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The Prevalence of Food Insecurity Among Pregnant Women in a Community‐based Intervention Program
Author(s) -
Nnakwe Nweze E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.791.11
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , food security , psychological intervention , malnutrition , intervention (counseling) , food insecurity , gerontology , nursing , geography , archaeology , pathology , agriculture
Background Food insecurity is practically a new approach and a more indicative measure of malnutrition. In Nigeria, despite various interventions in the past decades, malnutrition continues to be a serious public health problem and a contributing factor to high incidence of maternal and infant mortality. However, research studies on the frequency of food security in pregnant women especially in rural communities is limited. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among pregnant women who participated in a community‐based intervention program. Method Two hundred and forty eight pregnant women were recruited after they had enrolled in a community‐based prenatal intervention program. The participants gave oral consent to be in the study and received a note containing the name of trained nurses they contacted for debriefing. Data were collected for two years from participants who volunteered, using confidential questionnaire containing demographic characteristics. The participants also responded to a six‐question subscale out of the 18 question Food Security Module, developed by the USDA. The subscale addressed the following areas: (1) not having enough money to buy food for a balanced meal, (2) adults cutting the size of or skipping meals, (3) frequency of cutting or skipping meals, and (4) adults not eating for a whole day. Data was statistically analyzed using SPSS computer software. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between literacy level, number of children in the household and food insecurity. Pearson Chi‐square was used to evaluate the differences between food insecurity levels. Results Ten percent of the respondents were marginally food secure, 20 % were food insecure and 70% were classified as very low food security at p<0.05. The participants who did not attend school were significantly food insecure than those had some education at p<0.001. In addition, participants with three or more children experienced more food insecurity than those with one of two children. This was statistically significant at p<0.05. Conclusions Food insecurity is prevalent among pregnant women and it is associated with those who did not attend school and the number of children in the household.