[Food insecurity among Californian Latinos: focus-group observations].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the perception and experience with food insecurity among Latinos living in California, as well as their interpretation of the items included in the Food Security Scale.


METHODS
A series of four focus groups were carried out among 30 adults of Latin-American descent living in California. The participant's responses were coded by two researchers to identify the main issues, and to compare them for assessing their convergence.


RESULTS
The items were well understood and were not perceived as offensive. The conceptual framework was confirmed as a "managed process" with different severity levels. The causes of food insecurity were: unemployment, high cost of some food items, and lack of nutritional information. The demand for nutritional education was constant.


CONCLUSIONS
Interpreting data on food insecurity in Latinos requires proper consideration of their particular perceptions.
Melgar-Quiñonez
Hugo
H
Department of Nutrition, University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, California 95616, USA. hrmelgar@ucdavis.edu
Kaiser
Lucía L
LL
Martin
Anna C
AC
Metz
Dianne
D
Olivares
Anna
A
D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D017144:Focus Groups; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006266:Health Education; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment