Measurement lessons of a repeated cross-sectional household food insecurity survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico

Abstract

Objective To validate the telephone modality of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) included in three waves of a phone survey to estimate the monthly household food insecurity (HFI) prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Design We examined the reliability and internal validity of the ELCSA scale in three repeated waves of a cross-sectional surveys with Rasch models. We estimated the monthly prevalence of food insecurity in the general population and in households with and without children, and compared them with a national 2018 survey. We tested concurrent validity by testing associations of HFI with socioeconomic status and anxiety. Setting ENCOVID-19 is a monthly telephone cross-sectional survey collecting information on the well-being of Mexican households during the pandemic lockdown. Surveys used probabilistic samples and we used data from April (n=833), May (n=850), and June 2020 (n=1,674). Participants Mexicans 18 years or older who had a mobile telephone. Results ELCSA had adequate model fit and HFI was associated, within each wave, with more poverty and anxiety. The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with an important reduction in food security; decreasing stepwise from 38.9% in 2018 to 24.9% in June 2020 in households with children. Conclusions Telephone surveys are a feasible strategy to monitor food insecurity with ELCSA.

Tendências e desigualdades na insegurança alimentar durante a pandemia de COVID-19: resultados de quatro inquéritos epidemiológicos seriados

“…Embora as comparações apresentadas no parágrafo anterior sejam válidas para entender a insegurança alimentar no cenário nacional, no contexto da COVID-19 é interessante que a comparação seja feita com outros estudos que também tenham avaliado a insegurança alimentar durante a pandemia. Uma pesquisa realizada no México encontrou um aumento importante da insegurança alimentar durante a crise de saúde pública causada pelo SARS-CoV-2: de 61,1% em abril para 75,1% em junho de 2020 33 , muito acima da observada no presente estudo.…”

“…Apesar das discrepâncias na forma como os dados foram coletados e como a insegurança alimentar foi avaliada em ambos os estudos, parte da diferença observada pode ser explicada pela maneira como os dois países estão enfrentando a pandemia. O México implementou um lockdown nacional entre 17 de março e 31 de maio, sendo que a maioria do país esteve em nível vermelho de risco, com somente os serviços essenciais funcionando mesmo após o governo ter flexibilizado o lockdown a partir de junho 33 . Já o Brasil não chegou a adotar medida tão extrema em nível nacional, sendo que em alguns estados, como o Rio Grande do Sul, o retorno de diversas atividades aconteceu antes mesmo do pico de transmissão da doença.…”

Food Insecurity and Affecting Factors in Households With Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…A study conducted in Mexico stated that food security in the households with children gradually decreased from 38.9% in 2018 to 24.9% in June 2020 (18) . Similarly, a study conducted in the United States determined that the number of families that were reported to have a very low food security increased by 20% during the pandemic (19) .…”

Household food insecurity before and during COVID-19 pandemic and its association with perceived stress: population-based studies

“…The expansion of household food insecurity and its associated factors represents one of the points of interest. Different studies have shown an increase in food insecurity rates, especially in developing countries such as Brazil 5,8,9,10,11,12 . In parallel, during and after conditions that generate feelings of insecurity and fear, there is an increase in mental health disorders, e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression 13 , a fact that has been found to occur as another consequence of the pandemic 14 .…”