Development of Older Adult Food Insecurity Index to Assess Food Insecurity of Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives Quantifying the number of older adults that are food insecure in a specific geographic area is critical in developing and scaling public health prevention and response programs at the local level. However, current estimates of older adult food insecurity only consider financial constraints, following the same methodology as the general population, even though the drivers for older adults are different and multidimensional. This study aims to build a general approach to quantify the food-insecurity among older adults at the local level, using publicly available data that can be easily obtained across the country. Methods 13 risk factors for food insecurity among older adults were identified leveraging existing studies, following the Social Ecological Model (SEM), and the weighted impact of each factor was determined. Publicly available data sources were identified for each factor, ZIP code level data was compared to national averages, and the weighted data for each factor were aggregated to determine the overall food insecurity at the local level. Results Based on the averaged odds ratios across all the studies, of the 13 risk factors, beyond financial constraints, having a disability was the most impactful factor and distance to the nearest grocery store was the least impactful. A ZIP code level model of Honolulu County was developed as an example to demonstrate the approach, showing that food insecurity among older adults in the county was 2.5 times that which was reported from the Current Population Survey (16.5% versus 6.5%). Conclusion This evidence-based model considered factors that impact food insecurity among older adults across all the spheres of the SEM. The drivers of food insecurity among older adults are different than the drivers for the general population, resulting in a higher percentage of older adults being food insecure than currently reported.

Kompleksitas Kerawanan Pangan Lansia: Analisis Kebijakan Bantuan Sosial Pemerintah Daerah di Indonesia

“…Laporan Badan Pusat Statistik (2022) terkait prevalensi kerawanan pangan sedang ke berat di Sulawesi Selatan tahun 2022 sebesar 3,78 persen perlu dikaji lebih dalam lagi dengan memisahkan bayi, balita, dan lansia dalam analisisnya. Hal ini disebabkan karena pendorong kerawanan pangan pada lansia berbeda dengan penyebab kerawanan pangan pada populasi pada umumnya, sehingga persentase lansia yang rawan pangan lebih tinggi daripada yang dilaporkan saat ini (Lee, Shen and Nishita 2022). Banyak masayarakat menyadari pentingnya nutrisi optimal pada usia lanjut seperti pada bayi dan balita namun ada banyak tantangan yang menghalangi pencapaian tujuan ini (Pan Foundation, 2021).…”