Validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in rural Lebanon.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) in rural Lebanon.


METHODS
A 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.


METHODS
Rural Lebanon.


METHODS
Mother and child pairs (n 150).


RESULTS
Factor 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).


CONCLUSIONS
Our 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.
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences (WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training and Outreach in Food and Nutrition),Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,American University of Beirut,PO Box 11-0236,Riad El-Solh,Beirut 1107-2020,Lebanon.
Farah
F
Naja
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences (WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training and Outreach in Food and Nutrition),Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,American University of Beirut,PO Box 11-0236,Riad El-Solh,Beirut 1107-2020,Lebanon.
Nahla
N
Hwalla
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences (WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training and Outreach in Food and Nutrition),Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,American University of Beirut,PO Box 11-0236,Riad El-Solh,Beirut 1107-2020,Lebanon.
Talar
T
Fossian
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences (WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training and Outreach in Food and Nutrition),Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,American University of Beirut,PO Box 11-0236,Riad El-Solh,Beirut 1107-2020,Lebanon.
Dina
D
Zebian
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences (WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training and Outreach in Food and Nutrition),Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,American University of Beirut,PO Box 11-0236,Riad El-Solh,Beirut 1107-2020,Lebanon.
Lara
L
Nasreddine
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology; D007802:Language; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012423:Rural Health / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
Arab Spring; Food insecurity; Household Food Insecurity Access Scale; Lebanon