Food insecurity measurement and prevalence estimates during the COVID-19 pandemic in a repeated cross-sectional survey in Mexico

Abstract

Objective To validate the telephone modality of the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) included in three waves of a phone survey to estimate the monthly household food insecurity prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Design We examined the reliability and internal validity of the ELCSA scale in three repeated waves of cross-sectional surveys with Rasch models. We estimated the monthly prevalence of food insecurity in the general population and in households with and without children, and compared them with a national 2018 survey. We tested concurrent validity by testing associations of food insecurity with socioeconomic status and anxiety. Setting ENCOVID-19 is a monthly telephone cross-sectional survey collecting information on the well-being of Mexican households during the pandemic lockdown. Surveys used probabilistic samples and we used data from April (n=833), May (n=850), and June 2020 (n=1,674). Participants Mexicans 18 years or older who had a mobile telephone. Results ELCSA had an adequate model fit and food insecurity was associated, within each wave, with more poverty and anxiety. The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with an important reduction in food security; decreasing stepwise from 38.9% in 2018 to 24.9% in June 2020 in households with children. Conclusions Telephone surveys were a feasible strategy to monitor reductions in food security during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Impact of COVID-19 on child malnutrition, obesity in women and household food insecurity in underserved urban settlements in Sri Lanka: a prospective follow-up study

“…To cope with a reduced income, participants have increased rate of borrowing, which was also observed in the UHNS-2019 study. Similar observations were made in other populations whose earning opportunities were abandoned (25)(26)(27)(28) . Other coping strategies that were observed in the current study include, taking loans and selling assets, which will exacerbate poverty and inadvertently affect child stunting in the future.…”

Social predictors of food insecurity during the stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Results from a cross-sectional web-based survey

“…In Mexico, it was reported that the MSFI of the household increased from 24•2% (2018) to 30•2% (June 2020). (31) In Vermont-US also reported is an increase (from 18•3% prepandemic to 24•4%) of MSFI (14) and in rural Bangladesh in household whit women and their families the household MSFI increase from 8•3% pre-pandemic to 51•8% (May -June 2020). (11) Our study is one of the first investigations into MSFI executed within the stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 pandemic in Peru from March 16 to June 30, 2020.…”

Impact of COVID-19 on household food insecurity and interlinkages with child feeding practices and coping strategies in Uttar Pradesh, India: a longitudinal community-based study

“…14 Among the few studies with information before and during COVID-19 time, two were from the USA, one found 32% increase in HFI since COVID-19 16 while the other found an increase of 20%. 28 Only two other studies provided estimates of HFI before and during COVID-19 where one found an increase of 14 pp (from 61.1% to 75.1%) in any HFI in Mexico 18 and the other observed an increase of 43.4 pp (from 8.3% to 51.7%) in moderate and severe HFI in Bangladesh. 17 Our study showed much higher magnitude of increase in HFI (~60 pp) compared with other studies, which is a worrisome finding given the high pre-existing levels of food insecurity in India.…”

“… 25 A recent study in Mexico examined the internal validity of food insecurity scales administered through in-person vs phone surveys and found phone surveys were a feasible strategy to measure food security during COVID-19. 18 Mothers were asked nine questions related to the household’s experience of food insecurity in the 30 days preceding the survey. These questions capture three main domains of HFI: anxiety and uncertainty about the household food supply (one item), insufficient quality (three items) and insufficient quantity and its physical consequences (five items).…”