Impact of Income Levels on Food Insecurity - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Impact of Income Levels on Food Insecurity

Presented by: Shelby Lenz, Kelly Annestrand, Andrea Bird, & Amy James

Tarleton State University

Social Work ProgramSlide2

Introduction

“ Food insecurity is limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways” The definition of food insecurity has evolved even more since the poverty thresholds were created, providing a basis for examining the correlation between food insecurity and income level.

Examining contributing factors to food insecurity may provide valuable insights in the development of strategies to increase food security among individuals and families in rural areas. For this reason the research proposal seeks to examine the effect that income has on food insecurity within the rural area of Erath County.

Feeding America states 17.2% of the population in Erath County is food insecure in comparison to the national average of 16.4%

The same publication from Feeding America identifies low income families as being at higher risk for food insecurity

Rural areas such as Erath County experience more significant food insecurity issues than urban areas due to a lack of nutrition assistance, limited or no public transit options, and low income. Slide3

Problem Statement & Objectives

Food insecurity is a widespread issue; however rural communities such as Erath County are affected by a limited amount of proper nutrition more frequently. A limited amount of proper nutrition and available resources occurs because citizens living in rural communities have a more prominent lack of nutrition programs or resources and opportunities than an urban community

.

The researchers developed the following research question and objectives to assess the problem:

Research Question

:

What are the trends in the levels of income and the levels of food insecurity in Erath County?

Objectives:

O

1

: Assess the correlations between income levels and food insecurity

O

2

: Assess the participants’ interpretation of food insecuritySlide4

Hypotheses

H

1

: Income level will be negatively correlated to the presence of food insecurity.

H

2

: Food insecurity will be more frequent in households with incomes below the poverty level than in households with incomes above the poverty level.Slide5

Literature review

The literature review section focused on 3 major correlations between food insecurity and income levels

1. Disparities

in rural regions

Education Level

Food and Resource Availability

2. How

income and employment status affect food insecurity within households

Low-income

Unemployed

3. Demographic

factors related to food insecurity

Racial/Ethnic Groups

AgeSlide6

Theory

Ecological

Systems Theory (EST) - Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979)

Critical

in understanding micro, mezzo and macro systems

Attempts to discover how various variables interact with/influence an individual’s life

Structured in how data is collected (methodology, IV/DV variables, analysis)Slide7

Methods & Research Design

Research

Mixed methodological approach, obtaining data to both quantitative and qualitative questions.

Six

pre developed demographic questions

Scale used

The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was utilized in the questionnaire, developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (2012)

Six domains measured in the HFIAS are

U

ncertainty

or anxiety over food

P

erceptions

of insufficient quantity of food

P

erceptions

of insufficient quality of food

R

eported

reductions of food intake

R

eported

consequences of reduced food intake

F

eelings

of shame for resorting to socially unacceptable means of accessing food

Variables

Independent variable: Income of the participant

Dependent variable: The existence of food insecurity in the participant’s householdSlide8

Data Analysis & Results

20% (n=36) do not make enough to meet basic needsSlide9

Data Analysis & Results

83%

(n=30) had an

income under $20,000

Of those who stated they did not have enough to meet basic needs...Slide10

Data Analysis & Results

50%

(n=18) had a high school diploma/GED equivalent or less

Of those who stated they did not have enough to meet basic needs...Slide11

Data Analysis & Results

33

%

(n=12) had to take in

smaller

portions for meals

Of those who stated they did not have enough to meet basic needs...Slide12

Hypotheses Conclusions

H

1

:

Income level will be negatively correlated to the presence of food insecurity.

Conclusion:

Supported

H

2

:

Food insecurity will be more frequent in households with incomes below the poverty level than in households with incomes above the poverty

level.

Conclusion:

SupportedSlide13

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

:

Researchers had a prior knowledge of, and connections within the community.

Use of the proven Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (2012)

The National Center for Health Statistics cited several studies that verify the use of the six domains contained in the HFIAS (Radimer, 1990), (Radimer, 1992), (Wehler, 1992), (Hamilton, 1997).

HFIAS has been field tested in numerous developing countries, demonstrating the usefulness and feasibility of the approach.

Limitations

:

Some participants were hesitant to fill out the survey due to uncomfortable feelings surrounding food insecurity.

The age brackets for the demographic section of the survey ended with age 36 and up, making no distinction between middle age and elderly individuals. Slide14

Ethical Considerations

Section 1.07 (l) of the NASW code of ethics

states

“[

S]ocial workers should protect the confidentiality of clients' written and electronic records and other sensitive information. Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that clients' records are stored in a secure location and that clients' records are not available to others who are not authorized to have access.”

Only the researchers have access to the collected data and it is stored securely

.

The researchers worked diligently to protect both the research participants and

researchers

from harm during the research process by explaining the purpose of the survey and any risks associated to each research participant separately.

Section 1.07 (i) of the NASW Code of ethics

states

“social workers should not discuss confidential information in any setting unless privacy can be ensured”

The surveys were completed in private areas by the participants to respect their privacy.

Outside of demographic questions such as race and gender, there were no personally identifying factors in the survey that could allow for a research participant to be identified, for example name or date of birthSlide15

Implications for Future Social Work Research

Micro

implications:

Identify and determine effective means of addressing the disproportionate levels of food insecurity among individuals

with lower

income levels.

Mezzo implications

:

Identified lower income families as a target for future social work research to determine effective means of addressing

the issue

.

Macro implications

:

The modification of social service agencies as well as research of the most effective means of addressing the disproportionate levels of food insecurity present in lower household income levels will provide the most effective means for addressing food insecurity in Erath County

.Slide16

References

Alaimo, K., Briefel, R. R., Frongillo, E. J., & Olson, C. M. (1998). Food insufficiency exists in the United States: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

The American Journal of Public Health, 3,

(419).

Anderson, S. A. (1990). Core indicators of nutritional state for difficult to sample populations.

The Journal of Nutrition

. 120(

9

), 1557-1600.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development.

American Psychologist

, 32, 513-531.

Coleman-Jenson, A., Gregory, C., & Singh, A. (2014). Household food security

in the

United States in 2013.

United

States Department of Agriculture: Economic

Research Report

.

173.

Feeding America. (2013). Map the meal gap: Highlights of findings for overall and child food insecurity. Retrieved from

http

://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/map-the-meal-gap/2011/2011-mapthemealgap-exec-summary.pdf

National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from:

http://www.vet.utk.edu/social

work/pdf/NASWCodeofEthics.pdfSlide17

References

National Center for Health Statistics. (2012). Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Retrieved from

http

://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/eufao-fsi4dm/doc-training/hfias.pdf

Patton-Lopez, M., Lopez-Cevallos, D., & Cancel-Tirado, D. (2014). Prevalence

and correlates

of food insecurity among students attending a midsize rural

university

in Oregon.

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 46(

3

)

, 223-237.

Sharkey, J., Johnson, C., & Dean, W. (2011). Relationship of household food insecurity

to health-related

quality of life in a large sample of rural and urban

women

.

Women & Health

.

51

(5), 442-460.

Sharkey, J. & Dean, W. (2011). Food insecurity, social capital and perceived personal

disparity in

a predominantly rural region of Texas: An individual level

analysis

.

Social Science

and Medicine

.

72(9), 1454-1462.

Wehler, C., Weinreb, L., Huntington, N., Scott, R., Hosmer, D., Fletcher, K., & Gundersen, C. (2004). Risk and protective factors for adult and child hunger

among low-income

housed and homeless female-headed families.

American Journal of Public Health

.

94

(1), 109-115.