Food Insecurity and Other Poverty Indicators Among People Living with HIV/AIDS: Effects on Treatment and Health Outcomes

Abstract

Health disparities in access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) as well as the demands of long-term medication adherence have meant the full benefits of HIV treatment are often not realized. In particular, food insecurity has emerged as a robust predictor of ART non-adherence. However, research is limited in determining whether food insecurity uniquely impedes HIV treatment or if food insecurity is merely a marker for poverty that interferes more broadly with treatment. This study examined indicators of poverty at multiple levels in a sample of 364 men and 157 women living with HIV recruited through an offering of a free holiday food basket. Results showed that 61% (N = 321) of participants had experienced at least one indicator of food insecurity in the previous month. Multivariate analyses showed that food insecurity was closely tied to lack of transportation. In addition, food insecurity was associated with lacking access to ART and poor ART adherence after adjusting for neighbourhood poverty, living in an area without a supermarket (food desert), education, stable housing, and reliable transportation. Results therefore affirm previous research that has suggested food insecurity is uniquely associated with poor ART adherence and calls for structural interventions that address basic survival needs among people living with HIV, especially food security.

Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes Among Older Adults: The Role of Cost-Related Medication Underuse

“…This study, which was restricted to adults with chronic diseases, found that people living in food-insecure households were more likely to report CRMU. Similar findings have been demonstrated from smaller studies in different parts of the country among the non-elderly (25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and among low-income older adults (30)(31)(32).…”

“…These results suggest that FI among older adults in particular, has serious Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes Among Older Adults 333 implications for compliance with prescribed medication, hence medical management of disease. Although prior studies focused on specific populations, the results are generally consistent (18,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)42). Berkowitz and colleagues (18) found that FI was associated with CRMU among adults with chronic disease, and Seligman and associates (25) and Billimek and Sorkin (26) found that FI was associated with delays in filling prescriptions among adults with diabetes.…”

Neighborhood Social Capital in Relation to Late HIV Diagnosis, Linkage to HIV Care, and HIV Care Engagement

“…For instance, one study found that food insecurity among people living with HIV/AIDS was associated with residence in neighborhoods with poverty and with poorer HIV treatment adherence [99]. These explanations could also potentially explain why collective engagement was associated with lower linkage to HIV care.…”

Bibliometric analysis of medicine-related publications on poverty (2005–2015)

“…The WHO is working with poor countries to implement health policies that prioritize health needs of poor people (World Health Organization 2016). A wide range of communicable and non-communicable diseases such as parasitic, nutritional, neurodevelopmental and cardiovascular diseases have been linked to poverty (Kalichman et al 2014; Marmot 2016). At the global level, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), malaria, and tuberculosis are major poverty-related diseases.…”