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. 2008 May 23:8:175.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-175.

Internal validity of a household food security scale is consistent among diverse populations participating in a food supplement program in Colombia

Michelle Hackett  1 , Hugo Melgar-Quinonez, Martha C Alvarez Uribe
Affiliations

Internal validity of a household food security scale is consistent among diverse populations participating in a food supplement program in Colombia

Michelle Hackett et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: We assessed the validity of a locally adapted Colombian Household Food Security Scale (CHFSS) used as a part of the 2006 evaluation of the food supplement component of the Plan for Improving Food and Nutrition in Antioquia, Colombia (MANA - Plan Departamental de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional de Antioquia).

Methods: Subjects included low-income families with pre-school age children in MANA that responded affirmatively to at least one CHFSS item (n = 1,319). Rasch Modeling was used to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the items through measure and INFIT values. Differences in CHFSS performance were assessed by area of residency, socioeconomic status and number of children enrolled in MANA. Unidimensionality of a scale by group was further assessed using Differential Item Functioning (DIF).

Results: Most CHFSS items presented good fitness with most INFIT values within the adequate range of 0.8 to 1.2. Consistency in item measure values between groups was found for all but two items in the comparison by area of residency. Only two adult items exhibited DIF between urban and rural households.

Conclusion: The results indicate that the adapted CHFSS is a valid tool to assess the household food security of participants in food assistance programs like MANA.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Adapted Colombian household food security survey [CHFSS] item measure values by number of children enrolled in MANA [n = 1,319].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adapted Colombian household food security survey [CHFSS] item measure values by socioeconomic status [n = 1,319].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adapted Colombian household food security survey [CHFSS] item measure values by area of residency [n = 1,319].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anderson SA. Core indicators of nutritional state for difficult-to-sample populations. J Nutr. 1990;120:1559–600. - PubMed
    1. United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization Rome Declaration on World Food Security. World Food Summit, November 2006 Rome, Italy. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/a0750e/a0750e00.pdf Accessed: January 30, 2006.
    1. United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization Rome Declaration on World Food Security. World Food Summit, November 1996 Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3613e/w3613e00.htm Accessed: June 6, 2006.
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