Joulaei Hassan, Keshani Parisa, Foroozanfar Zohre, Afrashteh Sima, Hosseinkhani Zahra, Mohsenpour Mohammad Ali, Moghimi Ghasem, Homayouni Meymandi Arash
HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Arch Public Health. 2023 Mar 10;81(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s13690-023-01049-8.
One major factor causing food insecurity is believed to be poverty. Approximately 20 million Iranians live in slums with a vulnerable socioeconomic context. The outbreak of COVID-19, on top of the economic sanctions against Iran, has increased this vulnerability and made its inhabitants prone to food insecurity. The current study investigates food insecurity and its associated socioeconomic factors among slum residents of Shiraz, southwest Iran.
Random cluster sampling was used to select the participants in this cross-sectional study. The heads of the households completed the validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale questionnaire to assess food insecurity. Univariate analysis was utilized to calculate the unadjusted associations between the study variables. Moreover, a multiple logistic regression model was employed to determine the adjusted association of each independent variable with the food insecurity risk.
Among the 1227 households, the prevalence of food insecurity was 87.20%, with 53.87% experiencing moderate and 33.33% experiencing severe food insecurity. A significant relationship was observed between socioeconomic status and food insecurity, indicating that people with low socioeconomic status are more prone to food insecurity (P < 0.001).
The current study revealed that food insecurity is highly prevalent in slum areas of southwest Iran. The socioeconomic status of households was the most important determinant of food insecurity among them. Noticeably, the coincidence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the economic crisis in Iran has amplified the poverty and food insecurity cycle. Hence, the government should consider equity-based interventions to reduce poverty and its related outcomes on food security. Furthermore, NGOs, charities, and governmental organizations should focus on local community-oriented programs to make basic food baskets available for the most vulnerable households.
贫困被认为是导致粮食不安全的一个主要因素。约2000万伊朗人生活在社会经济状况脆弱的贫民窟。除了针对伊朗的经济制裁外，新冠疫情的爆发加剧了这种脆弱性，使其居民更容易面临粮食不安全问题。本研究调查了伊朗西南部设拉子贫民窟居民的粮食不安全状况及其相关的社会经济因素。
本横断面研究采用随机整群抽样方法选取参与者。户主们完成了经过验证的家庭粮食不安全获取量表问卷，以评估粮食不安全状况。单因素分析用于计算研究变量之间的未调整关联。此外，采用多元逻辑回归模型来确定每个自变量与粮食不安全风险的调整关联。
在1227户家庭中，粮食不安全的患病率为87.20%，其中53.87%为中度粮食不安全，33.33%为重度粮食不安全。观察到社会经济地位与粮食不安全之间存在显著关系，表明社会经济地位低的人更容易面临粮食不安全（P < 0.001）。
本研究表明，粮食不安全在伊朗西南部的贫民窟地区非常普遍。家庭的社会经济地位是其中粮食不安全的最重要决定因素。值得注意的是，新冠疫情与伊朗经济危机的同时出现加剧了贫困和粮食不安全的循环。因此，政府应考虑基于公平的干预措施，以减少贫困及其对粮食安全的相关影响。此外，非政府组织、慈善机构和政府组织应专注于以当地社区为导向的项目，为最脆弱的家庭提供基本食品篮。
