Sharareh Nasser, Dalrymple Rachel, Kambouris Konstantinos N, Govett Sierra, Adams Sarah, Kent-Marvick Jacqueline M, Kim Rebecca G, Sanuade Olutobi A, Wilson Fernando A, Wallace Andrea S, Butler Jorie M, Simonsen Sara E
Department of Population Health Sciences, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
Department of Biomedical Informatics, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 17;20(7):e0327645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327645. eCollection 2025.
Refugees experience high rates of food insecurity (FI) and its associated health outcomes, such as depression and hypertension. Prior research has identified barriers in accessing food among U.S. refugees. What remains unknown is when accessing food becomes a problem for U.S. refugees and what their preferred strategies are to address FI. Therefore, the objectives were to explore FI experiences among refugees to identify time points at which accessing food becomes a problem and to identify refugees' preferred strategies to address FI.
In collaboration with one of the U.S. resettlement agencies in Utah, refugees were recruited for semi-structured interviews using convenience and snowball sampling. Thirty-six interviews were conducted between July and September 2024, in four different languages: English (4 interviews), Dari (6), Arabic (12), and Kinyarwanda (14). Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.
FI was at its peak among refugees at four time points. First, when they found their first job in the U.S. Second, after six months in the U.S., when they had to renew their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application. Third, when they were no longer receiving caseworkers' support from resettlement agencies. Fourth, when they faced fluctuations in employment or household expenditures. Refugees' preferred strategies to address FI were addressing language barriers, providing a champion to check on them frequently and help when needed, providing information on addressing unmet needs, extending and expanding SNAP benefits, and providing gardens to grow food.
Four time points when refugees are at higher risk of FI were identified. Community organizations, policymakers, and resettlement agencies should therefore develop interventions to address FI among refugees, specifically around these four time points and informed by refugees' preferred strategies.
难民面临着很高的粮食不安全率（FI）及其相关的健康后果，如抑郁症和高血压。先前的研究已经确定了美国难民在获取食物方面存在的障碍。尚不清楚的是，美国难民何时获取食物会成为一个问题，以及他们解决粮食不安全问题的首选策略是什么。因此，本研究的目的是探讨难民的粮食不安全经历，以确定获取食物成为问题的时间点，并确定难民解决粮食不安全问题的首选策略。
与犹他州的一家美国重新安置机构合作，采用便利抽样和滚雪球抽样的方法招募难民进行半结构化访谈。2024年7月至9月期间，用四种不同语言进行了36次访谈：英语（4次访谈）、达里语（6次）、阿拉伯语（12次）和基尼亚卢旺达语（14次）。使用主题分析法对访谈记录进行分析。
在四个时间点，难民的粮食不安全状况达到顶峰。第一，当他们在美国找到第一份工作时。第二，在美国生活六个月后，当他们必须重新申请补充营养援助计划（SNAP）时。第三，当他们不再得到重新安置机构个案工作者的支持时。第四，当他们面临就业或家庭支出波动时。难民解决粮食不安全问题的首选策略是消除语言障碍、提供一个支持者经常看望并在需要时提供帮助、提供解决未满足需求的信息、延长和扩大SNAP福利，以及提供菜园种植食物。
确定了难民面临粮食不安全风险较高的四个时间点。因此，社区组织、政策制定者和重新安置机构应制定干预措施，以解决难民中的粮食不安全问题，特别是围绕这四个时间点，并参考难民的首选策略。
