ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced access to adequate food in terms of quality and quantity, especially for the most vulnerable population groups. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Food Insecurity and its main socioeconomic and health determinants in pregnant women and mothers of children under 2 years of age, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) and registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42021278033). The descriptors "Pregnant Woman", "Postpartum Women", "Breastfeeding Women", "COVID-19", "Food Insecurity", "Food Security" were combined in Scopus (Elsevier), Medline/PubMed (via National Library of Medicine), Embase (Elsevier), Web of Science and Science Direct independently by two researchers in September 2022. Original articles about Food Insecurity in households with pregnant women and mothers of children under 2 years of age during the COVID-19 pandemic were included. The meta-analysis of the prevalence of Food Insecurity was conducted using the RStudio software (4.0.4). Results: The initial search resulted in 539 records, and 10 articles met the proposed criteria and were included in this review. The prevalence of Food Insecurity ranged from 11.5 to 80.3% and in the meta-analysis it was 51% (IC: 30-71) (I 2 = 100.0%). The main socioeconomic and health determinants were ethnicity, domain language, low education, low income, informal employment, unemployment, occurrence of mental disorders, domestic violence, in addition to the unavailability of food in markets and lack of transport. The inclusion of studies with data collection by telephone stands out as a limitation, due to the non-inclusion of vulnerable groups without access to this means of communication. Conclusion: It is necessary to implement and strengthen specific public policies for the maternal and child group with the objective of protecting and strengthening the rights of women to maintain the physical and mental integrity of this group and guarantee Food Security.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Female , Child , Pregnancy , Infant , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pregnant Women , Pandemics , Food Supply/methods , Mothers , PovertyABSTRACT
This article aims to identify the methods used to assess household food availability in studies on food and nutritional security and to discuss its methodological aspects. Systematic review elaborated according to the PRISMA method. We searched at PubMed; Scielo and Lilacs databases, and studies that used methods of assessing the availability of food at home were included. In the end, 19 papers composed the review. Food availability was predominantly assessed for a seven days period and from a single data measurement. Other variables were also observed in the studies, such as socio-demographic data and expenditure on food. Among the limitations to assess the food availability at home, we can highlight the difficulty in measuring the food distribution among family members and the lack of information on the variability of this availability. Such assessment can be improved by investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments for greater detail and accuracy of the information. We recommend the development and validation of specific instruments capable of effectively measure the food availability at the household level.
Subject(s)
Food Supply , Food , HumansABSTRACT
The scope of this research was to characterize the household availability of food based on the classification adopted in the new Brazilian food guide and to analyze its relationship with food (in)security. It involved a population-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 95 households in the State of Tocantins. Food (in)security was evaluated by means of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The household availability of food in the last 30 days was recorded and, subsequently, food was classified as in natura and/or minimally processed, processed and ultra-processed according to the new Brazilian food guide. The prevalence of food insecurity was 55.79%. It was found that the foods of the in natura and ultra-processed groups contributed the most to the household availability of food. There was a positive and significant relationship between the food security and food availability rates: milk, animal fat, canned food and cheese bread. The prevalence of food insecurity was high in this population group. In households with a higher level of food security, the availability of milk, animal fat, canned goods and cheese bread was significantly higher.
O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar a disponibilidade domiciliar de alimentos a partir da classificação dos alimentos adotada no novo guia alimentar brasileiro e analisar sua relação com a (in)segurança alimentar. Trata-se de um estudo de base populacional, transversal, realizado em 95 domicílios do Estado do Tocantins. Avaliou-se a (in)segurança alimentar, por meio da Escala Brasileira de Insegurança Alimentar. A disponibilidade domiciliar de alimentos nos últimos 30 dias foi registrada e, posteriormente, classificou-se os alimentos em in natura e/ou minimamente processados, processados e ultraprocessados, conforme o novo guia alimentar brasileiro. A prevalência de insegurança alimentar foi de 55,79%. Verificou-se que os alimentos dos grupos in natura e ultraprocessados foram os que mais contribuíram para a disponibilidade domiciliar de alimentos. Verificou-se relação positiva e significante do grau de segurança alimentar com a disponibilidade dos alimentos: leite, gordura animal, enlatados e pão de queijo. A prevalência de insegurança alimentar foi elevada nessa população. Nos domicílios com maior grau de segurança alimentar, a disponibilidade de leite, gordura animal, enlatados e pão de queijo foi significantemente maior.