Is food insecurity a barrier to dental student success?

Marshall, Teresa A.; Zheng, Rong; Anderson, Cari L.; Handoo, Nidhi; Qian, Fang

doi:10.1002/jdd.12623

Cited by 7 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…35 Unfortunately, similar to our dental students with food insecurity, multiple investigators have reported that food banks and other programs are not well utilized by undergraduate students. 13,19,20,35 Students with food insecurity report associating food bank use with a stigma, embarrassment, and/or shame, as well as pragmatic concerns associated with lack of transportation, hours of operation, and insufficient time. 35 Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds benefit from free and/or reduced breakfast and lunch programs during elementary and secondary school; free and/or reduced meal programs are not available to university students regardless of socioeconomic background.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…11,21 Novel demographic questions (e.g., food procurement) were developed in a reiterative process. 20 The validated USDA's ten item Adult Food Security Module was used to assess food security status. 22 Students were classified as food secure if they answered "no" to all questions and food insecure if they answered "yes" to one or more questions.…”

Section: Survey Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[15][16][17] Although the prevalence and impact of food insecurity among undergraduates has been widely investigated, food insecurity among graduate and professional students has received less attention. [18][19][20] 20 The dental students with food insecurity were more likely to experience food-related stress, sleep difficulties, and/or academic difficulties than their peers with food security. 20 Oral health depends on adequate nutrient intakes and limited exposure to cariogenic food stuffs; diet counseling for oral health is a standard of care for oral health professionals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[18][19][20] 20 The dental students with food insecurity were more likely to experience food-related stress, sleep difficulties, and/or academic difficulties than their peers with food security. 20 Oral health depends on adequate nutrient intakes and limited exposure to cariogenic food stuffs; diet counseling for oral health is a standard of care for oral health professionals. Dental students are expected to model healthy dietary behaviors, and food insecurity may preclude modeling healthy behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality among dental students

Marshall

Laurence

Qian

et al. 2023

Journal of Dental Education

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PurposeFood insecurity is associated with lower diet quality, adverse health outcomes, and academic difficulty among undergraduate students. The objective was to identify the relationship between food security status and diet quality in dental students.MethodsAll dental students attending Howard University (n = 286) or the University of Iowa (n = 326) during the fall 2021 semester were invited to complete a cross‐sectional survey designed to query demographics, food security status (i.e., United States Department of Agriculture's ten item Adult Food Security Module), and diet quality (i.e., short Healthy Eating Index). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics platform.ResultsResponse rates were similar for Howard (32.5%) and Iowa (29.4%). Students with food insecurity (46.0%) were slightly older and more likely to be Black or other, first generation professional/graduate students, and receive financial aid than peers with food security (p < 0.050). Food insecurity was associated with lower intakes of fruits and vegetables (p ≤ 0.005), higher intakes of added sugars (p < 0.001), and lower diet quality (p = 0.003). In linear regression analyses that controlled for other variables, food insecurity (p = 0.012), school site (p = 0.027), and gender (p = 0.039) were predictive of lower diet quality.ConclusionsThe inability to procure adequate and appropriate foods was associated with marginal dietary habits (i.e., less than ideal food choices and eating behaviors) and lower diet quality in dental students. Both marginal dietary habits and lower diet quality increase chronic disease risk and may present a barrier to academic success. Addressing food insecurity among dental students is necessary to ensure equitable opportunities for a healthy workforce in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Survey Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality among dental students

Marshall

Laurence

Qian

et al. 2023

Journal of Dental Education

Self Cite

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“…Data were descriptively analyzed to assess change in food security status. We employed a twosided Fisher Exact Test of Independence (Marshall et al, 2021) to test our hypotheses that changes in student food security status during the pandemic are associated with intersecting identities. The analysis was completed with RStudio (posit.co).…”

Section: Survey Itemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

College student food security during the COVID-19 pandemic

Rafferty

Schusler

Mestre

2023

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

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Food insecurity among college and university students has increased in the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique public health challenges, including increased food insecurity. In a cross-sectional survey of students at a private university in the midwestern U.S. (N=253) we examined how student food security status changed during the pandemic and what relationships exist between changes in food security and various aspects of student identities. Twenty-nine percent of responding students indicated that they became less food secure during the pandemic, and the overall reported food insecurity rate increased by 130.77%. Change in respondent food security status during the pandemic was associated with household income (p=0.000), loss or family loss of employment because of the pandemic (p=0.000), receiving financial aid (p=0.006), individual or family infection with COVID-19 (p=0.020), perceived health during the pandemic (p=0.000), eating 4.5 cups of fruits and/or vegetables each day (p=0.040), race and ethnicity (p=0.042), first-generation in higher education (p=0.017), sexual orientation (p=0.027), and spring 2020 GPA (p=0.003). The results contribute to a growing body of evidence that higher education institutions, as well as state and federal governments, should increase their efforts to support students to achieve food security. In doing so, it is critical to consider the disparities in food security associated with diverse and intersecting social identities, including socio-economic class, race and ethnicity, being first in one’s family to attend college, and sexual orientation. Our results further suggest the need for interventions that not only address immediate symptoms of food insecurity but also structural discrimination that makes it more difficult for members of marginalized groups to become food secure.

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Food security, mental health, and socioeconomic status: A cross‐sectional study among medical college students in central part of Iran, Kashan

Amin

Akbari

Jafarnejad

2022

Health Science Reports

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Background and Aims Food security is a complex and multidimensional issue that has been recognized as a serious public health problem all over the world for the past two decades. The present study was designed and conducted to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among college students at the Kashan University of Medical Sciences and some related factors including socioeconomic and mental health determinants. Methods The present study is a cross‐sectional study conducted on 358 students who were currently studying at the Kashan University of Medical Sciences. The students who were pregnant or had a special diet to follow were excluded. Samples were selected by the systematic method. Food security was measured using United States Department of Agriculture. Food Frequency Questionnaire, 21‐items Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Socioeconomic Questionnaire were used to investigate the nutrients intake, depression/anxiety status, and socioeconomic factors, respectively. Chi‐square, independent t‐test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results Based on the findings of the present study, 16.8% of students experienced different levels of food insecurity, and 83.2% of participants were categorized as food secure. Gender, financial assistance, health insurance, depression, and students' occupation are associated with food insecurity (P < .05). Additionally, the results of the logistic regression analysis showed that depression (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01‐1.07), and students' jobs (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.23‐0.80) have the greatest impact on students' food insecurity. Conclusion The findings of the present study show that economic factors and gender have a significant impact on students' food security. Moreover, the association of food insecurity with mental disorders such as depression was demonstrated in the current study. However, we could not detect any significant association between daily energy intake and macronutrients which indicates the requirement for more detailed studies.

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Is food insecurity a barrier to dental student success?

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality among dental students

Food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality among dental students

College student food security during the COVID-19 pandemic

Food security, mental health, and socioeconomic status: A cross‐sectional study among medical college students in central part of Iran, Kashan

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