Sheikomar Olfat B, Dean Wesley, Ghattas Hala, Sahyoun Nadine R
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Curr Dev Nutr. 2021 Mar 4;5(4):nzab017. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzab017. eCollection 2021 Apr.
The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) is a UN FAO Voices of the Hungry (FAO-VoH) experiential metric of food insecurity (FI). It was pilot tested in some countries but not in Arab speaking ones and validated using global data. Yet, its psychometric properties may vary in the League of Arab States (LAS) due to cultural and linguistic differences.
) assess the validity of FIES for use in the LAS region, ) determine the prevalence of FI, by gender, age group, and the human development index (HDI), and ) examine sociodemographic characteristics of severe FI individuals.
To assess the psychometric properties of FIES, Rasch modeling was applied to the 2014-2015 Gallop World Poll (GWP) in the LAS. Prevalence and characteristics of severely FI individuals were assessed using the 2014-2017 GWP data of 62,261 respondents.
Overall, FIES met the Rasch model assumptions of equal discrimination and conditional independence. Infit statistics for FIES items, in most LAS countries, were <1.3, indicating good internal validity. In Syria and Sudan, the item "worried about not having enough food to eat" had infits >1.3. Outfit statistics >2.0, indicating erratic responses, were noted in 26% of the LAS countries. Significant correlations were found (≥0.4) between items in Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon. The overall prevalence of severe FI was 15.7%. At highest risk were those aged ≥50 y compared with younger adults (16.5% versus 15.5%, respectively, <0.02), women compared with men (17.6% versus 14.1%, respectively, <0.0001), and those in countries with low HDI compared with high HDI (24.9% versus 8.3%, respectively, <0.0001).
Overall, FIES is valid for measuring FI in the LAS. Cognitive testing of items with high outfit statistics and omission of correlated ones may improve the scale. Populations vulnerable to severe FI include older adults and women. These populations should be examined further.
粮食不安全经历量表（FIES）是联合国粮农组织饥饿之声（FAO-VoH）的粮食不安全体验指标。它已在一些国家进行了试点测试，但未在阿拉伯语国家进行，并且使用全球数据进行了验证。然而，由于文化和语言差异，其心理测量特性在阿拉伯国家联盟（LAS）可能会有所不同。
（1）评估FIES在LAS地区使用的有效性；（2）按性别、年龄组和人类发展指数（HDI）确定粮食不安全的患病率；（3）检查严重粮食不安全个体的社会人口特征。
为了评估FIES的心理测量特性，将拉施模型应用于LAS地区2014 - 2015年盖洛普世界民意调查（GWP）。使用62261名受访者的2014 - 2017年GWP数据评估严重粮食不安全个体的患病率和特征。
总体而言，FIES符合拉施模型关于平等区分和条件独立的假设。在大多数LAS国家，FIES项目的内拟合统计量<1.3，表明内部效度良好。在叙利亚和苏丹，“担心没有足够的食物吃”这一项目的内拟合统计量>1.3。在26%的LAS国家中发现了大于2.0的外拟合统计量，表明回答不稳定。在阿尔及利亚、突尼斯和黎巴嫩，各项目之间发现了显著相关性（≥0.4）。严重粮食不安全的总体患病率为15.7%。与年轻人相比，50岁及以上的人风险最高（分别为16.5%和15.5%，P<0.02）；与男性相比，女性风险更高（分别为17.6%和14.1%，P<0.0001）；与高HDI国家的人相比，低HDI国家的人风险更高（分别为24.9%和8.3%，P<0.0001）。
总体而言，FIES在LAS地区测量粮食不安全是有效的。对外拟合统计量高的项目进行认知测试并删除相关项目可能会改进该量表。易受严重粮食不安全影响的人群包括老年人和妇女。应对这些人群进行进一步研究。
