Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study
BackgroundFood insecurity is a complex public health problem affecting many individuals in the United States. Digital health interventions that promote behavior change and provide access to affordable and healthy food may help to alleviate food insecurity. Objecti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-10-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/10/e41418 |
| _version_ | 1797734564278304768 |
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| author | Shivani Bakre Benjamin Shea Kaylee Ortega Jared Scharen Jason Langheier Emily Hu |
| author_facet | Shivani Bakre Benjamin Shea Kaylee Ortega Jared Scharen Jason Langheier Emily Hu |
| author_sort | Shivani Bakre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundFood insecurity is a complex public health problem affecting many individuals in the United States. Digital health interventions that promote behavior change and provide access to affordable and healthy food may help to alleviate food insecurity.
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to characterize food-insecure users of Foodsmart, a telehealth and nutrition platform with meal planning, food ordering, nutrition education, budgeting, and grocery discount features, and to evaluate changes in diet and food insecurity.
MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data collected from 4595 adults who used the Foodsmart platform between February and October 2021. Participants self-reported their diet, demographics, biometrics, and food insecurity status in a 56-item questionnaire. Participants were reported to be food insecure if they answered “sometimes” or “often” to the question “How often does the food you buy not last and you don't have money to get more?” from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security survey. We examined baseline characteristics of participants by food insecurity status, associations between characteristics and baseline food insecurity, and changes in diet quality and food insecurity status. To evaluate potential causes of reversing food insecurity, the use of 6 Foodsmart features was compared between food-insecure participants who achieved food security versus food-insecure participants who remained food insecure, based on their last response to the food insecurity question.
ResultsWe found that 16% (742/4595) of participants were food insecure at baseline. Participants who were food insecure at baseline were more likely to be obese, to have at least one chronic condition, to have a lower diet quality, to cook less frequently at home, to think healthy food is too expensive, and less likely to order takeout or eat at a restaurant. Among participants who were food insecure at baseline, 61% (451/742) improved their nutrition and 29% (217/742) responded that they were food secure at follow-up, with an increasing percentage achieving food security with longer enrollment time. Using a multivariable logistic regression model, we found that age, diabetes, prediabetes, BMI categories, and diet quality at baseline were statistically significantly associated with the likelihood of being food insecure at baseline. Among those who were food insecure at baseline, there was a higher relative proportion of participants who achieved food security and used the “deals” (28.6% higher), “CookItNow” (36.4% higher), and “telenutrition” (27.5% higher) features compared to those who remained food insecure.
ConclusionsThis study assesses the characteristics of individuals enrolled on the Foodsmart platform who answered the food insecurity question. We found that a significant number of participants who were food insecure at enrollment achieved food security. This finding shows that telehealth and nutrition platforms may potentially help users improve household food security. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:46:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25145e40025a445782c071d128d2f2d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:46:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-25145e40025a445782c071d128d2f2d32023-08-28T23:19:03ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2022-10-01610e4141810.2196/41418Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal StudyShivani Bakrehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0150-6770Benjamin Sheahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7799-9711Kaylee Ortegahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4857-9472Jared Scharenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1871-7283Jason Langheierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9566-881XEmily Huhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2299-4072 BackgroundFood insecurity is a complex public health problem affecting many individuals in the United States. Digital health interventions that promote behavior change and provide access to affordable and healthy food may help to alleviate food insecurity. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to characterize food-insecure users of Foodsmart, a telehealth and nutrition platform with meal planning, food ordering, nutrition education, budgeting, and grocery discount features, and to evaluate changes in diet and food insecurity. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data collected from 4595 adults who used the Foodsmart platform between February and October 2021. Participants self-reported their diet, demographics, biometrics, and food insecurity status in a 56-item questionnaire. Participants were reported to be food insecure if they answered “sometimes” or “often” to the question “How often does the food you buy not last and you don't have money to get more?” from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security survey. We examined baseline characteristics of participants by food insecurity status, associations between characteristics and baseline food insecurity, and changes in diet quality and food insecurity status. To evaluate potential causes of reversing food insecurity, the use of 6 Foodsmart features was compared between food-insecure participants who achieved food security versus food-insecure participants who remained food insecure, based on their last response to the food insecurity question. ResultsWe found that 16% (742/4595) of participants were food insecure at baseline. Participants who were food insecure at baseline were more likely to be obese, to have at least one chronic condition, to have a lower diet quality, to cook less frequently at home, to think healthy food is too expensive, and less likely to order takeout or eat at a restaurant. Among participants who were food insecure at baseline, 61% (451/742) improved their nutrition and 29% (217/742) responded that they were food secure at follow-up, with an increasing percentage achieving food security with longer enrollment time. Using a multivariable logistic regression model, we found that age, diabetes, prediabetes, BMI categories, and diet quality at baseline were statistically significantly associated with the likelihood of being food insecure at baseline. Among those who were food insecure at baseline, there was a higher relative proportion of participants who achieved food security and used the “deals” (28.6% higher), “CookItNow” (36.4% higher), and “telenutrition” (27.5% higher) features compared to those who remained food insecure. ConclusionsThis study assesses the characteristics of individuals enrolled on the Foodsmart platform who answered the food insecurity question. We found that a significant number of participants who were food insecure at enrollment achieved food security. This finding shows that telehealth and nutrition platforms may potentially help users improve household food security.https://formative.jmir.org/2022/10/e41418 |
| spellingShingle | Shivani Bakre Benjamin Shea Kaylee Ortega Jared Scharen Jason Langheier Emily Hu Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Changes in Food Insecurity Among Individuals Using a Telehealth and Nutrition Platform: Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | changes in food insecurity among individuals using a telehealth and nutrition platform longitudinal study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/10/e41418 |
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