Prevalence and severity of household food insecurity of First Nations people living in an on-reserve, sub-Arctic community within the Mushkegowuk Territory (original) (raw)
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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique, 2021
To describe the prevalence of food insecurity in First Nations households across Canada while identifying barriers and enablers to traditional food (TF) consumption. The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study is a cross-Canada participatory study of on-reserve First Nations from 2008 to 2018. The Household Food Security Survey Module was used to capture income-related challenges experienced by First Nations households. Households were classified as food secure, or marginally, moderately, or severely food insecure. Barriers and enablers to TF access and use were identified describing the Indigenous experience. Almost half of on-reserve First Nations households were food insecure and the prevalence was higher than that for non-Indigenous households in Canada. On-reserve food insecurity prevalence was higher in western regions of Canada. First Nations households with children experienced greater food insecurity than those without children. More adults experienced severe fo...
Public Health Nutrition
Objective: To further understandings of household food insecurity in First Nations communities in Canada and its relationship with obesity. Design: Analysis of a cross-sectional dataset from the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study representative of First Nations communities south of the 60th parallel. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations between food insecurity and sociodemographic factors, as well as the odds of obesity among food-insecure households adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Setting: Western and Central Canada. Participants: First Nations peoples aged ≥19 years. Results: Forty-six percent of First Nations households experienced food insecurity. Food insecurity was highest for respondents who received social assistance; had ≤10 years of education; were female; had children in the household; were 19–30 years old; resided in Alberta; and had no year-round road access into the community. Rates of obesity were highest fo...
BMC Public Health, 2013
Background: Food insecurity is a serious public health issue for Aboriginal people (First Nations [FN], Métis, and Inuit) living in Canada. Food security challenges faced by FN people are unique, especially for those living in remote and isolated communities. Conceptualizations of food insecurity by FN people are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of food insecurity by FN adults living in a remote, on-reserve community in northern Ontario known to have a high prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity.
The Prevalence of Food Insecurity Is High and the Diet Quality Poor in Inuit Communities
Journal of Nutrition, 2012
Indigenous peoples experience a disproportionate burden of food insecurity and the Arctic is no exception. We therefore evaluated the prevalence, socio-demographic, and dietary correlates of food insecurity in the most comprehensive assessment of food insecurity in Arctic Canada. A cross-sectional survey of 1901 Inuit households was conducted in 2007-2008. Measurements included food insecurity, 24-h dietary recalls, socio-demographics, and anthropometry. Food insecurity was identified in 62.6% of households (95% CI = 60.3-64.9%) with 27.2% (95% CI = 25.1-29.3%) of households severely food insecure. The percent with an elevated BMI, waist circumference, and percent body fat was lower among individuals from food insecure households compared to food secure households (P # 0.001). Adults from food insecure households had a significantly lower Healthy Eating Index score and consumed fewer vegetables and fruit, grains, and dairy products, and consumed a greater percent of energy from high-sugar foods than adults from food secure households (P # 0.05). Food insecurity was associated with household crowding, income support, public housing, single adult households, and having a home in need of major repairs (P # 0.05). The prevalence of having an active hunter in the home was lower in food insecure compared to food secure households (P # 0.05). Food insecurity prevalence is high in Inuit communities, with implications for diet quality that over the long-term would be anticipated to exacerbate the risk of diet-related chronic diseases. Actions are required to improve food security that incorporate the traditional food system and healthy market food choices.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 2011
Objectives. Assess the prevalence of food insecurity by region among Inuit households in the Canadian Arctic. Study design. A community-participatory, cross-sectional Inuit health survey conducted through faceto-face interviews. Methods. A quantitative household food security questionnaire was conducted with a random sample of 2,595 self-identified Inuit adults aged 18 years and older, from 36 communities located in 3 jurisdictions (Inuvialuit Settlement Region; Nunavut; Nunatsiavut Region) during the period from 2007 to 2008. Weighted prevalence of levels of adult and household food insecurity was calculated. Results. Differences in the prevalence of household food insecurity were noted by region, with Nunavut having the highest prevalence of food insecurity (68.8%), significantly higher than that observed in Inuvialuit Settlement Region (43.3%) and Nunatsiavut Region (45.7%) (p≤0.01). Adults living in households rated as severely food insecure reported times in the past year when they or other adults in the household had skipped meals (88.6%), gone hungry (76.9%) or not eaten for a whole day (58.2%). Adults living in households rated as moderately food insecure reported times in the past year when they worried that food would run out (86.5%) and when the food did not last and there was no money to buy more (87.8%). Conclusions. A high level of food insecurity was reported among Inuit adults residing in the Canadian Arctic, particularly for Nunavut. Immediate action and meaningful interventions are needed to mitigate the negative health impacts of food insecurity and ensure a healthy Inuit population.
Validity of a single item food security questionnaire in Arctic Canada
Pediatrics, 2014
Assess sensitivity and specificity of each of the 18 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Scale Module (HFSSM) questionnaire items to determine whether a rapid assessment of child and adult food insecurity is feasible in an Inuit population. Food insecurity prevalence was assessed by the 18-item USDA HFSSM in a randomized sample of Inuit households participating in the Inuit Health Survey and the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey. Questions were evaluated for sensitivity, specificity, predictive value (+/2), and total percent accuracy for adult and child food insecurity (yes/no). Child food security items were evaluated for both surveys. For children, the question “In the last 12 months, were there times when it was not possible to feed the children a healthy meal because there was not enough money?” had the best performance in both samples with a sensitivity and specificity of 92.3% and 97.3%, respectively, for the Inuit Health Survey, and 88.5% and 95.4% for...
Food insecurity and its consequences in indigenous children and youth in Canada
PLOS Global Public Health
Food insecurity (FI) is at a crisis level in some Indigenous communities and impacts many of the half million First Nations Inuit and Métis (FNIM) children across Canada, particularly in isolated northern communities. This can lead to malnutrition and can have significant impacts on the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of a child, often with lasting effects across the life course. This is a narrative review article with extensive search of the medical literature with input from the FNIM National organizations. The primary cause of FI is an imbalance between the high price of food relative to household income, where poverty is a driving factor. The cost and lack of availability to healthy foods has resulted in a transition to unhealthy market foods. Food security programs need to be prioritized, multi-faceted and multi-tiered within a framework of food sovereignty. Translational science, research, to practice is also important. The use of successful Indigenous...
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 2011
Objectives. This study sought to evaluate food consumption patterns in the context of food security in two Yukon First Nations communities. Study design. Twenty-nine members of Vuntut Gwitchin households in Old Crow and 33 members of Tlingit households in Teslin participated in individual interviews. Methods. Food frequency questionnaires were used to quantify traditional food consumption throughout the spring 2007 and winter 2008 and to identify potential temporal trends through a comparison with data from the early 1990s. Additional questions, including the Health Canada Household Food Security Survey Module, sought to assess food security concerns in each community. Results. Overall frequency of traditional food consumption did not change in either community from the 2 time-point analyses. There was, however, a difference in frequency of consumption of certain groups of foods, and this highlighted the degree to which environmental variability affects the availability of foods. Conclusion. The importance of traditional foods in the diet of Yukon First Nations has not changed over the past 15 years. However, limited availability of food species, access to harvesting equipment and decrease in available time to go out on the land to harvest are food security challenges facing households today.
Canadian Food Studies, 2018
Food insecurity among Indigenous Peoples of northern Canada is a significant public health issue that is exacerbated by changing social and environmental conditions. While a patchwork of programs, strategies and polices exist, the extent to which they address all "pillars" of food security (food availability, access, quality, and utilization) remains under-assessed. We respond to this gap by providing a framework for synthesizing and assessing information about food security initiatives, using a case study of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), the westernmost Inuit region of Canada. Our objectives are: (1) to identify existing initiatives in the ISR; (2) to assess the breadth and diversity of these initiatives in addressing the four key food security "pillars"; and (3) to present an analytical framework that will facilitate ongoing data updating and sharing in the ISR and elsewhere. Through a scoping review and direct consultation with 12 key informants, we identified 30 initiatives that support food security in the ISR. These are funded and implemented at a range of national, territorial, regional, and local levels, and include both governmental and non-governmental programs, strategic frameworks, and research and monitoring initiatives. Seven key themes emerged from the cross-scale analysis of these initiatives, including: orientation with respect to food security pillars, scope and scale, demographic targeting, funding, monitoring and evaluation, and implications for food security