Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Neighborhood Child Opportunity Index

Authors

Brandon J. Ho, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC.
Alexandra Rucker, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC; The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.
Meleah D. Boyle, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC.
Gia M. Badolato, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC.
Monika K. Goyal, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC; The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC. Electronic address: mgoyal@cnmc.org.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-25-2022

Journal

The Journal of pediatrics

DOI

10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.02.042

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between the Child Opportunity Index (COI) and food insecurity. STUDY DESIGN: This was a secondary analysis of a comprehensive screening instrument for social determinants of health and behavioral health risks. It was administered in two urban pediatric emergency departments to adolescents aged 13-21 years and caregivers of children 0-17 years. FI was assessed using the two-item Hunger Vital Sign. Residential addresses were geocoded and linked with COI data. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models were developed to measure the relationship between COI and FI. RESULTS: Of the 954 participants (384 adolescents, 570 caregivers) who underwent screening, 15.7% identified food insecurity (14.3% of adolescent and 16.7% of caregiver participants). The majority of participants were non-Hispanic Black (overall: 62.3%; food secure: 60.9%; food insecure: 72.0%), publicly insured (overall: 56.6%; food secure: 53.1%; food insecure: 73.3%) and lived in neighborhoods of low/very low opportunity (overall: 76.9%; food secure: 74.7%; food insecure: 88.3%). In adjusted analyses, participants living in neighborhoods of low/very low child opportunity had three times greater odds of being food insecure compared with children living in neighborhoods of high child opportunity (aOR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.4, 6.3). CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that FI is associated with lower neighborhood opportunity. Our results could inform future screening initiatives and support the development of novel, place-based interventions to tackle the complex issue of food insecurity.

APA Citation

Ho, Brandon J.; Rucker, Alexandra; Boyle, Meleah D.; Badolato, Gia M.; and Goyal, Monika K., "Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Neighborhood Child Opportunity Index" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 112.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/112

Department

Pediatrics