Store Scout vs LearningPathways YolŋuBalanda

Store Scout App is an innovative decision-support tool, designed to provide a rapid appraisal of the in-store food retail environment against best practice to reduce discretionary dietary options and promote healthy food options, through providing real-time feedback to store owners and operators. It can be used to evaluate the food environment of remote stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations across Australia. It may be found to be useful in similar food retail settings outside of Australia. The App generates store environment index scores related to the 4Ps of marketing (Promotion, Price, Product, Placement) and categorised by the key food sections fruit and vegetables, drinks, snack food, meals/convenience foods, bread and cereals, meat and seafood and dairy and eggs. On completing a full assessment of store practice using the App, an overall store environment index score is generated and a summary of evidence-based actions to improve the healthiness of the food retail environment are provided (e.g. removing confectionery from the front counter). These can be used to facilitate discussion with the business owners and managers on what might be feasible and acceptable for their store. A validation study found the App to have very good inter-rater reliability, and high internal consistency. The Store Scout App was developed by Menzies School of Health Research as a tool for the nutrition workforce servicing remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is now managed by Monash University Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food through an agreement with Menzies School of Health Research. The Store Scout App is only available to registered users. To access or find out more information please contact us at base.nutrition@monash.edu Related publications: McMahon E, Jaenke R, Brimblecombe J A Mobile App to Rapidly Appraise the In-Store Food Environment: Reliability, Utility, and Construct Validity Study JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020;8(7):e16971 URL: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/7/e16971 DOI: 10.2196/16971 Jaenke, R., Van den Boogaard, C., McMahon, E., & Brimblecombe, J. (2021). Development and pilot of a tool to measure the healthiness of the in-store food environment. Public Health Nutrition, 24(2), 243-252. doi:10.1017/S1368980020002025 Hill, A., Christian, M., Absalom, G. et al. Creating healthy remote store food environments: use of the Store Scout App in practice. BMC Public Health 25, 2326 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23251-9

Yolŋu or Yolngu are First Nations Australian people from North-East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia; Balanda are non-Indigenous people. The LearningPathways YolŋuBalanda app supports Yolŋu to understand Balanda education systems and Balanda to recognise and respect Yolŋu education systems. The app includes four sections: - a dictionary of English terms that Yolŋu wanted explained in Djambarrpuyŋu (a Yolŋu language); - a Yolŋu child’s developmental pathway including ways that family monitor and support children’s development; - explanations of the Australian education pathway (relevant to the Northern Territory) and services for children and families at Galiwin’ku; and - videos to support Balanda to recognise Yolŋu education processes within ceremonial contexts. These resources were co-created through a collaborative research project in the remote Yolŋu community of Galiwin’ku. The project - Dharaŋanamirr dhukarr guŋgayunaraw djamarrkuḻiw' ga gurruṯumirriw marŋgikunharaw ḏälkunharaw gakalwun dhiyakun märrmaw'nha romgun - Understanding pathways to support Yolŋu children and families to achieve strong learning in two systems: A Participatory Action Research Project - was funded by an AIATSIS Research Exchange Grant from 2020-23. Information Sources The information provided in this app that is related to government services is sourced from official government websites and publications, including: https://education.nt.gov.au/ https://www.aedc.gov.au/what-is-the-aedc/about-the-aedc Users can access the original source material through these official government websites for the most current information. Disclaimer: This app is independently developed and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorised by, or otherwise officially connected with any government department, agency, or entity. All government-related information is obtained from publicly available official sources.