[Validation process and methodological characteristics of food insecurity perception scales: a scoping review]

The objective of this scoping review was to identify the validation process and the methodological characteristics of food insecurity perception scales in different parts of the world. A search was carried out in the PubMed, Embase, Scielo, Medline, Lilacs and Google Scholar databases, in addition to the gray literature. The pre-selection of studies took place by reading the titles and abstracts, followed by reading in full. Of the 828 studies identified, 19 were selected referring to 21 country scales: Colombia; Tanzania; Lebanon; New Zealand; U.S; Ecuador; Sir Lanka; Brazil; Guatemala; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Costa Rica; Venezuela; Mexico; Bolivia; Burkina Faso and the Philippines, as well as the Latin American and Caribbean Scale (ELCSA) and the FAO. Colombia and Ecuador presented two validated scales. The scales varied in relation to the year of validation, reference time, number of questions and types of households. The validation processes involved qualitative and quantitative phases. Internal validation was performed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and the Rasch model; and the external validation by association and/or correlation with socioeconomic and food consumption variables.