The Potential Impact of Food Insecurity in an Urban Trauma Population

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Trauma Surgery
• Nutrition Security

Background:

• Food insecurity (FI) affects 12.7% of US individuals, linked to higher healthcare costs and poorer health.
• Limited research explores the connection between trauma populations and FI, despite shared underlying causes.
• Trauma patients represent a vulnerable group potentially experiencing high rates of food insecurity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in trauma patients.
• To validate a two-item screening tool for identifying food insecurity within this population.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey of 136 trauma patients at a Level 1 trauma center in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Utilized the first two questions from the Core Food Security Module and zip code data (USDA Food Access Research) to assess FI.
• Calculated binary classification test metrics to evaluate the screening tool's validity.

Main Results:

• The study cohort was predominantly Black (60.3%) and male (60.3%).
• Only 22.8% of respondents reported food security, while 51.5% resided in food-insecure communities.
• The screening tool demonstrated a sensitivity of 25% and specificity of 80% for predicting FI.

Conclusions:

• The validated screening tool exhibits low sensitivity, accuracy, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) for identifying FI in trauma patients.
• Community-level data highlights food insecurity as a substantial public health issue among trauma patients.
• Prevention efforts must concurrently address both trauma care and food insecurity.