Impact of Pandemic COVID-19 towards Food Insecurity and Dietary Diversity Among B40 Mothers Living in Urban Areas in Selangor

@#Introduction: Food security and dietary diversity are critical in ensuring the nutritional and dietary adequacy of mothers. However, since the COVID-19 outbreak, it has become more challenging for mothers to maintain a healthy and varied diet, as more households are reported to be food insecure. Thus, this study aimed to assess food insecurity and its determinants, as well as to determine how it relates to dietary diversity. Methods: A cross-sectional study comprising 200 of B40 mothers with children under the age of two who resided in metropolitan regions of Selangor was conducted. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDDW) questionnaires were used to measure food insecurity and dietary diversity, respectively. Results: About 67% of mothers experienced food insecurity and 29.5% experienced dietary monotony. Less than 12 years of education (AOR=4.89, 95% CI=1.87-12.83) and living in a family with six or more people (AOR=3.48, 95% CI=1.20-11.20) were significantly associated with food insecurity. Besides, mothers with a monotonous diet were eight times more likely to be food insecure (AOR=8.03, 95% CI=2.67-24.05). Higher odds of dietary monotony were associated with less than 12 years of education (AOR=2.46, 95% CI=1.13-5.35) and household income contributor of not more than one person (AOR=3.78, 95% CI=1.66-8.60). Conclusion: Food insecurity was associated with an increased chance of dietary monotony among low-socioeconomic women residing in urban community. Therefore, identifying and addressing issues related to poor dietary diversity may allow for preventive and proactive measures to improve their nutritional status and well-being.

Nutritional Vulnerability Transitions among Rural Households in Nigeria

Aims: It has long been considered that specific age/gender groups, such as women and children, are predisposed to nutritional vulnerability. Thus, nutritional vulnerability among agricultural households is neglected and understudied. This study aims at an empirical assessment of nutritional vulnerability dynamics among rural households in Nigeria. Study Design: Secondary data used for this study was waves 2 and 3 of the general household survey panel data. The sampling design consisted of two stages of sampling: the selection of enumeration areas based on probability proportionate to the size of the enumeration areas and the systematic random selection of ten households from each enumeration area. There were 3370 households selected in rural areas and 1630 households selected in urban areas. 2090 rural households with the required information for this study were included in the analysis. Methodology: Descriptive statistics, nutritional vulnerability score, logit regression model, Markov model, and multinomial logit regression models were used to analyse nutritional vulnerability transitions among rural households in Nigeria. Results: Nutritionally vulnerable households in rural Nigeria include those with aged heads, little or no formal education, limited assets, and no access to land or credit. Nutritional vulnerability in rural Nigeria is primarily transient, with around two-fifths of households experiencing transient nutritional vulnerability and nearly one-third experiencing chronic nutritional vulnerability. While the age of the household head, tertiary education, and access to credit all had a substantial impact on transient nutritional vulnerability, gender, tertiary education, asset value, and access to credit all had an impact on chronic nutritional vulnerability. Conclusion: Support mechanisms such as initiatives to promote access to healthy food, credit, land, and education are critical. To successfully address the issues affecting the nutrition and health of persons facing vulnerabilities, social welfare programs with interventions based on the characteristics of each vulnerable group and the predisposing factors should be adopted.

Socio-economic Status, Food Security Status and its Coping Strategies among ‘The Lost Food Project’ (TLFP) Recipients in Klang Valley during COVID-19 Pandemic

@#Introduction: The Lost Food Project (TLFP) is a non-profit organization who continuously working on their strategic plan in combating the food insecurity problem by distributing food surplus to low income households within Klang Valley. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the socioeconomic status, food security status and its coping strategies among TLFP recipients in Klang Valley during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was conducted from April to June 2021. There were 88 respondents recruited through convenience sampling. A set of questionnaires regarding food assistance, nutrition knowledge, food security and its coping strategies was prepared, and the respondents were interviewed either by phone, face-to-face or self-administered questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of food insecurity among households in this study was 59.1%. Most of them have moderate (37.5%) to good (27.5%) nutrition knowledge. The coping strategy that most of the respondents applied was ‘using less expensive food’ (58.3%) with at least once per week within the past one month. Food insecure households tend to adopt more coping strategies compared to those food secure households (p<0.001). Moreover, households who rent their house (p<0.01), low household income (p<0.05) and high monthly food and drinks expenditure (p<0.01) were associated with the food insecurity among TLFP recipients. Conclusion: The study concluded that lower household income, higher food and drinks expenditure and those who rent the house have negative impacts on household’s food security status. Thus, the situation forced them to apply more food-related coping strategies in their daily life. Further research should be conducted on the effectiveness of TLFP in helping them to improve Malaysian’s food security status.

Food security status of households with children aged 0-10 in an urban poor community in Quezon City, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background@#The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects such as community restrictions, lockdowns, and unemployment have greatly affected the household food security status in urban poor communities leading to poor accessibility of sufficient nutritious food and subsequently affecting the nutrition of children.@*Objectives@#This present study aims to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity in households with children aged 0-10 amid the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban poor community in Quezon City.@*Methodology@#A descriptive cross-sectional study was done to evaluate the food security status and experiences of households amid the COVID-19 pandemic.@*Results@#A total of 405 households were surveyed to answer questions designed to determine their general profile relative to their food security experiences during the pandemic. It was observed that the majority of the households in the urban poor community belong to Class D earning between PhP 8,001.00 - PhP 15,000.00. The heads of these households as well as caregivers mostly belong to the high school graduate level. Based on the conducted survey, it was revealed that 59.5% of the households were severely food insecure (90% CI: 55.4-63.4) and only 4.2% ( 90% CI: 2.8-6.2) were food secure. @*Conclusion@#The prevalence of food insecurity in the urban poor community is determined to be high, with 31.6% households having moderate food insecurity, while only 4.2% households are food secure. The majority of surveyed households were anxious and uncertain about their food supply, and also reported experiencing varying levels of food insecurity related to sufficiency of food quality.

Exploring the Status of Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Program in Nagaland

Globally, 1.9 billion individuals have inadequate iodine nutrition, of whom 285 million are school?aged children. Universal salt iodization is the favored preventive strategy for iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), the single largest cause of preventable mental retardation. Two thousand and twenty estimates show nearly 1 billion people do not consume iodized salt. When at least 90% of households consume adequately iodized salt (?15 ppm), a country is said to have attained USI. Only 23 countries had household coverage of 90% or higher. India has a household coverage of 76.3%. One 67 million people are at risk of IDD, 54 million suffer from goiter, and 2 million from cretinism. Yearly, 9 million pregnant women and 8 million newborns are at risk. Nagaland, with the second highest coverage of iodized salt in India, the study aims to assess the state?specific approach, track various mitigating measures that effectively sustained the gains of the program.

State of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in N'Djamena, Chad

Food plays a significant role in health. Fruits and vegetables are an important component of a healthy diet and, when consumed daily in sufficient quantities, they could help to prevent major conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The objective of the study is to assess the state of consumption of fruits and vegetables by the population of the city of N'Djamena. Through a descriptive cross-sectional analysis, this study will provide information on fruit and vegetable consumption of 440 households in the 10 districts in the city of N'Djamena in Chad from February 20 to June 20, 2015. The study described the hygiene conditions of fruits and vegetables, the timing of fruit consumption and the portions of fruits and vegetables consumed per day in N'Djamena. The results show that 60% of those surveyed are male and 40% female. The age group (25-40 years) represents 79.31% of the respondents, followed by the group (41-55 years) with 17.93% and 2.75% for the age group between 56 and 75 years. As for the socio-professional category, the results reveal that 31.72% of those surveyed are civil servants. The results show that households whose size varies between 0 and 5 people represent 45.51% against 31.03% for households whose size varies from 6 to 10 people. It should be noted that 11.03% of households spend a daily food ration less than or equal to 1,5 $, 24.13% of households spend between 1,5 to 3 $ per day for their daily food ration and 28.27% of households use a sum ranging from 3 to 4,5 $. The majority of respondents (93.79%) do not respect hygienic practice while 20% of respondents consume one serving of fruits and vegetables per day (per person) and 39.31% consume two portions. The impact of socio-economic difficulties on fruit and vegetable consumption is confirmed. The high household size and low daily expenses for food does not allow them to consume the 5 recommended portions. This insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables is part of a context of galloping urbanization and rising food prices. One prospect raised is to consider further surveys in population subgroups accompanied by nutrition education in order to improve the consumption of this food group.

Influence of system relaxation training on the posttraumatic stress disorder for the families of burned children / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To investigate the application of system relaxation training on the posttraumatic stress disorder for the families of burned children, so as to provide a basis for the application of valid nursing in children families.Methods:A total of 80 cases of burned children in Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and corresponding 80 households were recruited and divided into the observation group and the control group with 40 cases each group. The patients and households from January 2019 to May 2019 in the control group received routine care, while the patients and households from February 2020 to June 2020 in the observation group received system relaxation training based on the routine care for four days. The posttraumatic stress disorder and uncertainty in illness of children families before and after intervention were evaluated by Posttraumatic stress Checklist-Civilian version(PLC-C) and Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Family Member form(MUIS-FM) and compared between the two groups.Results:There was no significant difference in the scores of PLC-C and MUIS-FM before intervention in the households between the two groups( P>0.05). After intervention, the scores of re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance/numbing, increased arousal symptoms and total PTSD scores in the households were (8.40 ± 1.79), (14.35 ± 2.85), (8.25 ± 1.28), (31.10 ± 3.52) points in the observation group and (11.28 ± 2.37), (16.75 ± 2.09), (9.10 ± 1.93), (37.13 ± 4.40) points in the control group, the differences were statistically significant ( t values were -6.76 - -2.32, all P<0.05). After intervention, the scores of ambiguity, deficit information and total MUIS-FM scores of the households were (37.08 ± 6.58), (20.15 ± 4.38), (84.38 ± 6.90) points in the observation group and (41.13 ± 6.54), (22.05 ± 3.32), (90.13 ± 7.85) points in the control group, the differences were statistically significant ( t =-2.76, -2.19, -3.48, all P<0.05). Conclusions:System relaxation training can alleviate posttraumatic stress disorder and reduce uncertainty in illness of the families of burned children.

Adquisición alimentaria en la crisis de 2008 y en 2016 en hogares rurales-urbanos de México / Food acquisition during the crisis of 2008 and 2016 in rural-urban households in Mexico

En 2008 México enfrentó una crisis alimentaria que impactó la adquisición de comestibles, ocho años después se acentuó la tendencia de los alimentos, que son más energéticos y menos nutritivos, ocasionando problemas en la salud de la población. Objetivo: Identificar la adquisición de alimentos y su equivalente en calorías en el 2008 y 2016 en hogares rurales y urbanos del sureste de México. Material y métodos: se realizó un estudio de tipo transversal, retrospectivo y comparativo de dos muestras independientes a partir de bases de datos de las Encuestas Nacionales de Ingreso Gasto en Hogares en México de 2008 y 2016. Se trabajó con un total de 5.840 hogares de los cuales, 3.522 fueron urbanos y 2.318 rurales. Las variables consideradas fueron: encuestas, tipos de hogares y adquisición de alimentos equivalentes en calorías. Para el análisis estadístico se utilizó la prueba paramétrica t de Student para muestras independientes, medias, desviación estándar y homogeneidad de varianzas, se tomó como significativo una p < ,05 Resultados: los alimentos de mayor adquisición calórica en ambos años y hogares fueron, cereales y productos de origen animal y los menos, verduras y frutas (p < ,001). Los hogares rurales, incrementaron significativamente (p < ,001) los cereales para el 2016, así como en los urbanos, disminuyó en aceites y carnes procesadas (p < ,001). Conclusión: después de la crisis alimentaria del 2008 se observaron cambios alimentarios en hogares rurales, atribuyéndosele más a la transición alimentaria que a la crisis, las familias adquirieron nuevos hábitos alimentarios(AU)

In 2008 México faced a food crisis that impacted the acquisition of groceries, eight years later the trend of foods, which are more energetic and less nutritious, was accentuated, causing problems in the health of the population. Objective: Identify food acquisition and its calorie equivalent in 2008 and 2016 in rural and urban households in southeastern México. Material and methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective and comparative study of two independent samples was conducted from databases of the National Household Spending and Income Surveys in Mexico in 2008 and 2016. A total of 5,840 households were worked on, of which 3,522 were urban and 2,318 rural. The variables considered were: surveys, types of households and acquisition of calorie-equivalent foods. For statistical analysis, Student's t parametric test was used for independent samples, mean, standard deviation and variance homogeneity, a p < ,05 was taken as significant. Results: The foods with the highest caloric acquisition in both years and households were cereals and products of animal origin and the least vegetables and fruits (p < ,001). Rural households significantly increased cereals for 2016 (p < ,001), as well as in urban households, decreased in oils and processed meats (p< ,001). Conclusion: After the 2008 food crisis, dietary changes were observed in rural households, with more attributed to the food transition than to the crisis, families acquired new eating habits(AU)

Aproximación a la alimentación y nutrición en dos comunidades pobres de Venezuela / Approach to food and nutrition in two poor communities in eastern Venezuela

En los últimos 20 años han ocurrido cambios que han impactado directamente en la calidad de vida y en la alimentación de la población, incrementando la prevalencia de subalimentados debido a la dificultad en la adquisición de alimentos en cantidad y calidad adecuada para cubrir sus necesidades. Se aplicó una encuesta entre los meses de octubre - diciembre de 2019, en 80 hogares, que participaron de manera voluntaria. El 75% de las encuestadas fueron mujeres solteras jefas de hogar, quienes percibieron mensualmente entre 3,2 a 3,8 $ de ingreso. En estos hogares el consumo más frecuente fue de 10 alimentos, entre ellos, sal, azúcar, café, harina de maíz, aceite, margarina y arroz, en menor cantidad, los alimentos fuente de proteínas animal y alimentos ricos en vitaminas y minerales como frutas y vegetales. Además 59,2% de las familias reportaron haber reducido el número de comidas, el tamaño de las raciones y algunos de los adultos dejaron de comer para alimentar a los niños. La mayoría de los entrevistados no pudo cubrir la alimentación y la deficiencia de servicios básicos, contribuyo agravar la situación. Se observó un estado de inseguridad alimentaria, alto desempleo, migración masculina, bajo nivel educativo, CLAP irregulares, alta vulnerabilidad de inseguridad alimentaria, en hogares con jefes de hogar mujeres. Es indispensable rediseñar las políticas sociales y de seguridad alimentaria enfocados a estimular el empleo, la capacitación, mejorar los servicios, el ingreso, la disponibilidad y el acceso a los alimentos, la calidad de vida y la salud de las personas(AU)

In the last 20 years there have been changes that have directly impacted the quality of life and the diet of the population, increasing the prevalence of the undernourished due to the difficulty in acquiring food in adequate quantity and quality to meet their needs. A survey was applied between the months of October - December 2019, in 80 households, which participated voluntarily. 75% of the surveys were single women heads of household, who earned between $ 3.2 and $ 3.8 in monthly income. In these households, the most frequent consumption were 10 foods, among them, salt, sugar, coffee, corn flour, oil, margarine, and rice, in less quantity, sources of animal proteins and foods rich in vitamins and minerals such as fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, 59.2% of the families reported having reduced the number of meals, the size of the portions and some of the adults had stopped eating to feed their children. Most of the interviewees could not cover food security and the lack of basic services, contributed to aggravating the situation. A situation of food insecurity, high unemployment, male migration, low educational level, irregular CLAP distribution, high vulnerability of food insecurity, was observed in households with female heads of household. It is essential to redesign social and food security policies focused on stimulating employment, training, improving services, income, availability and access to food, quality of life and people's health(AU)

Assessment of health-seeking behavior among the households of an urban area, Bengaluru, Karnataka - A cross-sectional study

Background: Health-seeking behavior (HSB) refers to a series of actions taken to correct the perceived ill-health. Knowledge on HSB of the target population is pertinent to achieve health for all. To fulfill community perspectives and needs, health systems need to adapt their strategies, taking into account the findings from behavioral studies. HSB of a person is affected by a number of factors acting at various levels. Behavior of the population of denying health care at public sector needs rectification by improving the quality of services. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the HSB and factors affecting it among the households of urban field practice area, Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban field practice area of Bengaluru. The sample size was calculated to be 350 households. Data regarding sociodemographic profile, preferred health sector during illness, and other details were obtained by interview method using a pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Majority of households (269) agreed to that they were availing services from government health sector. However, still, it was noticed that 81 households (23.10%) did not avail any kind of services from government health sector. Most common reasons for not visiting government health sector were inconvenient timings (40.96% of responses), overcrowding (28.80%), and unsatisfactory services (21.40%). Conclusion: Households chose costly, satisfactory health services at private sector over low cost unsatisfactory health services at government health center.

A household survey to assess prevalence of malaria and risk factors under urban field practice area, Dakshin Kannada

Background: Socio-demographic and environmental factors are associated with the malaria prevalence. Hence assessment of these factors would potentially help in identification of the possible risk factors among households with their health seeking behavior and would help to adopt the most suitable and appropriate malaria control strategies.Methods: A baseline household survey was carried out in the study site Lingappayakadu, Mulki, Manglore involving all study population (n=4954) from July to September 2017. Total 1043 households were interviewed with predesigned semi- structured questionnaire with informed written consent. Blood samples were collected from fever cases and results were confirmed for malaria within 24 hours. Anti-malarial drugs including the Primiaquine were given to all the positive cases. Data regarding socio-demographic characteristics and health seeking behavior were also collected from study population.Results: The prevalence of malaria in the study was 1.41% and slide positivity was 51.09%. The presence of malaria cases was statistically significant with number of members present in the family (p=0.00001, X2=199.37), age group (p=0.0168, X2=8.17) type of working status (p=0.0293, X2=7.06). Environmental factors like type of housing (p=0.3366, OR=1.3854), peri-domestic sanitation (p=0.1646, OR=0.554), Mosquito breeding (p=0.4504, OR=0.6757), indoor mosquitoes (p=1.000, OR=0.6173) and mosquito bite prevention methods were (p=0.1910, OR=1.7316) not showing any significant difference. Out of 137 fever cases, 70 cases were diagnosed with malaria amongst which 94.3% cases completed anti-malaria drug treatment.Conclusions: A survey provides data regarding socio-demographic, environmental and health seeking behavior of population. The study did not show any statistically significant association of malaria with many environmental parameters. Health seeking behavior could be analyzed and improved with frequent surveillance methods.

Multidimensional poverty of the ethnic tibetan farm and Herder households in Gansu province, China / Pobreza multidimensional da fazenda tibetana étnica e das famílias de Herder na província de Gansu, China

ABSTRACT: Ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households (FHH) in Gansu Province, China are stricken with poverty. Solving the poverty problem in this or other poverty pockets across China has special importance for the country's political stability, ethnic unity, social well-being, and ecological security. This paper calculates the multidimensional poverty situation of ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households of Gansu Province, China by using the Alkire-Foster method. Twelve indicators are included in the multidimensional poverty indicator system. Results showed that 1) in the single indicator measure, the adult family members received at least 9th grade education (x3), the home toilet type (x7), and the labor availability (x2) showed a higher incidence of deprivation, 2) many FHH in the Tibetan areas of the Gansu Province are facing multidimensional poverty but the proportion of extreme poverty is very small, and 3) from the perspective of contribution rate, the adult family members received at least 9th grade education (x3), labor availability (x2), self-health assessment (x1), home toilet type (x7), and school-age children dropout rate (x4) occupied the top five positions as obtained from the equal weight to dimensions (DEW) method.

RESUMO: As fazendas tibetanas e lares de pastores na província de Gansu, na China, são atingidas pela pobreza. Resolver o problema da pobreza neste ou em outros aglomerados em toda a China tem importância especial para a estabilidade política do país, a unidade étnica, o bem-estar social e a segurança ecológica. Esta pesquisa calcula a situação multidimensional da pobreza das famílias de fazendeiros e pastores tibetanos da Província de Gansu, usando o método Alkire-Foster. Doze indicadores estão incluídos no sistema multidimensional de indicadores de pobreza. Os resultados mostram que: 1) na medida de indicador único, os membros adultos da família receberam o grau de instrução até, pelo menos, a 9ª série (x3); o tipo de banheiro (x7) e a disponibilidade de mão-de-obra (x2) apresentam maior incidência de privação; 2) muitas FHH nas áreas tibetanas da Província de Gansu enfrentam pobreza multidimensional, mas a proporção de pobreza extrema é muito pequena e, 3) do ponto de vista da taxa de contribuição, os membros adultos da família receberam pelo menos a 9ª série (x3), disponibilidade (x2), a análise de auto-avaliação (x1), o tipo de banheiro domiciliar (x7) e a taxa de desistência de crianças em idade escolar (x4) ocuparam as cinco primeiras posições obtidas do método de peso igual a dimensões (DEW).

Analysis of the Difference in Nutrients Intake, Dietary Behaviors and Food Intake Frequency of Single- and Non Single-Person Households: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2014–2016 / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to compare the dietary life of single- and non single-person households in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 20,421 19-64-year-olds who had 24-hour recall data was taken from the 2014-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Single- and non single-persons were compared for nutrient intake, dietary behaviors, food consumption patterns, nutrition education and confirm nutrition label. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of dietary fiber and iron were lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. The lower the level of education and income, the lower the nutrient intake of single-person households. In the case of those aged 19 to 29, the breakfast skipping rate was higher in single-person households than in non single-person households. The higher the education level, the higher the breakfast skipping rate and the eating out frequency in the single-person households. In the food intake survey, the frequency of healthy food intake in single-person households was much lower than that of non single-person households. The confirmation rate of nutrition labeling was lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that single-person households have poorer health-nutritional behaviors than multi-person households. Therefore, a nutrition education program based on the data of this study needs to be developed for health promotion of single-person households.

Analysis of the Difference in Nutrients Intake, Dietary Behaviors and Food Intake Frequency of Single- and Non Single-Person Households: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2014–2016 / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to compare the dietary life of single- and non single-person households in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 20,421 19-64-year-olds who had 24-hour recall data was taken from the 2014-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Single- and non single-persons were compared for nutrient intake, dietary behaviors, food consumption patterns, nutrition education and confirm nutrition label. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of dietary fiber and iron were lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. The lower the level of education and income, the lower the nutrient intake of single-person households. In the case of those aged 19 to 29, the breakfast skipping rate was higher in single-person households than in non single-person households. The higher the education level, the higher the breakfast skipping rate and the eating out frequency in the single-person households. In the food intake survey, the frequency of healthy food intake in single-person households was much lower than that of non single-person households. The confirmation rate of nutrition labeling was lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that single-person households have poorer health-nutritional behaviors than multi-person households. Therefore, a nutrition education program based on the data of this study needs to be developed for health promotion of single-person households.

Home Meal Replacement Use and Eating Habits of Adults in One-Person Households / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: The rise of one-person households may have consequences for food consumption patterns, and eating habits. This study investigated the home meal replacement (HMR) use and eating habits among adults in their 20s-30s living in one-person households.METHODS: A total of 247 adults aged 26–39 years participated in this study. The subjects were divided into three group according to the household type; one-person households (n=80), two-person households (n=49), and multi-family (three and more members) households (n=118). Their use of HMRs (classified as ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, and fresh convenience foods) and their eating habits were all compared.RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 30.5 years, 47.8% were male, and there was no significant difference in age, gender, occupation, and monthly income according to the type of household. The intake frequency of total HMR and ready-to-eat foods was significantly higher in one-person households among the three groups. People in one-person households consumed more HMRs alone, and spent more money to buy HMRs. Undesirable dietary habit scores like unbalanced eating (p<0.05) and eating salty foods (p<0.05) were significantly higher in the one-person households. Among the total subjects, the unbalanced eating scores showed a significant positive correlation with the intake frequency of ready-toeat foods, while the unbalanced eating scores showed negative correlation with the preference of fresh convenience foods. The scores for eating salty foods showed a significant positive correlation with the intake frequency and preference of ready-to-eat foods and ready-to-cook foods, while there was negative correlation with the intake frequency and preference of fresh convenience foods.CONCLUSIONS: Adults in their 20s–30s in one-person households consumed more ready-to-eat foods than those in multi-family households. In addition, people with one-person households had more unbalanced diets and ate more salty foods, and these undesirable eating habits showed a significant positive correlation with the use of ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook foods. These results should be addressed for producing healthier ready-to-eat/ready-to-cook foods and implementing nutrition education for making healthy food choices of one-person households, which are steadily increasing.

Knowledge and practices of households on safe water chain maintenance in a slum community in Kampala City, Uganda

BACKGROUND@#More than half of the disease burden in Uganda can be prevented through improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). In slum communities, water supply is insufficient but also highly contaminated; therefore, ensuring that the safe water chain is maintained by households is paramount to preventing water-related diseases. This study aimed at assessing knowledge and practices of households on safe water chain maintenance in slum communities in Kampala City, Uganda.@*METHODS@#This was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out among 395 households in slum communities in Kampala, Uganda. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and their 95% confidence intervals were used as a measure of association between safe water chain management and associated knowledge and practice factors. The PRs were obtained using a multivariable modified Poisson regression with logarithm as the link function, with robust standard errors.@*RESULTS@#Majority (76.7%, 303/395) of the households collected their water from a piped water system and paid for the water (72.9%, 288/395). Almost all (97.2%, 384/395) of the participants said that they knew the dangers associated with drinking unsafe water, boiled their drinking water (95.4%, 377/395), and used storage containers that minimize contamination (97.0%, 383/395). However, only (32.4%, 128/395) of the households satisfactorily maintained the safe water chain. Female- (adjusted PR = 1.82, 95% CI (1.19-2.78)) and student-led households (adjusted PR = 1.58, 95% CI (1.03-2.41)) and those whose heads had attained post-primary education (adjusted PR = 1.48, 95% CI (1.02-2.17)) were more likely to satisfactorily maintain the safe water chain. This was similar among members who thought most contamination occurs during storage (adjusted PR = 1.47, 95% CI (1.10-1.97)).@*CONCLUSION@#Only a third of the households maintained the safe water chain satisfactory. Female-led, student-led, and post-primary educated-led household and household that thought most contamination occurs during storage were more likely to maintain the safe water chain. There is a need to improve the level of awareness about the importance of the safe water chain among slum dwellers.

Comparison of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in One-Person Households and Multi-Person Households

BACKGROUND: Recently, the number of one-person households has increased, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus has risen in Korea. Major complications of diabetes, such as stroke and myocardial infarction are major causes of death. Therefore, we conducted this study to test the hypothesis that the risk factors and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus differ between one-person and multi-person households.METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed data of 3,691 adults over 19 years old from the 7th (2016) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data were analyzed by composite sampling for age, family history, waist circumference, body mass index, hypertension, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and consumption of breakfast. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed by household-type in order to estimate the relative risk of factors associated with diabetes.RESULTS: Hypertension was a significant risk factor for diabetes in both groups. Among other diabetic risk factors, individuals in one-person households were more likely to skip breakfast and less likely to engage in physical activity than those in multi-person households.CONCLUSION: One-person households have a high risk of hypertension, skipping breakfast, and poor physical activity. It is important to consider the role of one-person households when studying the management and treatment of disease.

Comparison of Dietary Behavior of Eating Alone in Single Households by Status of Workers and Age / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the dietary behaviors of single-person households when eating alone according to the employment pattern and age. METHODS: A total of 566 people aged 20~59 years old were collected from the status of workers and classified into three groups according to their employment pattern (regular, non-regular workers and business owner). The subjects were collected by purposive quota sampling on a Gallup panel from June to November in 2017. The dietary behavior and perception of eating alone of the subjects were surveyed via online and self-reported questionnaires. RESULTS: The frequency of eating alone was significantly higher in the regular group than the non-regular group and business group (p<0.01). The place of eating alone was significantly higher in the regular and non-regular group in the convenience store, and business group in the office (p<0.001). Ramen, the menu when eating alone, was significantly higher in the non-regular group than the other groups (p<0.01). The preference for eating alone was lower in the older age group (p<0.05). The young aged group (aged 20~30) ate more fast food and felt more convenience than the older aged group aged 40~50 years (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Single-person households with a non-regular job have poorer dietary behavior in eating alone than those who had regular employment. In a situation of an increasing number of non-regular workers aged in their 20s and 30s, there is a high likelihood of social problems, such as health and poverty. This study highlights the need for a healthy food selection environment to improve the dietary life of single-person households with non-regular jobs for the diverse types of single-person households.

The Equity in Health Care Utilization of One-Person Households: By Comparison with Multi-Person Households / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: The one-person households (OPH) are rapidly increasing and vulnerable to socioeconomic and health problems. Because it is predicted to be inequitable to health care utilization, we would like to find out about the equity of health care utilization of the OPH by comparison with the multi-person households (MPH). METHODS: This study followed the theoretical framework of Wagstaff and van Doorslaer (2000), O'Donnell and his colleagues (2008), where the horizontal inequity index is the difference between the concentration indices of actual health care utilization and health care needs. This study employed the 9th Korea Health Panel survey, and a total of 10,807 cases were analyzed. Health care needs were measured by age, sex, subjective health status, chronic disease count, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, limitation of activities, and disability. RESULTS: Compared with the MPH, there were pro-poor inequities in hospitalization, emergency utilization, hospitalization out-of-pocket payments, and pro-rich inequities in outpatient out-of-pocket payments for the OPH. The decomposition of the concentration index revealed that chronic disease count made the largest contribution to socioeconomic inequality in outpatient utilization. Age, health insurance, economic activities, and subjective health status also proved more important contributors to inequality. The variables contributing to the hospitalization and emergency utilization inequity were age, education, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, marital status, and income. CONCLUSION: Because the OPH was more vulnerable to health problems than the MPH and there were pro-poor inequities in medical utilization, hospitalization, and emergency costs, it is necessary to develop a policy that can correct and improve the portion of high contribution to medical utilization of the OPH.

Serviços de governo eletrônico no Brasil: uma análise a partir das medidas de acesso e competências de uso da internet / Servicios de gobierno electrónico en Brasil: un análisis a partir de medidas de acceso y competencias de uso de Internet / Electronic government services in Brazil: an analysis based on measures of access and users' internet skills

Resumo Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar como medidas de disponibilidade de acesso à internet e de competência de uso influenciam o uso de serviços de governo eletrônico no Brasil. A pesquisa se baseou na abordagem das capacidades de Amartya Sen para a análise dos microdados da pesquisa TIC Domicílios coordenada pelo Centro Regional de Estudos para o Desenvolvimento da Sociedade da Informação (CETIC.br), referente ao ano-base de 2013. Para o tratamento e a análise dos dados, empregou-se um conjunto de técnicas estatísticas multivariadas. Os resultados indicam que nas classes C, D e E o aumento da chance de uso de serviços de e-gov é fortemente influenciado pela disponibilidade de acesso à internet em casa ou no trabalho (acesso individual), assim como pela maior competência de uso de outros recursos da internet.

Resumen En este artículo se pretende analizar cómo la disponibilidad de medidas de acceso a internet y las habilidades de uso de internet (capacidades) influyen en el uso de los servicios de gobierno electrónico en Brasil. La investigación se fundamenta en el enfoque de las capacidades de Amartya Sen para el análisis de los microdatos de investigación TIC Domicílios coordinados por el Centro Regional para el Desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información (CETIC.br), para el año base de 2013. Los resultados indican que en las clases C (clase media), D y E (clase baja) el incremento de la probabilidad de adopción de servicios de gobierno electrónico está fuertemente influenciado por el acceso a internet en casa o trabajo (acceso individual), así como la amplitud de competencias del usuario en utilizar otros recursos de internet.

Abstract This article aims to analyze how measures to promote Internet access, and users' competencies influence the use of electronic government services in Brazil. We adopted Sen's Capability Approach as theoretical framework in order to analyze the microdata from the ICT Households 2013, a national-wide survey coordinated by the Regional Center for Studies on Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br). The results indicate that for social classes C (middle class), D and E (lower class) the increase in the odds ratio of the use of e-gov services is strongly influenced by both internet access preferably at home or work (individual access) as well as the users' internet skills.