Experience-based measure of household food insecurity
Summary of published research1
A woman working in one of the village households in Burkino Faso
In a recent programme implemented by Africare and the nutritional science division of Cornell University, qualitative and quantitative methods were used to develop and validate an experienced-based measure of the access component of food insecurity in northern Burkina Faso. The project location was Zondoma province where there has been a Title 11 food aid-funded development province since 2000. In-depth interviews on food insecurity were conducted with ten household heads and 26 women using interview guides. Africare identified themes, classified households, created a table of food insecurity categories, identified items to add to or delete from an initial questionnaire, and developed and revised answer choices.
The experience-based questions asked ranged from "does your household eat until satisfied right now?" to "how many times in a month can you afford the following foods for household members?" There were also many very subjective questions, e.g. "do concerns about lack of food cause you insomnia?"
A longitudinal study conducted in parallel provided quantitative data on changes over time in household food insecurity, the economic situation and related factors. Data were collected on 126 simple and complex households from nine villages every January and July from 2001 to 2003 (five waves). These data allowed examination of changes in household food insecurity twice annually across the best and worst seasons for food, and evaluation of the ability of the experience- based measure to differentiate changes in household food insecurity.
Validity was assessed by examining reliability and by comparing the experiencedbased food insecurity measure with economic status, dietary and anthropometric measures, and a measure created by an observer who rated the households' food insecurity. The results provide strong evidence that the food insecurity score, calculated from experience- based questionnaire items, was valid for determining seasonal differences in household food insecurity, differences among households in food insecurity at a given time and changes in household food insecurity over time in northern rural Burkina Faso.
1Frongillo A and Nanama S (2006). Development and Validation of an Experience-Based Measure of Household Food Insecurity within and across Seasons in Northern Burkina Faso. J. Nutr. 2006 136: 1409S-1419S.
More like this
FEX: Seasonality of acute malnutrition and its drivers: a case study from eastern Chad
View this article as a pdf Summary of research 1 By Anastasia Marshak, Gwenaëlle Luc, Anne Radday and Helen Young Anastasia Marshak is a Senior Researcher at the...
FEX: Impact evaluation of cash, food vouchers, and food transfers among Colombian refugees and poor Ecuadorians in urban Ecuador
Summary of evaluation1 Evaluation headlines: Levels of food insecurity and associated anaemia are high amongst Columbian refugees and poor Ecuadorians in the northern...
FEX: Grounding Food Security Monitoring in an Understanding of the Local Economy: Understanding differences – and making a difference
This article was written by Philippa Coutts of The Food Economy Group, using an illustration from Darfur and work of Yousif Abubaker, Abdel Rahmin Nor Hussein and Mohamed Salih...
FEX: Determinants of adolescent nutritional status and practices in Burkina Faso: A pooled secondary analysis
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici By Deepali Godha, Maurice Zafimanjaka, Estelle Bambara, Nathalie Likhite and Manisha Tharaney. Deepali...
FEX: Simplifying the response to childhood malnutrition: MSF’s experience with MUAC-based (and oedema) programming
By Kevin P.Q. Phelan, Candelaria Lanusse, Saskia van der Kam, Pascale Delchevalerie, Nathalie Avril and Kerstin Hanson Kevin P.Q. Phelan was the Nutrition Working Group Leader...
FEX: Cash, food or vouchers? Evidence from a randomised experiment in northern Ecuador
Summary of research1 Location: Northern Ecuador What we know: There is ongoing debate on the most effective form of food assistance: cash, food vouchers or food...
FEX: Affordable and nutritious child feeding in Nigeria: Applying Cost of the Diet modelling
View this article as a pdf Md Masud Rana is a Nutrition Advisor at Save the Children, UK Gideon Luper Abako is a Nutrition Innovation Coordinator at Save the Children,...
FEX: Wasting and stunting risk factors in Somalian internally displaced person settlements
View this article as a pdf This article summarises the key findings of a recent Link Nutrition Causal Analysis (NCA) study conducted in Settlements for the Internally...
FEX: Food systems for safe, nutritious and affordable diets in central Sahel
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici This article provides the findings and recommendations of a literature review and a series of...
FEX: Feasibility of a milk matters initiative to enhance milk intake in children over six months of age in Somalia
By Fatmata Fatima Sesay, Dr Binyam Woldetsadik Gebru, Minh Tram Le, Dr Sayed Ezatullah Majeed, Patrick Codjia and Marjorie Volege View this article as a pdf Fatmata Fatima...
FEX: Food security indicators after humanitarian interventions in Zimbabwe
Summary of research1 Rural households in Zimbabwe experience various levels of food insecurity and vulnerability. Worsening macroeconomic conditions, a fragile political...
FEX: Differences in food insecurity between adults and children in Zimbabwe
Summary of published research1 Mother and child harvesting sweet potato on communal land in Zimbabwe A variety of methods have been utilised to assess food insecurity,...
FEX: Implementation challenges and successes of an AG4Nut project in the eastern region of Burkina Faso
By Marcellin Ouedraogo, Régina Khassanova and Fanny Yago-Wienne Lisez cet article en français ici Marcellin Ouedraogo has been in charge of food security...
FEX: Upcoming research shared at ACF research conference
At the ACF research conference, November 6th, 2016, experiences were shared from a number of studies where final results will be made available in 2017. A snapshot of what to...
FEX: Link Nutrition Causal Analysis (NCA) for undernutrition: an analysis of recommendations
View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici This article analyses some of the recommendations arising from Link NCA studies around the world and...
FEX: Nutrition among men and household food security in an internally displaced persons camp in Kenya
Summary of research* Location: Kenya What we know: Internally displaced persons (IDP) are vulnerable to nutrition and food insecurity. What this article adds: A 2013 study...
FEX: Impact of an integrated agriculture and nutrition and health behaviour change communication programme for women in Burkina Faso
Summary of research1 Location: Burkina Faso What we know: The agricultural sector has great potential to contribute to improving nutrition.; However, current evidence of...
FEX: Transforming food systems to improve diet affordability: Fill the Nutrient Gap analysis in Burkina Faso
View this article as a pdf Research summary1 By Sumra Kureishy, Natalie West, Saidou Magagi and Katrien Ghoos Sumra Kureishy is a Nutrition Officer at the World Food...
FEX: WASHplus in Mali: integrating WASH and nutrition for healthy communities
By Renuka Bery, Sahada Traore and Lonna Shafritz Lisez cet article en français ici Renuka Bery is the Integration Manager of the WASHplus project managed by FHI 360....
FEX: Impact of a homestead food production programme on household and child nutrition in Cambodi
Summary of research1 Location: Cambodia What we know: Food-based strategies such as homestead food production have the potential to increase micronutrient intake and improve...
Reference this page
Experience-based measure of household food insecurity. Field Exchange 28, July 2006. p5. www.ennonline.net/fex/28/foodinsecurity
(ENN_2233)