Food Security of Older Adults Requesting Older Americans Act Nutrition Program in Georgia Can Be Validly Measured Using a Short Form of the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module

Abstract

Food security is a newly recommended outcome measure for the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program (OAANP); however, it is unknown how best to evaluate the need for this program and assess its impact on a large scale. Therefore, we measured food security in all new OAANP participants and waitlisted applicants in Georgia between July and early November, 2008 (n = 4731) with the self-administered mail survey method used in the ongoing Georgia Performance Outcomes Measures project. We used a modified 6-item U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) with a 30-d reference period and 2 reminder postcards. Approximately 33% of those identified completed the survey (n = 1594, mean age 74.6 ± 9.5 y, 68.6% female, 30.6% black). Most of the respondents (91%) completed all 6 food security questions, whereas 26 did not respond to any question. Infit and outfit statistics for each of the 6 questions were within an acceptable range. Psychometric properties observed in our food security data were generally similar to those in the nationally representative survey conducted by the Census Bureau and suggest that our food security statistics may be meaningfully compared with national food security statistics published by the USDA. Our findings suggest that food security can be reasonably measured by a short form of HFSSM in older adults requesting OAANP. Such methodology also can be used to estimate the extent of food insecurity and help guide program and policy decisions to meet the nutrition assistance needs of vulnerable older adults.

Obesity Is More Strongly Associated With Inappropriate Eating Behaviors Than With Mental Health in Older Adults Receiving Congregate Meals

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Persistent Food Insecurity Is Associated With Higher Levels of Cost-Related Medication Nonadherence in Low-Income Older Adults

“…We used a longitudinal study design implementing 3 repeated surveys at 4-month intervals, asking participants about their experiences with FI and CRN in the past 30 days of survey completion. By using the validated modified version of the 6-item HFSSM, we were able to collect accurate and comparable FI data while reducing the response burden in our vulnerable older adult sample (28). Although not systematically validated, the CRN measure used in this study accessed key CRN behaviors most frequently reported in the literature.…”

Food security for community-living elderly people in Beijing, China

“…, Swindale & Bilinsky , Lee et al . ). Various measurements have been developed emphasising different aspects of food security in terms of food availability, affordability, utilisation and accessibility from geographical, social and cultural perspectives.…”