Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
Am J Hum Biol. 2024 Oct;36(10):e24135. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.24135. Epub 2024 Jul 14.
Food security has become a major global concern, particularly in urban areas where households are struggling to address the issue of basic necessities mainly food that crucially dictates human health. Overcoming these challenges will require effective management mechanisms to inform policy interventions and enhance resilience at both local and global levels.
This study aimed to explore the coping strategies (CS) pursued by urban households in the Southern Ethiopia. Furthermore, the focus is on how households to cope with food insecurity and how using these strategies varies within households.
A household survey questionnaire was conducted using a cross-sectional design, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data. A total of 310 household heads were targeted for the required data acquisition with: The coping strategy index (CSI) to capture how people perceive and cope with food insecurity that threatens human health.
The results indicate that households used the top seven CS to address the problem of food insecurity: limiting the size of portions at mealtimes (83.9%), depending on less expensive or seasonal foods (68.1%), reducing adult consumption (66.1%), reducing the amount of food consumed (65.8%), purchasing food on credit (60.3%), renting household assets (54.8%), and migrating household members for wage labor (53.5%).
Moreover, the finding shows that the frequency of CS used by urban households in response to food insecurity is rated differently as never, rarely, sometimes, and more than 4 times per week. Therefore, targeted support programs for vulnerable groups should be implemented to ensure they receive adequate food during times of food insecurity wherein the victims' health status is imperatively to be bettered.
食品安全已成为一个主要的全球性问题，尤其是在城市地区，家庭难以解决基本必需品（主要是食物）问题，而食物是人类健康的关键。克服这些挑战需要有效的管理机制，为政策干预提供信息，并增强地方和全球各级的弹性。
本研究旨在探讨埃塞俄比亚南部城市家庭采取的应对策略（CS）。此外，重点是家庭如何应对粮食不安全问题，以及如何在家庭内部使用这些策略。
采用横断面设计，结合定性和定量方法，使用家庭调查问卷进行研究。共针对 310 户家庭负责人进行了数据采集：采用应对策略指数（CSI）来捕捉人们如何感知和应对威胁人类健康的粮食不安全问题。
结果表明，家庭使用了前七种 CS 来解决粮食不安全问题：限制用餐时的份量（83.9%），依赖较便宜或季节性食物（68.1%），减少成人消费（66.1%），减少食物摄入量（65.8%），赊购食物（60.3%），出租家庭资产（54.8%），以及家庭成员移民外出打工（53.5%）。
此外，研究结果表明，城市家庭应对粮食不安全问题的 CS 频率被评为从不、很少、有时和每周 4 次以上。因此，应该实施针对弱势群体的有针对性的支持计划，以确保他们在粮食不安全时期获得足够的食物，改善受害者的健康状况。
