Still there's no food! Food insecurity in a refugee population in Perth, Western Australia

Abstract

Aim: To identify food insecurity and examine its association with socio‐demographic factors in a group of newly arrived refugees. Methods: Structured questionnaire based around the same question asked during the National Nutrition Survey (1995). The questionnaire was administered to a service‐based sample of clients accessing early intervention services. Fifty‐one individuals who were newly arrived refugees, resident in Australia for less than 12 months and who were receiving torture and trauma counselling. Results: Thirty‐six individuals (71% of sample) reported running out of food. This percentage was much greater than the 5.2% recorded across all social and economic groups in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey. The most common reasons for running out of food were related to large household bills, late welfare payments, poor household skills, sending money ‘home’, transport issues and poor budgeting skills. Conclusion: Food insecurity in refugees in Perth, Western Australia is comparable to the rates of food insecurity found in this population in other parts of the developed world. There are, however, significant ramifications for the development of intervention strategies as well as policy implications. For refugees, focusing on community food security strategies will assist in building community capacity, facilitate the retention of cultural integrity, restore and maintain dignity, and will be instrumental in ensuring both short‐ and long‐term health.

Prevalence and socio‐demographic predictors of food insecurity among regional and remote Western Australian children

“…Policy recommendations include: i) incorporating goals and strategies to improve child FS into public health plans or develop stand-alone FS policies; 26,[50][51][52] ii) ensuring that government welfare policies act as both adequate 'safety nets' and 'springboards' out of disadvantage; 4 and iii) supporting the establishment of local employment opportunities in regional and remote areas, to increase financial security among families, particular, equitable access to affordable, nutritious food options for vulnerable groups that are FI should be a priority. 4,12,14,23,26,51,53,54 Recommendations for future research include: i) further investigation and monitoring of FI and its determinants in Australia from multiple perspectives, 8,43,46,56 especially among children, regional and remote residents; 52 and ii) longitudinal research to investigate the impact of FI on children's behaviours and resulting health outcomes.…”

“…13 As a nation, Australia lags behind in the accurate measurement of FI among its population, especially children. Previous FI studies in Australia 8,[14][15][16] measured FI using a single question, or a few broad questions, which may not adequately establish the extent of the issue. Furthermore, previous Australian studies measured FI among adults and child residents, but as reported by adults, and by and large on the urban population.…”

“…Furthermore, previous Australian studies measured FI among adults and child residents, but as reported by adults, and by and large on the urban population. 8,[14][15][16] The measurement of child-reported FI data is important, as it would facilitate a greater understanding of the issue and its determinants. Child-reported data would aid efforts to improve negative developmental, mental and physical health outcomes of FI.…”

The Social Determinants of Food Purchasing Practices: Who Chooses Price-before-Health, Taste-before-Price or Organic Foods in Australia?

“…Data collected in South Australia estimates the food insecurity rate to be approximately 7% [22]. However, this increases among at-risk groups including: unemployed (11.3%), rental households (15.8%) [23], those identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (23%) [24] and recently arrived refugees (71%) [25].…”

Reduced food access due to a lack of money, inability to lift and lack of access to a car for food shopping: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Victoria

“…However, while there are studies in both representative samples and high-risk populations of food access limited by economic resources (15)(16)(17)(18)(19) , there has been limited research examining physical constraints to food access, although these additional factors have been hypothesised to restrict to access and impact on food intake particularly in the elderly (10) . Previous research, reviewed by White (20) , highlighted the role of car access in the choice of food outlets.…”