scholarly journals Association between household food security and infant feeding practices in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. N. Macharia ◽  
S. Ochola ◽  
M. K. Mutua ◽  
E. W. Kimani-Murage

Studies in urban informal settlements show widespread inappropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and high rates of food insecurity. This study assessed the association between household food security and IYCF practices in two urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The study adopted a longitudinal design that involved a census sample of 1110 children less than 12 months of age and their mothers aged between 12 and 49 years. A questionnaire was used to collect information on: IYCF practices and household food security. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between food insecurity and IYFC practices. The findings showed high household food insecurity; only 19.5% of the households were food secure based on Household Insecurity Access Score. Infant feeding practices were inappropriate: 76% attained minimum meal frequency; 41% of the children attained a minimum dietary diversity; and 27% attained minimum acceptable diet. With the exception of the minimum meal frequency, infants living in food secure households were significantly more likely to achieve appropriate infant feeding practices than those in food insecure households: minimum meal frequency (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.26,P=0.530); minimum dietary diversity (AOR=1.84,P=0.046) and minimum acceptable diet (AOR=2.35,P=0.008). The study adds to the existing body of knowledge by demonstrating an association between household food security and infant feeding practices in low-income settings. The findings imply that interventions aimed at improving infant feeding practices and ultimately nutritional status need to also focus on improving household food security.

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aatekah Owais ◽  
David Kleinbaum ◽  
Parminder Suchdev ◽  
Benjamin Schwartz ◽  
Abu Syed Faruque ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1875-1881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aatekah Owais ◽  
David G Kleinbaum ◽  
Parminder S Suchdev ◽  
ASG Faruque ◽  
Sumon K Das ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the association between household food security and infant complementary feeding practices in rural Bangladesh.DesignProspective, cohort study using structured home interviews during pregnancy and 3 and 9 months after delivery. We used two indicators of household food security at 3-months’ follow-up: maternal Food Composition Score (FCS), calculated via the World Food Programme method, and an HHFS index created from an eleven-item food security questionnaire. Infant feeding practices were characterized using WHO definitions.SettingTwo rural sub-districts of Kishoreganj, Bangladesh.SubjectsMother–child dyads (n 2073) who completed the 9-months’ follow-up.ResultsComplementary feeding was initiated at age ≤4 months for 7 %, at 5–6 months for 49 % and at ≥7 months for 44 % of infants. Based on 24 h dietary recall, 98 % of infants were still breast-feeding at age 9 months, and 16 % received ≥4 food groups and ≥4 meals (minimally acceptable diet) in addition to breast milk. Mothers’ diet was more diverse than infants’. The odds of receiving a minimally acceptable diet for infants living in most food-secure households were three times those for infants living in least food-secure households (adjusted OR=3·0; 95 % CI 2·1, 4·3). Socio-economic status, maternal age, literacy, parity and infant sex were not associated with infant diet.ConclusionsHHFS and maternal FCS were significant predictors of subsequent infant feeding practices. Nevertheless, even the more food-secure households had poor infant diet. Interventions aimed at improving infant nutritional status need to focus on both complementary food provision and education.


2008 ◽  
Vol 138 (7) ◽  
pp. 1383-1390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuntal K. Saha ◽  
Edward A. Frongillo ◽  
Dewan S. Alam ◽  
Shams E. Arifeen ◽  
Lars Åke Persson ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 855-855
Author(s):  
Joel Komakech ◽  
Hasina Rakotomanana ◽  
Christine Walters ◽  
Deana Hildebrand ◽  
Barbara Stoecker

Abstract Objectives There is limited research on the associations between maternal social support and household food security and child feeding practices in Madagascar. Our study examined the association between maternal social support, household food security, and feeding practices among mothers of children 6 - 24 months in the Vakinankaratra region, Madagascar. Methods This cross-sectional study included 344 mother-child dyads. The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Index was used for maternal social support scores. A mean score of >4 was considered optimal social support with ≤2 as none or little support. Food insecurity scores were determined using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Complementary feeding practices were assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) IYCF guidelines. Logistic and linear regression models tested the association between social support, complementary feeding practices, and household food insecurity. The models were adjusted for household, maternal and child confounders. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results Almost half of the mothers (49.1%) were supported by their spouses, although only 37.8% of mothers had optimal social support. Less than half of infants (36.34%) met minimum dietary diversity (≥4 of 7 food groups). Mothers with optimal social support had lower household food insecurity (b = −0.85, P = 0.016, R,2 = 0.10) in the adjusted models. Furthermore, children of mothers with higher social support were more likely to meet minimum dietary diversity scores (AOR = 2.36 [1.21–4.56], P = 0.021) and to achieve the minimum adequate diet (AOR = 2.32 [1.17–4.61], P = 0.018). Although maternal social support was significantly associated with child minimum meal frequency in the bivariate analysis, it became nonsignificant in the final adjusted model (AOR = 1.70 [0.93–3.11], P = 0.387). Conclusions Increased maternal social support was significantly associated with household food security, child dietary diversity, and diet adequacy. Integrating parental peer support in nutrition interventions may be effective in improving food security, and child feeding practices in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagascar. Funding Sources This study was funded by Oklahoma State University.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yitbarek Kidane Woldetensay ◽  
Tefera Belachew ◽  
Shibani Ghosh ◽  
Eva Johanna Kantelhardt ◽  
Hans Konrad Biesalski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Maternal depression and other psychosocial factors have been shown to have adverse consequences on infant feeding practices. This study explored the longitudinal relationship of maternal depressive symptoms and other selected psychosocial factors with infant feeding practices (IFPs) in rural Ethiopia using summary IFP index. Methods This study uses existing data from the ENGINE birth cohort study, conducted from March 2014 to March 2016 in three districts in the southwest of Ethiopia. A total of 4680 pregnant women were recruited and data were collected once during pregnancy (twice for those in the first trimester), at birth, and then every 3 months until the child was 12 months old. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on IFPs, maternal depressive symptoms, household food insecurity, intimate partner violence (IPV), maternal social support, active social participation, and other sociodemographic variables. A composite measure of IFP index was computed using 14 WHO recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practice indicators. High IFP index indicated best practice. Prenatal and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were assessed using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9). Linear multilevel mixed effects model was fitted to assess longitudinal relationship of IFPs with maternal depression and other psychosocial factors. Results Reports of higher postnatal depressive symptoms (ß = − 1.03, P = 0.001) and IPV (ß = − 0.21, P = 0.001) were associated with lower scores on the IFP index. Whereas, reports of better maternal social support (ß = 0.11, P = 0.002) and active social participation (ß = 0.55, P < 0.001) were associated with higher scores on the IFP index. Contrary to expectations, moderate household food insecurity (ß = 0.84, P = 0.003), severe household food insecurity (ß = 1.03, P = 0.01) and infant morbidity episodes (ß = 0.63, P = 0.013) were associated with higher scores on the IFP index. Conclusions Overall, a multitude of factors are related to IFPs and hence coordinated, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder interventions including maternal depressive symptoms screening and management are needed to improve infant feeding practices.


BMC Nutrition ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milagro Escobar ◽  
Andrea DeCastro Mendez ◽  
Maria Romero Encinas ◽  
Sofia Villagomez ◽  
Janet M. Wojcicki

Abstract Background Food insecurity impacts nearly one-in-four Latinx households in the United States and has been exacerbated by the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We examined the impact of COVID-19 on household and child food security in three preexisting, longitudinal, Latinx urban cohorts in the San Francisco Bay Area (N = 375 households, 1875 individuals). Households were initially recruited during pregnancy and postpartum at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) and UCSF Benioff prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this COVID-19 sub-study, participants responded to a 15-min telephonic interview. Participants answered 18 questions from the US Food Security Food Module (US HFSSM) and questions on types of food consumption, housing and employment status, and history of COVID-19 infection as per community or hospital-based testing. Food security and insecurity levels were compared with prior year metrics. Results We found low levels of household food security in Latinx families (by cohort: 29.2%; 34.2%; 60.0%) and child food security (56.9%, 54.1%, 78.0%) with differences between cohorts explained by self-reported levels of education and employment status. Food security levels were much lower than those reported previously in two cohorts where data had been recorded from prior years. Reported history of COVID-19 infection in households was 4.8% (95% Confidence Interval (CI); 1.5–14.3%); 7.2% (95%CI, 3.6–13.9%) and 3.5% (95%CI, 1.7–7.2%) by cohort and was associated with food insecurity in the two larger cohorts (p = 0.03; p = 0.01 respectively). Conclusions Latinx families in the Bay Area with children are experiencing a sharp rise in food insecurity levels during the COVID-19 epidemic. Food insecurity, similar to other indices of poverty, is associated with increased risk for COVID-19 infection. Comprehensive interventions are needed to address food insecurity in Latinx populations and further studies are needed to better assess independent associations between household food insecurity, poor nutritional health and risk of COVID-19 infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1360.3-1361
Author(s):  
L. G. Espinosa Banuelos ◽  
P. R. Ancer Rodríguez ◽  
M. G. Herrera López ◽  
C. M. Skinner Taylor ◽  
L. Pérez Barbosa ◽  
...  

Background:The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has directly impacted the psychological and physical health of individuals worldwide, as well as the global economy. Food insecurity rates have risen especially in vulnerable countries like Mexico. Furthermore, social isolation and economic uncertainty have multiplied depression and anxiety disorders. Pregnant and postpartum women are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, increased stress, depression, and anxiety.Objectives:The aim of this study is to determine the perception of food insecurity (FI) and perceived stress in pregnant and postpartum women with rheumatic disease during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Methods:An observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted. Patients from to the pregnancy and rheumatic diseases clinic of the University Hospital “Dr. José E. González” in Northeast Mexico evaluated between August to October 2020 were included. The Spanish validated versions of the Household Food Security Access Scale (HFIAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were applied by telephonic interview. The WHO recommendations were employed to determine the appropriate intake for each food group in a week. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine normality of the data. The Spearman correlation coefficient and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 29 women were included. Six (20.6%) women were found to have moderate or severe degrees of food insecurity. In addition, 12 (40.30%) perceived moderate and severe levels of stress in the PSS-10. No relationship was found between food insecurity and perceived stress (p= 0.059). The food groups that exceeded the recommended weekly frequency were oils and sugars exceeded 3.9 and 2.9 frequencies, respectively.Conclusion:We found that 20.6% women suffered household food insecurity and 40.3% suffered moderate and severe levels of stress. No relationship was found between food insecurity with the HIFAS scale and perceived stress measures with the PSS-10. We found that oils and sugars exceeded more by the double of the recommended frequency per week.References:[1]Pérez-Escamilla R, Cunningham K, Moran VH. COVID-19 and maternal and child food and nutrition insecurity: a complex syndemic. Matern Child Nutr. 2020;16(3):e13036. doi:10.1111/mcn.13036[2]Adams EL, Caccavale LJ, Smith D, Bean MK. Food Insecurity, the Home Food Environment, and Parent Feeding Practices in the Era of COVID-19. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020;28(11):2056-2063. doi:10.1002/oby.22996Table 1.Socio-demographic characteristics and scale results.Age, years, mean (SD)27.5 (7.03)Diagnosis, n (%)RA16 (55.1)SLE7 (24.4)Others6 (20.6)Results per scalesHFIAS, n (%)No risk13 (44.8)Mild10 (34.4)Moderated3 (10.3)Severe3 (10.3)EPP-10, n (%)Mild17 (58.6)Moderated9 (31.0)Severe3 (10.3)SD: standard deviation, RA: Rheumatoid arthritis, SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus, HFIAS: Household food security access component scale, EPP-10: Perceived stress scale 10 items.Disclosure of Interests:None declared.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (suppl) ◽  
pp. 27s-37s ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Melgar-Quinonez ◽  
Michelle Hackett

Measuring household food insecurity represents a challenge due to the complexity and wide array of factors associated with this phenomenon. For over one decade, researchers and agencies throughout the world have been using and assessing the validity of variations of the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Supplemental Module. Thanks to numerous studies of diverse design, size, and purpose, the Household Food Security Supplemental Module has shown its suitability to directly evaluate the perceptions of individuals on their food security status. In addition, challenges and limitations are becoming clearer and new research questions are emerging as the process advances. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, validation procedures, and use of the Household Food Security Supplemental Module in very diverse settings. The most common Household Food Security Supplemental Module related studies have been conducted using criterion validity, Rasch modeling and Cronbach-Alpha Coefficient. It is critical that researchers, policy makers, governmental and non-governmental agencies intensify their efforts to further develop tools that provide valid and reliable measures of food security in diverse population groups. Additional work is needed to synthesize a universally applicable tool able to capture the global human phenomenon of food insecurity.


1970 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muntasha Birhanu ◽  
Teferi Abegaz ◽  
Rekiku Fikre

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of optimal complementary feeding practices are lower than expected. Undernutrition contributes 35% of children mortality. Our study was aimed to assess magnitude and factors associated with optimal complementary feeding practices among children 6-23 months in Bensa Dstrict, Sidama Zone, South Ethiopia, 2016.METHOD: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from January to February 2016 in (8) randomly selected kebles found in Bensa District. Respondents were selected by using simple random sampling technique after sampling frame was prepared from rapid survey. Pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect information. Then, data were entered into SPSS version 20, Then, crude odds ratio (COR) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval were computed to examine statistical significance.RESULT: This study revealed that only 8.6% (95%CI: 6.4, 10.7%) of 6-23 months children had optimal complementary feeding practices. Mother’s knowledge on optimal complementary feeding (AOR=5.4, 95%CI: 2.7, 11), postnatal care service utilization(AOR=3.4, 95%CI: 1.7, 7), and household food security (AOR=5, 95%CI: 2.5, 10.5) were positively associated with optimal complementary feeding practices.CONCLUSION: Mother’s knowledge, postnatal care utilization and household food security positively affected optimal complementary feeding practices.Thus, Bensa District Health Office, Sidama Zone Health Departiment and other respective stakeholders should cooperatively work to enhance knowledge of mothers/care takers on optimal complementary feeding practices, household food security and on advantages of postnatal care service utilization.


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