Agriculture allowed all US schools to offer meals at no cost regardless of family income, a policy known as Universal Free Meals (UFM). Despite the recognised benefits of UFM, the policy expired in June 2022. The goal of this study was to gather perceptions of school staff in Arizona about school meals, UFM and the discontinuation of UFM. Design: This mixed-method study collected data …
The association between unhealthy dietary behaviors and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): No evidence in support of the self-selection hypothesis
School Garden Prevalence Before and After the Implementation of the Healthy Hunger‐Free Kids Act
BACKGROUND: The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 supported implementation of school gardens for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. We examined school garden prevalence over time by school-level factors during the period before and after the implementation of HHFKA. METHODS: Using data from the New Jersey Child Health Study, conducted in 4 low-income New Jersey cities, prevalence of school gardens among K-12 schools (n = 148) w…
Do Parental Perceptions of the Nutritional Quality of School Meals Reflect the Food Environment in Public Schools
(1) Background: It is unknown whether parents' perception of school meals, a determinant of student meal participation, align with the nutritional quality of meals served in schools. This study compares the healthfulness of foods offered in schools with parental perception of school meals at those same schools. (2) Method: Parents were asked to rate the healthfulness of school meals at their child's school. Data on the types of foods offered were…
Individual-, family-, and contextual-level variables do not explain the protective effect of parental nativity status on changes in 3–15-year-old children's BMI
Individual-, family-, and contextual-level factors can simultaneously and interactively affect a child's body mass index (BMI). We examine parental nativity as a key determinant of changes in children's BMI over time. Prior research on this topic has been inconclusive. A longitudinal sample of households with children residing in four low-income, high minority New Jersey cities provided data on demographics, socioeconomic status, anthropometric m…
Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017
Disparities in healthy food access are well documented in cross-sectional studies in communities across the United States. However, longitudinal studies examining changes in food environments within various neighborhood contexts are scarce. In a sample of 142 census tracts in four low-income, high-minority cities in New Jersey, United States, we examined the availability of different types of food stores by census tract characteristics over time …
Why did life expectancy decline in the United States in 2015? A gender-specific analysis
Depression in later life: A closer look at the gender gap
Understanding the contribution of suicide to life expectancy in South Korea
South Korea has the highest rate and highest rate of increase in suicide among developed countries. The suicide epidemic in Korea is an anomaly, and suicide rates are high for both men and women, with no signs of decreasing. Yet we do not know the extent t
Pinpointing the sources of the Asian mortality advantage in the USA
BACKGROUND: Asian-Americans outlive whites by an average of nearly 8 years. By determining the sources of the Asian mortality advantage, we can pinpoint where there is the greatest potential for raising the life expectancy of whites and other groups in the USA. METHODS: Our analyses include all Asian and white deaths in the USA between 2006 and 2010, from the Center for Disease Control. Using the International Classification of Diseases (V.10), w…
Why Lifespans Are More Variable Among Blacks Than Among Whites in the United States
Lifespans are both shorter and more variable for blacks than for whites in the United States. Because their lifespans are more variable, there is greater inequality in length of life—and thus greater uncertainty about the future—among blacks. This study is the first to decompose the black-white difference in lifespan variability in America. Are lifespans more variable for blacks because they are more likely to die of causes that disproportionatel…
Why the racial gap in life expectancy is declining in the United States
BACKGROUND: Blacks have lower life expectancy than whites in the United States. That disparity could be due to racial differences in the causes of death, with blacks being more likely to die of causes that affect the young, or it could be due to differences in the average ages of blacks and whites who die of the same cause. Prior studies fail to distinguish these two possibilities. OBJECTIVE: In this study we determine how much of the 2000-10 red…
How Health Conditions Translate into Self-Ratings: A Comparative Study of Older Adults across Europe
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we examine how respondents translate morbidity and disability into self-rated health (SRH), how national populations differ in SRH, and how normative and person-specific reporting styles shape SRH. We construct proxy variables that allow us to specify cultural differences in reporting styles and individual differences in relative rating behavior. Using generalized logistic reg…
How Health Conditions Translate into Self-Ratings: A Comparative Study of Older Adults across Europe
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we examine how respondents translate morbidity and disability into self-rated health (SRH), how national populations differ in SRH, and how normative and person-specific reporting styles shape SRH. We construct proxy variables that allow us to specify cultural differences in reporting styles and individual differences in relative rating behavior. Using generalized logistic reg…
Why Lifespans Are More Variable Among Blacks Than Among Whites in the United States
Lifespans are both shorter and more variable for blacks than for whites in the United States. Because their lifespans are more variable, there is greater inequality in length of life—and thus greater uncertainty about the future—among blacks. This study is the first to decompose the black-white difference in lifespan variability in America. Are lifespans more variable for blacks because they are more likely to die of causes that disproportionatel…
Why did life expectancy decline in the United States in 2015? A gender-specific analysis
Pinpointing the sources of the Asian mortality advantage in the USA
BACKGROUND: Asian-Americans outlive whites by an average of nearly 8 years. By determining the sources of the Asian mortality advantage, we can pinpoint where there is the greatest potential for raising the life expectancy of whites and other groups in the USA. METHODS: Our analyses include all Asian and white deaths in the USA between 2006 and 2010, from the Center for Disease Control. Using the International Classification of Diseases (V.10), w…
Why the racial gap in life expectancy is declining in the United States
BACKGROUND: Blacks have lower life expectancy than whites in the United States. That disparity could be due to racial differences in the causes of death, with blacks being more likely to die of causes that affect the young, or it could be due to differences in the average ages of blacks and whites who die of the same cause. Prior studies fail to distinguish these two possibilities. OBJECTIVE: In this study we determine how much of the 2000-10 red…
Depression in later life: A closer look at the gender gap
The association between unhealthy dietary behaviors and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): No evidence in support of the self-selection hypothesis
Why Lifespans Are More Variable Among Blacks Than Among Whites in the United States
Lifespans are both shorter and more variable for blacks than for whites in the United States. Because their lifespans are more variable, there is greater inequality in length of life—and thus greater uncertainty about the future—among blacks. This study is the first to decompose the black-white difference in lifespan variability in America. Are lifespans more variable for blacks because they are more likely to die of causes that disproportionatel…
Why the racial gap in life expectancy is declining in the United States
BACKGROUND: Blacks have lower life expectancy than whites in the United States. That disparity could be due to racial differences in the causes of death, with blacks being more likely to die of causes that affect the young, or it could be due to differences in the average ages of blacks and whites who die of the same cause. Prior studies fail to distinguish these two possibilities. OBJECTIVE: In this study we determine how much of the 2000-10 red…
How Health Conditions Translate into Self-Ratings: A Comparative Study of Older Adults across Europe
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we examine how respondents translate morbidity and disability into self-rated health (SRH), how national populations differ in SRH, and how normative and person-specific reporting styles shape SRH. We construct proxy variables that allow us to specify cultural differences in reporting styles and individual differences in relative rating behavior. Using generalized logistic reg…
Pinpointing the sources of the Asian mortality advantage in the USA
BACKGROUND: Asian-Americans outlive whites by an average of nearly 8 years. By determining the sources of the Asian mortality advantage, we can pinpoint where there is the greatest potential for raising the life expectancy of whites and other groups in the USA. METHODS: Our analyses include all Asian and white deaths in the USA between 2006 and 2010, from the Center for Disease Control. Using the International Classification of Diseases (V.10), w…
Understanding the contribution of suicide to life expectancy in South Korea
South Korea has the highest rate and highest rate of increase in suicide among developed countries. The suicide epidemic in Korea is an anomaly, and suicide rates are high for both men and women, with no signs of decreasing. Yet we do not know the extent t
Why did life expectancy decline in the United States in 2015? A gender-specific analysis
Depression in later life: A closer look at the gender gap
Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017
Disparities in healthy food access are well documented in cross-sectional studies in communities across the United States. However, longitudinal studies examining changes in food environments within various neighborhood contexts are scarce. In a sample of 142 census tracts in four low-income, high-minority cities in New Jersey, United States, we examined the availability of different types of food stores by census tract characteristics over time …
Individual-, family-, and contextual-level variables do not explain the protective effect of parental nativity status on changes in 3–15-year-old children's BMI
Individual-, family-, and contextual-level factors can simultaneously and interactively affect a child's body mass index (BMI). We examine parental nativity as a key determinant of changes in children's BMI over time. Prior research on this topic has been inconclusive. A longitudinal sample of households with children residing in four low-income, high minority New Jersey cities provided data on demographics, socioeconomic status, anthropometric m…
Do Parental Perceptions of the Nutritional Quality of School Meals Reflect the Food Environment in Public Schools
(1) Background: It is unknown whether parents' perception of school meals, a determinant of student meal participation, align with the nutritional quality of meals served in schools. This study compares the healthfulness of foods offered in schools with parental perception of school meals at those same schools. (2) Method: Parents were asked to rate the healthfulness of school meals at their child's school. Data on the types of foods offered were…
School Garden Prevalence Before and After the Implementation of the Healthy Hunger‐Free Kids Act
BACKGROUND: The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 supported implementation of school gardens for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. We examined school garden prevalence over time by school-level factors during the period before and after the implementation of HHFKA. METHODS: Using data from the New Jersey Child Health Study, conducted in 4 low-income New Jersey cities, prevalence of school gardens among K-12 schools (n = 148) w…
The association between unhealthy dietary behaviors and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): No evidence in support of the self-selection hypothesis
Emergency Free School Meal Distribution Across Phases of the Covid ‐19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered nationwide school closures in March 2020, putting millions of children in the United States who depended on subsidized school meals at risk of hunger. In response, the US Department of Agriculture activated the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program to provide emergency free school meals. This study examined organizations' experiences implementing these programs from…
WIC Participant and Local Agency Staff Perspectives on Increased Cash‐Value Benefits for Fruits and Vegetables Within an American Indian Tribal Organization
In 2021, participants in the United States Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) received an unprecedented increase in a cash-value benefit for fruits and vegetables (CVB) as a part of their monthly food package. Responses to this increase among WIC staff and American Indian populations are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and diet-related behaviors of both WIC staff …
Drinking Water Availability in Public Schools: An Assessment of Four New Jersey School Districts
While most schools surveyed provide access to clean, free drinking water, students in some schools still lack free access to drinking water during school meals, which may affect overall water consumption among students
US state-level containment policies not associated with food insecurity changes during the early Covid-19 pandemic: A multilevel analysis
Objective: To investigate the relationship between US containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and household food insecurity. Design: To investigate these relationships, we developed a framework linking COVID-19-related containment policies with different domains of food security and then used multilevel random effects models to examine associations between state-level containment policies and household food security. Our framework depic…
School staff perspectives on Universal Free Meals in the USA
Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Department of Agriculture allowed all US schools to offer meals at no cost regardless of family income, a policy known as Universal Free Meals (UFM). Despite the recognised benefits of UFM, the policy expired in June 2022. The goal of this study was to gather perceptions of school staff in Arizona about school meals, UFM and the discontinuation of UFM. Design: This mixed-method study collected data …
Competitive food availability in schools before and after the onset of Covid-19: An interrupted time series analysis
Purpose: School meal programs often offer competitive foods (CF), sold during lunch outside school meals and/or in vending machines. Although required to meet nutrition guidelines, CF are often less nutritious than school meals, and their presence is associated with lower meal participation. This study examines the prevalence of CF in public schools before and after COVID-19. Methods: Surveys examining the school food environment were conducted i…
Medicine (15 works) · Environmental health (11 works) · Gerontology (9 works) · Demography (8 works) · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations (7 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (7 works) · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet (7 works) · Population (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Sociology (6 works)