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      Food Security Experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families with Young Children in An Urban Setting: Influencing Factors and Coping Strategies

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          Abstract

          Evidence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ food security experiences and coping strategies used when food insecurity occurs is limited. Such evidence is important to inform policies that can reduce the consequences of food insecurity. This study investigated factors perceived by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with young children to influence household food security, and coping strategies used, in an urban setting. A qualitative research inductive approach was used. Data were collected through an iterative process of inquiry through initial interviews with 30 primary care-givers, followed by in-depth interviews with six participants to further explore emerging themes. Major topics explored were: influencing factors, food insecurity experiences, impact on food selection, and coping strategies. Food affordability relating to income and living expenses was a major barrier to a healthy diet with large household bills impacting food choice and meal quality. Access to family support was the main reported coping strategy. Food insecurity is experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, it is largely intermittent occurring especially when large household bills are due for payment. Family support provides an essential safety net and the implications of this are important to consider in public policy to address food insecurity.

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          Most cited references26

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          Characterization of household food insecurity in Québec: food and feelings

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            Social capital is associated with decreased risk of hunger.

            This article explores whether social capital-a measure of trust, reciprocity and social networks-is positively associated with household food security, independent of household-level socioeconomic factors. Interviews were conducted in 330 low-income households from Hartford, Connecticut. Social capital was measured using a 7-item Likert scale and was analyzed using household- and community-level scores. Household food security and hunger were measured using the US Household Food Security Module. chi2 tests were used to examine associations between social capital, food security and household demographic characteristics. Logistic regression was used to examine whether household- and community-level social capital decreases the odds of household hunger, and to estimate which household characteristics increase the likelihood of having social capital. Consistent with our hypotheses, social capital, at both the household and community levels, is significantly associated with household food security in these data. Community-level social capital is significantly associated with decreased odds of experiencing hunger (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.47 [95% CI 0.28, 0.81], P<0.01), while controlling for household socioeconomic status. Results show that households with an elderly member are over two and a half times as likely to have high social capital (AOR=2.68 [1.22, 5.87], P<0.01) than are non-elderly households, after controlling for socioeconomic status. Having a household member who participates in a social or civic organization is also significantly associated with having higher levels of social capital. Social capital, particularly in terms of reciprocity among neighbors, contributes to household food security. Households may have similarly limited financial or food resources, but households with higher levels of social capital are less likely to experience hunger.
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              Why do women of low socioeconomic status have poorer dietary behaviours than women of higher socioeconomic status? A qualitative exploration.

              In developed countries, persons of low socioeconomic status (SES) are generally less likely to consume diets consistent with dietary guidelines. Little is known about the mechanisms that underlie SES differences in eating behaviours. Since women are often responsible for dietary choices within households, this qualitative study investigated factors that may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in dietary behaviour among women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 high-, 19 mid- and 18 low- SES women, recruited from Melbourne, Australia, using an area-level indicator of SES. An ecological framework, in which individual, social and environmental level influences on diet were considered, was used to guide the development of interview questions and interpretation of the data. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify the main themes emerging from the data. Several key influences varied by SES. These included food-related values such as health consciousness, and a lack of time due to family commitments (more salient among higher SES women), as well as perceived high cost of healthy eating and lack of time due to work commitments (more important for low SES women). Reported availability of and access to good quality healthy foods did not differ strikingly across SES groups. Public health strategies aimed at reducing SES inequalities in diet might focus on promoting healthy diets that are low cost, as well as promoting time-efficient food preparation strategies for all women.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                26 November 2018
                December 2018
                : 15
                : 12
                : 2649
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Menzies School of Health Research, 0870 Darwin, Australia; anne.chang@ 123456menzies.edu.au (A.B.C.); julie.brimblecombe@ 123456monash.edu.au (J.B.)
                [2 ]Department of Respiratory Medicine, Queensland Children’s Hospital, 4101 Brisbane, Australia
                [3 ]Children’s Centre for Health Research, Queensland University of Technology; 4101 Brisbane, Australia
                [4 ]Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, 3168 Melbourne, Australia
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: leisa.mccarthy@ 123456menzies.edu.au ; Tel.: +61-088-959-5389
                Article
                ijerph-15-02649
                10.3390/ijerph15122649
                6313734
                30486277
                59f9e61a-4ec0-4e82-a31d-1c77ae77efa7
                © 2018 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 26 October 2018
                : 21 November 2018
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                food security,food insecurity,aboriginal and torres strait islander population,children,urban,experiences,coping strategies

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