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[Food insecurity among Californian Latinos: focus-group observations]
Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez1, Lucía L Kaiser, Anna C Martin
1Department of Nutrition, University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, California 95616, USA. hrmelgar@ucdavis.edu
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.
Material And 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.
Conclusion:
Interpreting data on food insecurity in Latinos requires proper consideration of their particular perceptions.