Coates Jennifer, Frongillo Edward A, Rogers Beatrice Lorge, Webb Patrick, Wilde Parke E, Houser Robert
Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
J Nutr. 2006 May;136(5):1438S-1448S. doi: 10.1093/jn/136.5.1438S.
This paper hypothesizes that there is a common "core" to the household food insecurity experience that goes beyond insufficient food quantity and that transcends culture. The paper for the first time employs an exploratory approach to identify cross-cultural commonalities of the food insecurity experience as captured in 22 scales and related ethnographies derived from 15 different countries. The constant comparative method was used to code elements of the food insecurity experience expressed in the ethnographies and to regroup them into domains and subdomains. This typology was then applied to ascertain which experiential domains and subdomains were measured (or not) across all 22 studies. Survey data from 11 of the studies were then analyzed to assess similarities in the relative frequency with which culturally diverse households responded to questionnaire items related to these common domains/subdomains. The analysis confirmed that insufficient food quantity, inadequate food quality, and uncertainty and worry about food were a significant part of the food insecurity experience in all sampled cultures; concerns about social unacceptability emerged in all ethnographic accounts. Several subdomains were identified, such as concern over food safety and meal pattern disruption, with potentially important consequences for physical and psychological well-being. The comparative survey data showed that the relative frequency at which populations responded to domain-related questionnaire items was similar across all but a few cultures. Future food insecurity assessments should consider these core domains and subdomains as the starting point for measures that can generate rich information to inform food security policies and programs.
本文假设，家庭粮食不安全经历存在一个共同的“核心”，它不仅涉及食物数量不足，还超越了文化范畴。本文首次采用探索性方法，以确定在来自15个不同国家的22种量表及相关民族志中所体现的粮食不安全经历的跨文化共性。运用持续比较法对民族志中所表达的粮食不安全经历要素进行编码，并将它们重新归类为领域和子领域。然后应用这种类型学来确定在所有22项研究中哪些经验领域和子领域得到了测量（或未得到测量）。随后对其中11项研究的调查数据进行分析，以评估不同文化背景的家庭对与这些共同领域/子领域相关的问卷项目作出回应的相对频率的相似性。分析证实，食物数量不足、食物质量欠佳以及对食物的不确定性和担忧是所有抽样文化中粮食不安全经历的重要组成部分；在所有民族志记录中都出现了对社会不可接受性的担忧。确定了几个子领域，如对食品安全的担忧和用餐模式的中断，这些可能对身心健康产生重要影响。比较调查数据显示，除少数文化外，所有人群对与领域相关的问卷项目作出回应的相对频率相似。未来的粮食不安全评估应将这些核心领域和子领域作为起点，采取相应措施，以获取丰富信息，为粮食安全政策和计划提供参考。
