Household Food Insecurity Was Prevalent in Java during Indonesia's Economic Crisis

Abstract

Valid assessment of household food security is important, particularly in rapidly changing circumstances such as the economic crisis that struck Indonesia in 1998. The Cornell-Radimer tool for measuring household food security has now been used in several social and economic settings. An adaptation of this tool was used in the context of the economic crisis of Java, Indonesia in June-August 1998 in a survey of 1423 mothers with children < 5 y old. Qualitative and quantitative data contributed to understanding food insecurity and provided evidence for some aspects of validity. The data showed substantial household food insecurity with 94.2% of households found to be uncertain or insecure about their food situation in the previous year. Of respondents, 11% reported losing weight in the previous year because of lack of food. Food security in Java was undoubtedly compromised by the economic crisis. These results suggest, on the basis of qualitative and quantitative understandings of food insecurity, that this tool provided a useful measure of the situation in Java in 1998. From this study and others done recently, such a tool or ones constructed using a similar approach have been found to be useful in various settings in which there is a need to understand and identify household food insecurity for purposes of estimating and monitoring prevalence and targeting of policies and programs. Further research to validate this approach in various settings is warranted.

Food insecurity is associated with dietary intake and body size of Korean children from low-income families in urban areas

“…Degrees of food insecurity measured by the 10-item Radimer/Cornell Scale were linearly associated with socioeconomic status, representing the greater the food insecurity, the poorer the socioeconomic conditions. It suggests that a use of the scale was acceptable to assess food insecurity in Korea as in the cases of other countries (Kendall et al, 1996;Pérez-Escamilla et al, 2000;Studdert et al, 2001). Nevertheless, a direct validity test for Korean population seemed to be desirable.…”

“…Food insecurity is defined, as ''the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways '' (Live Sciences Research Organization, 1990). Food insecurity is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon and varies through a continuum of successive stages as the condition becomes more severe (Bickel et al, 2000;Studdert et al, 2001). Food insecurity was proposed as a core variable for understanding the nutritional status of low-income populations (Campbell, 1991).…”

The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Factors and Food Security in Pregnant Women

“…Many studies have confirmed the effect of socioeconomic and cultural factors on food security. Despite economic and physical access to food, many people exhibit inappropriate food behaviors and choices; this indicates the need for addressing sociocultural factors (such as family head's education level, employment and social status) and sociocultural status in addition to household share of food and income (33).…”

Validation of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in rural Tanzania

“…Both methods have produced valid or accurate measurements (6)(7)(8) . Food insecurity measurements have sometimes relied in part on an index of coping strategies (9) , such as borrowing money or foraging for food, to deal with a lack of access to food.…”