Food insecurity, which is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, is associated with poor health outcomes and the increased need to use health care services. According to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, food insecurity impacts 10.2% of U.S.
households. In families with children in the home, food insecurity is even higher, at 12.5%.
A new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that inpatient food insecurity, experienced by caregivers during their child's hospitalization, is associated with not only longer hospital admissions but also significantly increased odds of readmission. The findings appear online in JAMA Pediatrics. A child's hospitalization can generate financial, social and personal stressors for caregivers.
But little is known about how inpatient food insecurity can impact hospital outcomes." Leila H. DeWitt, D.
O., assistant professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and study's corresponding author For the study, the research team collected data from 9,325 hospital encounters from May 2022 and December 2023 at Atrium Health Levine Children's Brenner Children's Hospital and conducted a three-question survey of caregivers to determine if, at any point during their child's hospitalization, they ate less than they felt they should, felt hungry but did not yet or skipped meals, due to lack of money for food. A "yes" response to one or more of.