Food insecurity among refugee families in East London: results of a pilot assessment.
OBJECTIVE
To identify child hunger and examine its association with family factors, receipt of benefits, housing conditions and social support among recently arrived refugee families with young children.


METHODS
Structured and semi-structured questionnaire administered to a service-based, purposive sample of caregivers.


METHODS
East London, United Kingdom.


METHODS
Thirty households with children <5 years old, resident in the UK for <2 years.


RESULTS
All households sampled were food-insecure, and 60% of index children were experiencing hunger as defined on the Radimer/Cornell scale. Child hunger was significantly associated with recent arrival, marginally significantly associated with receipt of fewer benefits and younger parenthood, and not associated with maternal education or self-efficacy score, household size or composition, or measures of social support.


CONCLUSIONS
A community-based, participatory approach for rapid assessment of the prevalence, extent and causes of child hunger among newly arrived asylum seekers recently arrived in Britain is feasible, and preliminary results suggest a programmatic need for a broader, population-based assessment of food insecurity in this rapidly growing population group.
Sellen
Daniel W
DW
Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. dsellen@emory.edu
Tedstone
Alison E
AE
Frize
Jacqueline
J
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012036:Refugees; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires