Food Insecurity Screening and Intervention in United States Children's Hospitals

Food insecurity (FI) affects many United States families and negatively impacts the health of children. We assessed patterns of FI screening for United States children's hospitals, characterized screening protocols, and assessed how hospitals addressed general and inpatient-specific caregiver FI, including provision of food or meals for caregivers of admitted children.

We conducted a cross-sectional, confidential survey of clinical team members at United States children's hospitals. We evaluated FI screening practices and responses, including which team members conduct FI screening, the types of screeners used, and interventions including social work consultations, referrals to community resources, and provision of food or meals.

Of the 76 children's hospital representatives (40% response rate) who participated in the survey, 67.1% reported at least some screening, and 34.2% performed universal screening for FI. Screening was conducted most frequently on the inpatient units (58.8%), with social workers (35.5%) and nurses (34.2%) administering screeners most frequently. Responses to positive screens included social work consultation (51.3%), referral to community resources (47.4%), and offering food or meals (43.4%). Eighty-four percent of hospitals provided food or meals to at least some caregivers for admitted pediatric patients. Conditional qualifications for food/meals included need-based (31.6%) and presence of breastfeeding mothers (30.3%).

Many United States children's hospitals screen for FI, but most survey respondents reported that their hospital did not conduct universal screening. Screening protocols and interventions varied among institutions. Children's hospitals could consider improving screening protocols and interventions to ensure that needs are identified and addressed.