Developing a Household Food Insecurity Questionnaire
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing a tool to measure household food insecurity in women of childbearing age in Scotland
IRAS ID
228488
Contact name
Giang Nguyen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen/NHS-Grampian
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 17 days
Research summary
Household food insecurity (HFI) is "the inability to acquire or consume an adequate diet quality or sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways, or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so". The Gallup World Poll (GWP) in 2014 revealed that the prevalence of HFI was 10%, accounting for 8.4 million people in the UK. There is evidence suggesting that HFI negatively affects physical, mental and social health. Various national survey tools have been developed to monitor HFI in some developed countries such as the USA (from 1996) and Canada (from 2005). However, in the UK as a whole, no consensus exists on which is the most suitable tool to measure HFI nationwide. HFI has only been measured twice in UK population surveys. The first attempt was in the Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey in 2003, and more recently the GWP in 2014. The recent attempt to measure HFI in the UK is from a global survey of 140 countries which provides limited information on the prevalence of HFI in the different regions of the UK such as Scotland. Furthermore, there was no information of the prevalence of HFI in the population at sub group level, particularly in women, who are particularly vulnerable to HFI. Based on that gap, prior to conducting this research, a systematic review was carried out to identify the measurements from existing literature which could be appropriate to use for the Scottish context, and assess which tool successfully covered the four domains of the HFI experience i.e. food quantity, food quality, psychological and social effects. It was concluded that amongst the existing HFI tools that have been widely used in developed contexts, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) would be the most appropriate tool to measure HFI in Scotland. This measurement, used in the GWP, is a global tool to assess HFI across countries. In addition, the Scottish Government recently decided to use it in the Scottish Health Survey in 2017. However, there are some aspects of the HFI experience that are not fully covered by FIES, i.e. psychological and social aspects. Hence, this feasibility study aims to test a questionnaire designed to measure HFI based on the FIES with additional questions which cover the missing aspects of the HFI experience. Women of childbearing age will be recruited from the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital (AMH). They will be invited to participate in the study during their visits for routine ante-natal appointments. The questionnaire will be completed by one of four methods depending on their preference including face to face interview, telephone interview, self-completion at the clinic or taking the questionnaire away to complete at home. Along with the response rate and completion rate, five statements are included in the evaluation part of the questionnaire to assess whether or not the questionnaire is understandable and acceptable to use in this sub-group of participants. In addition, during the self-completion or interview process, the researcher will observe and systematically record any difficulties raised by participants and also the type of help required. Anonymised responses will be stored in a secure database for data analysis.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NE/0299
Date of REC Opinion
15 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion