Pension beneficiaries' household food insecurity and associated factors in Debre Markos town, Northwest Ethiopia

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

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.

Financial Hardship on Food Security in Ageing Populations

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of food security, and the association of food security with financial hardship and socio-demographic characteristics among the ageing population in Thailand. Methods: The study extracted data on 1,197 persons age 60 years or older from a nationally-representative sample survey of Thai households. The food security data were collected using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the association between financial hardship, socio-demographic characteristics, and food security. Results: Of the total sample, 71% had food security. The least probability of having food security was observed in the respondents who sometimes and often had income problems (p < 0.001), and felt dissatisfied with their financial situation (p < 0.001). The respondents who were female, at oldest-old age, with lower than primary school education and in the Northeast were less likely to have food security. Conclusion: These findings suggest the need for government assistance for those who are experiencing financial hardship to help them manage their finances and food security more effectively, taking into account different socio-demographic characteristics.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Food Insecurity among Older Adults in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

Food insecurity has been undermining the health and well-being of a growing number of older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review aimed to examine the prevalence of food insecurity and the related contributing factors of food insecurity among older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. We used PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science Core Collection as our search engines and included 22 articles for data extraction. Prevalence of severe and moderate food insecurity in households with older adults ranged from 6.0 to 87.3% and from 8.3 to 48.5%, respectively. Various socio-economic (e.g., low education level, being widowed, low income, lower wealth position of households, living in a rental house, living in rural areas, lack of social grants or pensions), demographic (e.g., female, Black racial group, larger family size), and health and nutrition status-related (e.g., self-reported poor health status, having a functional and mobility-related disability, psychological disorders) factors influence food insecurity in older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings of this review can help stakeholders to prioritize the issue of food insecurity, design and implement policies and programs to improve food security among older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Work after retirement affects elderly mental health and behaviors in Addis Ababa

This study aimed to determine the impact of being without a job post-retirement on mental health (depression, life satisfaction) and behaviors (alcohol and cigarette). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 330 Ethiopians aged 60-69. Compared to workers, retirees without a job reported higher depression, lower life satisfaction, and hazardous drinking (d = .49, .39 and φ = .65, respectively). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that being without a job post-retirement was associated with depression and life dissatisfaction. Thus, greater emphasis has to be given to improve the mental health and behaviors of retired elderly.

Pensions, consumption and health: evidence from rural South Africa

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of older people in sub-Saharan Africa are gaining access to pension benefits and it is often claimed that these benefits promote healthy forms of consumption, which contribute to significant improvements in their health status. However, evidence to support these claims is limited.

METHODS

The paper uses data for 2701 people aged 60 or over who participated in a population-based study in rural north-eastern South Africa. It analyses effects of receiving a pension on reported food scarcity, body mass index and patterns of consumption.

RESULTS

The paper finds that living in a pension household is associated with a reduced risk of reported food scarcity and with higher levels of consumption of food and drink. The paper does not find that living in a pension household is associated with a higher prevalence of current smoking nor current alcohol consumption. However, the paper still finds that tobacco and alcohol make up over 40% of reported food and drink consumption, and that the correlation between reported food scarcity and body mass index status is imperfect.

CONCLUSIONS

The paper does not show significant associations between pension receipt and the selected risk factors. However, the context of prevalent obesity and high shares of household spending allocated to tobacco and alcohol call into question widely-made claims that pensions enhance healthy consumption among older people in low and middle-income countries.

Magnitude of Child Food Insecurity, Its Association with Child Immunization and Huosehold wealth Status, and Coping Strategies In Dabat Demographic and Surveillance System North West Ethiopia

Background

The magnitude of food insecurity in Ethiopia ranges from 38.7% to 82.3% among the general population. Children under the age of five years were more prone to food insecurity and its serious consequences like anemia, low bone density, frequent episodes of common cold, stomachache, poor educational performance, and dental carries in developing countries like Ethiopia. However, there is no any research finding that documented the magnitude of child food insecurity, coping strategies, and associated factors in the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was estimating the magnitude of child food insecurity, major coping strategies, and factors associated with child food insecurity in the study area.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional survey has been conducted in Dabat demographic and health surveillance site among 7152 mothers/caretakers of children under the age of five years. Data were collected by experienced data collectors working for the demographic and health surveillance site, and the collected data were entered into EpiData template and then transported to Stata 14 software for data cleaning and analysis. The ordinal logistic regression model was fitted to identify predictors for child food insecurity.

Results

About 21.42% of children under the age of five years were food insecure in Dabat district of whom 57.8%, 38.6%, and 3.6% had experienced mild, moderate, and severe levels of child food insecurity, respectively. All most all 1391 (92%) of the mothers/caretakers of food insecure children had practiced food insecurity coping strategies. More than half (57%) of mothers/caretakers reduces the size of child meal as insecurity coping strategy. Child food insecurity was associated with household wealth status, parent's education status, and maternal and child health service utilization and child feeding practices.

Conclusion

A large segment of under-five children had experienced food insecurity in Dabat district, and the major coping strategy for child food insecurity was reducing meal size. Therefore, working on household wealth improvement and expansion of basic health services would improve child food security.