Increasing food insecurity severity is associated with lower diet quality.

OBJECTIVE: Food insecurity may reduce diet quality, but the relationship between food insecurity severity and diet quality is under-researched. This study aimed to examine the relationship between diet quality and severity of household food insecurity. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, online survey used the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Six-item Short Form to classify respondents as food secure or marginally, moderately or severely food insecure. The Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS; scored 0­73) determined diet quality (ARFS total and sub-scale scores). Survey-weighted linear regression (adjusted for age, sex, income, education, location and household composition) was conducted. SETTING: Tasmania, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults (aged 18 years and over). RESULTS: The mean ARFS total for the sample (n 804, 53 % female, 29 % aged > 65 years) was 32·4 (sd = 9·8). As the severity of household food insecurity increased, ARFS total decreased. Marginally food-insecure respondents reported a mean ARFS score three points lower than food-secure adults (B = ­2·7; 95 % CI (­5·11, ­0·34); P = 0·03) and reduced by six points for moderately (B = ­5·6; 95 % CI (­7·26, ­3·90); P < 0·001) and twelve points for severely food-insecure respondents (B = ­11·5; 95 % CI (­13·21, ­9·78); P < 0·001). Marginally food-insecure respondents had significantly lower vegetable sub-scale scores, moderately food-insecure respondents had significantly lower sub-scale scores for all food groups except dairy and severely food-insecure respondents had significantly lower scores for all sub-scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Poorer diet quality is evident in marginally, moderately and severely food-insecure adults. Interventions to reduce food insecurity and increase diet quality are required to prevent poorer nutrition-related health outcomes in food-insecure populations in Australia.

Managing multiple, geographically-separated identities, and its effect on employee retention.

Extant literature posits that an individual manages their multiple identities by integrating or separating them to varying degrees. We posit that, rather than managing a single set of identities, an individual may engage different identity structures in different contexts. We use the fly-in, fly-out work context, whereby an employee's home and work are substantially geographically separated, to explore whether different identity structures exist, strategies for managing them, and their effect on employee retention intentions. Analysis of qualitative data from 29 participants collected across three work sites revealed three main strategies that employees adopt to cope with having multiple identity structures: aligning identities; making work identity dominant; and creating a new identity around the working arrangement and discarding all other identities. These strategies interact with the employee's actual identity structure to influence retention intentions. Implications for retaining employees in such working arrangements are discussed.

Out of the trenches; prevalence of Australian veterans among the homeless population and the implications for public health.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of Australian Defence Force veterans among people sleeping rough and explore their health and social needs relative to non-veteran rough sleepers. METHOD: Analysis of responses to the Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritisation Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) collected from 8,027 rough sleepers across five Australian States from 2010-2017. RESULTS: Veterans were found to comprise 5.6% of people sleeping rough in Australia, with veterans reporting having spent an average of 6.3 years on the street or in emergency accommodation (compared with an average of five years for their non-veterans counterparts). Veterans had a higher prevalence of self-reported physical health, mental health and social issues compared with non-veteran rough sleepers. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of its kind to elucidate the presence of Australian veterans among people sleeping rough. That they are likely to have spent more years on the street, and have a higher prevalence of health and social issues, highlights the imperative for earlier intervention and prevention of veteran homelessness itself, and its health impacts. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: Veteran homelessness has been comparatively hidden in Australia compared to other countries, and consequently the myriad of health, psychosocial and adjustment issues faced by homeless veterans has also been hidden. With heightened attention on veteran suicide and self-harm, earlier intervention to prevent veterans becoming homeless constitutes sound public health prevention and mental health policy.

Perspectives of socioeconomically disadvantaged parents on their children's coping during COVID-19: Implications for practice.

Disruptions caused by COVID-19 have the potential to create long-term negative impacts on children's well-being and development, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged children. However, we know little about how socioeconomically disadvantaged families are coping with the pandemic, nor the types of support needed. This study presents qualitative analysis of responses to an open-ended question asking parents how children are coping with the restrictions associated with COVID-19, to identify areas in which these cohorts can be supported. Four main themes were identified: health concerns, schooling difficulties, social isolation and adjustment to restrictions. Health concerns included exacerbation of pre-existing health conditions, fear about the virus, difficulty getting children to understand the pandemic and increased sedentary behaviour. Schooling difficulties referred to the challenges of home schooling, which were behavioural (e.g. difficulty concentrating) and logistical (e.g. technology). Social isolation, expressed as missing friends, family and/or institutions was common. Finally, parents expressed that children experienced both positive adjustments to restrictions, such as spending more time with family, and negative adjustments such as increased screen time. Many responses from parents touched on topics across multiple themes, indicating a need for comprehensive, holistic assessment of children's and families' needs in the provision of support services. The content of the themes supports calls for resources to support children and families including increased financial and practical accessibility of social services, physical health and exercise support, mental health support and COVID-19 communication guides.

Adaptation among aged care and disability service providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future.

Aged care and disability service organizations are critical infrastructure. However, in 2020, restrictions were introduced to reduce the infection risk of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and these organizations needed to quickly devise COVID-safe ways of working to continue to meet the needs of their clients. To investigate how these organizations adapted their service delivery and which innovations they felt were worthwhile for sustaining beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, interviews were undertaken with representatives from 26 aged care and disability service organizations across three states in Australia (Western Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria). Findings revealed that organizations adapted their practices across three key innovation areas: (1) developing new approaches or expanding existing services, particularly around food provision, social connection, information dissemination, and technology support; (2) modifying the mode of service delivery, through safe in-person contact or offering alternative online services; and (3) reducing bureaucracy and introducing remote working. A common theme across all service innovations was the strong focus on providing clients and staff with choice and control. Moving forward, many organizations wanted to integrate and maintain these innovations, as they were associated with additional benefits such as increased client health and safety, service flexibility, and sufficient human resources to serve clients. However, continued maintenance of some initiatives require additional resourcing. The continuation of COVID-19 pandemic adaptations and, indeed, ongoing innovation, would therefore be facilitated by greater flexibility of funding to allow organizations and their clients to determine the service types and modes that best meet their needs. Further, these innovations have implications for sector-wide best practice.

Food Insecurity and Socioeconomic Disadvantage in Australia.

Research on food insecurity in Australia has typically relied on a single-item measure and finds that approximately 5% of the population experiences food insecurity. This research also finds that demographic characteristics such as household composition and marital status affect levels of food insecurity, independent of income level. The present study examines the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity in a cohort (n = 400) of people experiencing entrenched disadvantage in Perth, Western Australia. Using the US Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module, we find that food insecurity at the household, adult, and child level is at sharply elevated levels, with 82.8% of the sample reporting household food insecurity, 80.8% and 58.3% experiencing food insecurity among adults and children, respectively. Demographic characteristics do not significantly affect levels of food insecurity, and food insecurity is associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes. Food insecurity is positively correlated with access to food emergency relief services, indicating that these services are being used by those most in need, but do not address the root causes of food insecurity. Policy and practice should focus on increasing stable access to adequate quantities and quality of food and addressing the structural causes of food insecurity.

Making Sense of Corporate Social Responsibility and Work.

Employees can be a driving force behind organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, yet the vast majority of literature has focused on firm-level understanding and implementation of CSR. Recent literature that explores the relationship between employees and CSR has not investigated how employees conceive of their role in CSR. We propose that in order to understand the factors that affect employee engagement in CSR, we must first understand how employees conceptualize the phenomenon of CSR and how that conceptualisation fits into their work. Our exploratory, inductive study interviews two cohorts of employees, one in a not for profit and the other in a corporate organization, revealing stark contrasts in how the different cohorts conceptualize and engage in CSR, particularly with regards to how CSR contributes to meaningfulness at work. Implications for organizations are discussed.