Food Security and Dietary Intake in Midwest Migrant Farmworker Children

doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2009.04.008

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Volume 25, Issue 5, October 2010, Pages 360-366

This information has been presented in a poster presentation entitled, “Household Food Security and Dietary Intake in Midwest Migrant Farmworker Children” at the 32nd Midwest Nursing Research Society Conference, Indianapolis, IN, March 2008; Research Showcase, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, April 2008; National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners 29th Annual Conference, Nashville, TN, April 2008

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2009.04.008 Get rights and content

This article is a descriptive cross-sectional study with Latino migrant farmworker (MFW) families in Ohio. A demographic questionnaire, the U.S. Household Food Security Survey (USHFSS), and the Food Frequency Questionnaire were self-administered. Participants (N = 50) were primarily mothers of children with ages 2 to 13 years. USHFSS was 30% high, 18% marginal, 44% low, and 8% very low. Only 22% of the children met the minimum MyPyramid daily recommended food-group servings for age and gender. Knowledge gained from these data will influence development of culturally appropriate nutrition interventions to help Latino MFW families achieve healthier nutrition and weight in their children.

Section snippets

Literature Review

In a 2006 study of low-income Latino toddler children (n = 374) enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in a large southwest city, researchers concluded that information on dietary intake, as well as the home environment and community components, were needed to tailor interventions to match client needs (Reifsnider et al., 2006).

In 2007, Langevin et al. (2007) used the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire for Kids 2004 to evaluate dietary

Method

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in migrant camps in Ohio during the summer months of June to September 2007 using two survey instruments to obtain information from Latino farmworker parents on the level of household food security and food intake of their children. Participants were obtained from cluster-sampled farms that employed MFWs (N = 50). Farm A occupied 2,000 acres and grew 500 acres of potatoes plus 30 other types of vegetables. Farm B occupied 2,500 acres and grew

Participants

Most of the participants were married Spanish-speaking women of Latino ethnicity without a high school diploma, working full time, and with a monthly family income of less than $1,000. Two farms (n = 39, 11) were used as research sites, and although not shown here, they had similar demographic characteristics. Demographics for the entire sample (N = 50) can be seen in Table 1. The families resided in buildings provided free of cost by the farm owner, and 12% had their own garden to grow

Discussion

In this study, most MFW households experienced low levels of food security, and their children did not meet the recommended dietary guidelines. Table 2 compares available national data on food security to this MFW sample. However, samples from Midwest farms may not be representative of the entire region or the nation. Furthermore, information is not available on those who did not choose to participate.

There is little current information available to compare the study findings on the percent of

Conclusion

This study tested the feasibility and ease of use of two survey instruments to measure household food security and dietary intake of MFW families and their children: the USHFSS short form scale and the FFQ. Participants were successfully recruited for the study and were able to complete the research study instruments.

From these instruments, the following conclusion was obtained: MFW households reported lower than national rates of household food security, and their children's diets did not meet

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Existing studies looking at this population have highlighted the need for additional research. One study24 addressing the prevalence of obesity with a small sample of Latino children from migrant farm-working families yielded a median BMI percentile of 97.5, providing initial evidence of obesity in this population. The purpose of the current study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Latino children of primarily migrant farmworkers.
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Data analysis indicates that the most commonly reported illnesses by Latino children are upper respiratory infections and asthma, followed by otitis media, obesity, anemia, pneumonia, leukemia, and tumors. Barriers to health care for children included language and cultural differences, lack of access to care (e.g., lack of insurance, cost, and transportation), and health illiteracy/low education level of parents. The findings also suggest that Latinos are preserving their traditional health practices when treating their children’s illnesses, such as through use of foods, hot/cold items, herbs, coin on “belly button,” traditional juices, healing bracelets, and evil eye.
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Food Security and Dietary Intake in Midwest Migrant Farmworker Children

Section snippets

Literature Review

Method

Participants

Discussion

Conclusion

Journal of Nutrition

The Journal of Nutrition

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Journal of Pediatric Health Care

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Low family income and food insufficiency in relation to overweight in U.S. children

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine

Guide to measuring household food security, revised 2000

The effectiveness of a Short Form of the Household Food Security Scale

American Journal of Public Health

Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), 2001–2002: A demographic and employment profile of the United States farmworkers

The association of child and household food insecurity with childhood overweight status

Pediatrics

Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for Measurement of Food Access: Indicator guide version 2. 2006 July 2006

Policy statement: Providing care for immigrant, homeless, and migrant children

Pediatrics

Food security in the United States: Household Survey Tools

Household Food Security in the United States, ERR-11