PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Food insecurity is a crucial public health issue that is especially prevalent among older adults. While most measurements of food insecurity have focused on financial barriers to food access, a study by researchers at Brown University, published in The Journals of Gerontology and entitled ‘Conceptualizing Food Insecurity among Older Adults: Development of a Summary Indicator in the National Health and Aging Trends Study,’ also incorporated access-related barriers. Given that older adults are particularly susceptible to these constraints—which include functional limitations and lack of social support—the objective of the study was to construct a summary indicator of food insecurity incorporating these access-related domains. Emma Tucher, a doctoral student in health services research at the Brown School of Public Health, discussed the development of the summary indicator, saying “we were excited to take this first step.”
Tucher and colleagues used nationally representative survey data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study to construct a summary indicator of food insecurity using factors within three domains: functional, social support, and financial limitations. The team first identified the prevalence of food insecurity, then estimated logistic regression models to assess the association between the expanded measure of food insecurity and biopsychosocial factors. The study found that 4.3% of community-dwelling older adults (approximately 1,673,775 million people) were characterized as having food insecurity in 2015. Multivariable-adjusted regression models identified that being homebound, frail, and experiencing community disability was associated with food insecurity. Tucher’s research team concluded that food insecurity among older adults is more than a lack of financial resources; it is also associated with social and functional limitations.
“Without more comprehensive measurement, we will fail to account for the specific challenges that older adults aging at home face in their ability to access consistent and adequate food,” Tucher said. “This research underscores the importance of broadening the conceptualization of food insecurity among older adults to incorporate factors that disproportionately impact this population.”
Tucher and her team hope that these findings on the impact of the biopsychosocial factors of food insecurity among older adults will be used to inform future senior nutrition program targeting, measurement, and research.
Other study authors were Tamra Keeney, DPT, PhD; Alicia J. Cohen, MD, MSc; and Kali Thomas, PhD, MA.