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. 2024 Apr 5:11:1363434.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1363434. eCollection 2024.

Household food security status and its associated factors among pensioners in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia

Daniel Niguse Mamo  1 , Kassahun Misgana Worku  2 , Yonas Fissha Adem  3 , Adamu Ambachew Shibabaw  4 , Aklilu Habte  5 , Yosef Haile  6
Affiliations

Household food security status and its associated factors among pensioners in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia

Daniel Niguse Mamo et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Introduction: Food insecurity has remained a serious public health problem in developing countries, such as Ethiopia, over the past two decades. Vulnerable populations, such as pensioners, have been affected by this problem because of emerging socio-demographic changes, a global financial crisis, and climate change, all of which have contributed to the high food prices. Hence, this study aimed to assess household food security status and associated factors among pensioners in Arba Minch town, South Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from September to October 2023. Two hundred forty-four pensioners were chosen using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected, cleaned, and entered into EPI-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Variables with a p-value of ≤0.25 in the bivariate analyses were candidates for the multivariable regression analysis. In the multivariable logistic regression, variables with a p-value of 0.05 were considered to have a significant association with the dependent variable.

Results: A total of 238 retired people were interviewed, with a response rate of 97.5%. Among the interviewed pensioners, 223 (91.4%) households were food insecure. Having more than one dependent member [AOR = 2.4, 95% C.I: 1.30, 6.64], being jobless after retirement [AOR = 3, 95% C.I:1.17, 5.61], and being in the lowest tertile of wealth status [AOR = 2, 95% C.I:1.36, 4.99] were identified as predictors of food insecurity.

Conclusion: The magnitude of household food insecurity was higher compared to the national average, and factors such as the current occupational status of the household head, dependency ratio, and wealth status of the household were significantly associated with household food insecurity. Therefore, policymakers and programmers should provide new strategies focusing on additional income-generating activities and salary increments and consider free services such as school fees and healthcare.

Keywords: Arba Minch town; Ethiopia; Gamo zone; food insecurity; pensioners.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Household food security status category of pensioners in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia, 2023.
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