Validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in rural Lebanon
- 4 April 2014
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Public Health Nutrition
- Vol. 18 (2), 251-258
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980014000317
Abstract
ObjectiveTo assess the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) in rural Lebanon.DesignA cross-sectional study on a sample of households with at least one child aged 0–2 years. In a one-to-one interview, participants completed an adapted Arabic version of the HFIAS. In order to evaluate the validity of the HFIAS, basic sociodemographic information, anthropometric measurements of the mother and child, and dietary intake data of the child were obtained. In order to examine reproducibility, the HFIAS was re-administered after 3 months.SettingRural Lebanon.SubjectsMother and child pairs (n 150).ResultsFactor analysis of HFIAS items revealed two factors: ‘insufficient food quality’ and ‘insufficient food quantity’. Using Pearson's correlation, food insecurity was inversely associated with mother's and father's education levels, number of cars and electrical appliances in the household, income, weight-for-age and length-for-age of the child and the child's dietary adequacy. In contrast, mother's BMI and crowding index were positively associated with food insecurity scores (P < 0·05 for all correlations). Cronbach's α of the scale was 0·91. A moderate correlation was observed between the two administrations of the questionnaire (intra-class correlation = 0·58; P < 0·05).ConclusionsOur findings indicated that the adapted Arabic version of the HFIAS is a valid and reliable tool to assess food insecurity in rural Lebanon, lending further evidence to the utility of the HFIAS in assessing food insecurity in culturally diverse populations.This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- Household food access and child malnutrition: results from the eight-country MAL-ED studyPopulation Health Metrics, 2012
- Household Food Insecurity Is Not Associated with BMI for Age or Weight for Height among Brazilian Children Aged 0–60 MonthsPLOS ONE, 2012
- Food insecurity: special considerations for womenThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2011
- Validity of an adapted Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in urban households in IranPublic Health Nutrition, 2011
- Dietary diversity and adequacy of women caregivers in a peri-urban informal settlement in South AfricaNutrition, 2011
- The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and an Index-Member Dietary Diversity Score Contribute Valid and Complementary Information on Household Food Insecurity in an Urban West-African Setting ,Journal of Nutrition, 2010
- Evaluation of energy and dietary intake estimates from a food frequency questionnaire using independent energy expenditure measurement and weighed food recordsNutrition Journal, 2010
- Measuring household food security: the global experienceRevista de Nutrição, 2008
- Measuring Household Food Insecurity: Why It's So Important and Yet So Difficult to DoJournal of Nutrition, 2006
- Validation of Measures of Food Insecurity and HungerJournal of Nutrition, 1999