Food Insecurity among College Students

Assoumou, Bertille; Pharr, Jennifer R.; Coughenour, Courtney

doi:10.5539/gjhs.v14n5p17

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The methodology and the data collection used in the present study are similar to those used in our previous study [ 24 ]. This was a cross-sectional study that collected data from a convenience sample of students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) who were enrolled during the 2020 Fall semester.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food insecurity and risky sexual behaviors among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

2023

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Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and food insecurity are public health concerns in the United States (US) due to their growing prevalence and incidence among young people, and particularly in college students. Studies have reported that college students are at higher risk of STIs due to the high rates of risky sexual behavior (RSB). Most studies report a food insecurity prevalence of more than 30% among college students, which was more than twice the overall national food insecurity rate of 10.5% in 2020. This study aims to assess the relationship between food insecurity and RSB among college students during the early-stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a cross-sectional study from a convenience sample of 320 students enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2020 Fall semester. Data was collected using an online survey. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results Food insecure students were 2.9 times more likely to report receiving or giving fellatio without using a condom at least once in the past 6 months (P < 0.01) compared to food secure students. There was no significant association between food insecurity and other RSBs evaluated in this study. Conclusions The current study provides valuable information on food insecurity and RSB among college students during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Larger and longitudinal studies are needed to assess the trajectory of the association between food insecurity and fellatio with no condom use and other RSB among college students.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food insecurity and risky sexual behaviors among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

2023

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“…Food insecurity in the United States has been studied in many contexts; more recently, there has been a focus on how it affects college students due to recognition of its prevalence in this population. Those enrolled in college are more likely to be food insecure than the average US household, with some studies finding rates of food insecurity as high as 30%, in comparison to the national average of 10.5% [ 1 ]. Additionally, because the cost of attending college has increased dramatically and the minimum wage has not risen in concordance with the increased cost of living, working to pay for college and to live is now not feasible for many students [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Food insecurity has been associated with poor academic performance, in addition to poorer psychological and physical health [ 1 , 3 ]. There are many coinciding problems that typically accompany food insecurity as well, such as housing insecurity, less access to health care, and other socioeconomic difficulties [ 3 - 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has affected college students in different ways. Shifting to remote classes and closing campuses resulted in many students changing their residence [ 1 ]. However, the more impactful change was the closure of businesses or the reduction of working hours.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These effects were deleterious for those who were already at risk for food insecurity or experiencing food insecurity; yet, only about 4% of eligible college students use nutrition assistance programs [ 7 ]. Mitigating factors for students who were at risk of being food insecure or were food insecure before the pandemic include increased unemployment benefits, federal aid available to students through the CARES Act, and moving back in with parents or family [ 1 ]. Students who did not relocate for college and were responsible for providing financial support for their family before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to experience worsened food security [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Web-Based Tool Designed to Encourage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use in Urban College Students: Usability Testing Study

Li,

Platkin,

Chin

et al. 2024

JMIR Form Res

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Background Food insecurity continues to be a risk for college students in the United States. It is associated with numerous problems, such as chronic health conditions, increased stress and anxiety, and a lower grade point average. After COVID-19, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were extended to college-aged students; however, there were some barriers to participation, which persisted such as lack of perceived food insecurity risk, lack of knowledge regarding the SNAP application process, the complexity of determining eligibility, and stigma associated with needing social assistance. A technology-enhanced tool was developed to address these barriers to SNAP enrollment and encourage at-risk college students to apply for SNAP. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the usability and acceptability of a web-based SNAP screening tool designed for college-aged students. Methods College students aged 18-25 years were recruited to participate in 2 rounds of usability testing during fall 2022. Participants tested the prototype of a web-based SNAP screener tool using a standardized think-aloud method. The usability and acceptability of the tool were assessed using a semistructured interview and a 10-item validated System Usability Scale questionnaire. Audio recordings and field notes were systematically reviewed by extracting and sorting feedback as positive or negative comments. System Usability Scale questionnaire data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and sign test. Results A total of 12 students (mean age 21.8, SD 2.8 years; n=6, 50% undergraduate; n=11, 92% female; n=7, 58% Hispanic or Black or African American; n=9, 78% low or very low food security) participated in both rounds of user testing. Round 1 testing highlighted overall positive experiences with the tool, with most participants (10/12) stating that the website fulfills its primary objective as a support tool to encourage college students to apply for SNAP. However, issues related to user interface design, navigation, and wording of some questions in the screening tool were noted. Key changes after round 1 reflected these concerns, including improved design of response buttons and tool logo and improved clarity of screening questions. The overall system usability showed slight, but not statistically significant, improvement between round 1 and round 2 (91.25 vs 92.50; P =.10, respectively). Conclusions Overall usability findings suggest that this web-based tool was highly usable and acceptable to urban college students and could be an effective and appealing approach as a support tool to introduce college students to the SNAP application process. The findings from this study will inform further development of the tool, which could eventually be disseminated publicly among various college campuses.

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Web-Based Tool Designed to Encourage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use in Urban College Students: Usability Testing Study (Preprint)

Li¹,

Khan²,

Speck³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Food insecurity continues to be a risk for college students in the United States. It is associated with numerous problems, such as chronic health conditions, increased stress and anxiety, and lower grade point average. After COVID-19, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were extended to college-age students, however there were some barriers to participation which persisted such as lack of perceived food insecurity risk, lack of knowledge regarding the SNAP application process, the complexity of determining eligibility, and stigma associated with needing social assistance. A technology-enhanced tool was developed to address these barriers to SNAP enrollment and encourage at-risk college students to apply for SNAP. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to test the usability and acceptability of a web-based SNAP screening tool designed for college-aged students. METHODS College students ages 18-25 years were recruited to participate in two rounds of usability testing during Fall 2022. Participants tested the prototype of a web-based SNAP screener tool using a standardized think-aloud method. Usability and acceptability of the tool was assessed using a semi-structured interview and a 10-item validated System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire. Audio recordings and field notes were systematically reviewed by extracting and sorting feedback as positive or negative comments. SUS questionnaire data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and sign test. RESULTS A total of 12 students (mean age 21.8 (SD 2.8) years; 50% undergraduate; 92% female; 58% Hispanic or Black/African American; 78% low/very low food security) participated in both rounds of user testing. Round 1 (R1) testing highlighted overall positive experiences with the tool, with most participants (10/12) stating that the website fulfills its primary objective as a support tool to encourage college students to apply for SNAP. However, issues related to user interface design, navigation and wording of some questions in the screening tool were noted. Key changes after R1 reflected these concerns, including improved design of response buttons and tool logo, and improved clarity of screening questions. Overall system usability tended to improve between R1 and R2 (91.25 vs 92.50; P=0.10, respectively). A trend towards increased learnability was also observed between both rounds (87.50 vs 100; P=0.06, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Overall usability findings suggest this web-based tool was highly usable and acceptable to urban college students, and could be an effective and appealing approach as a support tool to introduce college students to the SNAP application process. Findings from this study will inform further development of the tool, which could eventually be disseminated publicly among various college campuses.

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Food Insecurity among College Students

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Food insecurity and risky sexual behaviors among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Food insecurity and risky sexual behaviors among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Web-Based Tool Designed to Encourage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use in Urban College Students: Usability Testing Study

Web-Based Tool Designed to Encourage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use in Urban College Students: Usability Testing Study (Preprint)

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