McArthur Laura H, Gutschall Melissa, Fasczewski Kimberly S, Jackson Anna
Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management, Appalachian State University.
Department of Health and Exercise Science, Appalachian State University.
J Appalach Health. 2020 Apr 15;2(2):36-48. doi: 10.13023/jah.0202.04. eCollection 2020.
This study compared severity of food insecurity, characteristics, and behaviors of college students with and without diagnosed medical disorders.
Data were collected using a cross-sectional online questionnaire. Variables measured were food security status, disorders, coping strategies, and perceived barriers to food access. Descriptive and inferential statistics examined associations and compared groups. Statistical significance was p≤0.05.
Data were collected at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.
The sample was 247 food insecure students, of whom 60% were females, 50% 3rd- and 4th-year students, and 75% whites.
Medical disorders were reported by 67.2% of food insecure students, and a greater proportion of students with than without disorders experienced very low food security (63.3% vs. 43.2%, p=0.003). The most common disorder categories were psychiatric (40.5%) and gastrointestinal (31.6%). Characteristics of food insecure students with disorders included female gender, suboptimal academic performance, employed, off-campus residence. Coping strategies used by students with and without disorders, respectively, to improve food access, included brought food back to school after visiting family, friends, significant others (90.9% vs. 63.0%) and ate less healthy food so you could eat more (77.7% vs. 49.4%). Perceived barriers among students with disorders included feel overwhelmed making food choices (12.7%) and meal plan runs out (10.2%). Food insecure students with disorders made greater use of coping strategies and identified more perceived barriers.
Food insecure students with disorders experienced more severe food deprivation and require multidimensional food assistance programs beyond those generally available on college campuses.
本研究比较了患有和未患有已确诊疾病的大学生的粮食不安全严重程度、特征及行为。
通过横断面在线问卷收集数据。所测量的变量包括粮食安全状况、疾病、应对策略以及获取食物的感知障碍。采用描述性和推断性统计分析关联并比较组间差异。统计学显著性水平为p≤0.05。
数据在北卡罗来纳州的阿巴拉契亚州立大学收集。
样本为247名粮食不安全的学生，其中60%为女性，50%为大三和大四学生，75%为白人。
67.2%的粮食不安全学生报告患有疾病，患有疾病的学生中经历极低粮食安全状况的比例高于未患疾病的学生（63.3%对43.2%，p = 0.003）。最常见的疾病类别是精神疾病（40.5%）和胃肠道疾病（31.6%）。患有疾病的粮食不安全学生的特征包括女性、学业表现欠佳、就业、校外居住。患有和未患有疾病的学生为改善食物获取所采用的应对策略分别包括在拜访家人、朋友、重要他人后将食物带回学校（90.9%对63.0%）以及少吃健康食物以便能多吃些（77.7%对49.4%）。患有疾病的学生所感知到的障碍包括在做出食物选择时感到不知所措（12.7%）以及饮食计划用完（10.2%）。患有疾病的粮食不安全学生更多地采用应对策略且识别出更多的感知障碍。
患有疾病的粮食不安全学生经历了更严重的食物匮乏，需要多维粮食援助项目，而不仅仅是大学校园里通常提供的那些项目。
