School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
Womens Health (Lond). 2022 Jan-Dec;18:17455057221091350. doi: 10.1177/17455057221091350.
Food insecurity has long been associated with poor physical and mental health, especially among women from underrepresented minorities. Despite efforts to reduce food insecurity, rates continue to rise and remain disproportionately high among Latinx living in the United States, a group reporting worse mental health symptoms than any other ethnic group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to reduce the health burden associated with food insecurity among Latinas is urgent and requires a more targeted and innovative approach. Interventions using a popular education approach have proven effective among underserved populations, especially when these are delivered by community health workers. However, food insecurity status of the participants is often unreported and it is not clear whether or not results vary between those with and without food insecurity.
The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to examine physical and mental health changes among Latinas with, and without, food insecurity following a multicomponent health intervention led by community health workers using a popular education approach.
Enrolled obese Latinas (N = 98) with and without food insecurity responded to demographic, health behaviors and mental health surveys and completed biometric measurements at baseline, immediately following the intervention and at 3 months.
At baseline, participants with food insecurity reported more anxiety and depression than those without, but average body mass index was comparable. Depression, anxiety and body mass index were lower at 3 months post and no statistically significant differences were seen between the groups. Participants with food insecurity benefited as much from the intervention as those without.We found that, although community health workers are not licensed healthcare professionals, with proper training and support, they were able to successfully reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve mental health symptoms among food-insecure Latinas.
Given the promising results, similar interventions should be implemented on a larger scale in Latino communities among food insecure women. Long-term sustainability should also be explored.
长期以来，食物不安全一直与身体和心理健康不良有关，尤其是在代表性不足的少数族裔妇女中。尽管努力减少食物不安全，但该问题的发生率仍在上升，且在美国生活的拉丁裔中比例过高，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，该群体报告的心理健康症状比任何其他族裔都要差。减少拉丁裔妇女与食物不安全相关的健康负担的需求迫在眉睫，需要采取更有针对性和创新性的方法。在服务不足的人群中，使用流行教育方法的干预措施已被证明是有效的，尤其是当这些干预措施由社区卫生工作者提供时。然而，参与者的食物不安全状况往往没有报告，也不清楚是否存在食物不安全者和非食物不安全者之间的结果差异。
本准实验研究旨在通过社区卫生工作者使用流行教育方法领导的多组分健康干预措施，研究有和没有食物不安全的拉丁裔妇女的身体和心理健康变化。
纳入了有和没有食物不安全的肥胖拉丁裔妇女（N=98），她们回答了人口统计学、健康行为和心理健康调查，并在基线、干预后立即和 3 个月时完成了生物计量测量。
在基线时，有食物不安全的参与者报告的焦虑和抑郁比没有食物不安全的参与者多，但平均体重指数相当。在 3 个月后，抑郁、焦虑和体重指数较低，两组之间没有统计学上的显著差异。有食物不安全的参与者从干预中受益与没有食物不安全的参与者一样多。我们发现，尽管社区卫生工作者不是持照的医疗保健专业人员，但经过适当的培训和支持，他们能够成功地降低食物不安全的拉丁裔妇女患慢性病的风险，并改善心理健康症状。
鉴于结果有希望，应该在食物不安全的拉丁裔妇女中，在拉丁裔社区中更大规模地实施类似的干预措施。还应探索长期可持续性。
