Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

3 Preliminary Assessment
Pages 30-48

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 30...
... It provides the panel's comments, conclusions, and interim recommendations based primarily on workshop discussions and panel deliberations during Phase 1 of the study, while the panel pursues these and other issues in more detail in the Phase 2 of the study. CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS, AND THEIR MEASUREMENT Concepts and Definitions The 10- and 18-item set of questions used in the Food Security Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS)
From page 31...
... 3. The definition of the concept of hunger used in the current food security measure incorporates both a physiological compo nent -- "the uneasy, painful sensation caused by a lack of food"
From page 32...
... Another important concern with food insecurity measures is that all three concepts are measured in a household survey and households are classified into the three dimensions of food security, even though the concepts themselves may not be appropriately measured at the level of the household. The concepts of food uncertainty and food insufficiency are really household-level concepts.
From page 33...
... Hunger is a very politically sensitive word that conjures images of severe deprivation. Much of the criticism about the current food security measurement project is targeted toward this classification, specifically the cut points, and the questions to which responses confirm or deny the hunger cut point that are used to classify people as food insecure with hunger (see Bavier, 2004)
From page 34...
... USDA has stated that the goal of food security measurement is not solely to estimate the prevalence of hunger, but rather, to obtain estimates of the prevalence of the uncertainty of having enough food or the inadequacy of the food that is available -- that is, the prevalence of food insecurity and food insufficiency. The panel concurs with USDA that the goal should be to measure the broader concept of food insecurity.
From page 35...
... of the Food Security Supplement questionnaire are used to estimate the propensity of households to experience various levels of food insecurity. IRT models have commonly been used in educational testing, and the parlance about them is geared toward this -- an individual's ability is the estimated propensity measure, as is the difficulty of each item on the test.
From page 36...
... argues that hunger is a discrete, observable phenomenon that is really a consequence of food insecurity rather than a severe range of food insecurity and that it is not appropriate to use IRT models to measure hunger. Others have questioned whether the assumptions of IRT models are violated given the data generated from the current food insecurity instrument and in particular how well the data fit the Rasch model (Froelich, 2002; Johnson, 2004; Opsomer, Jensen, and Pan, 2003; Opsomer et al., 2002; Wilde, 2004b)
From page 37...
... Theoretically, such a validation study might be conducted by examining the caloric and nutrient intake of individuals in households that also responded to the Food Security Supplement questions. Practically, however, such a study would face severe data requirements -- for example, data on food consumption and diet would need to be collected for the same individuals over a 12-month period (since the food security survey reference period is over 12 months)
From page 38...
... , using 2000 Food Security Supplement data, found results consistent with this finding, namely that those households with and without children responded differently to the adult-referenced food security items. This result means that raw threshold scores do not have equivalent meaning across the two different types of household, the method currently used to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity.
From page 39...
... fit a 2-parameter logistic model instead of a Rasch model to the data from the 2002 Food Security Supplement. This model allows the discrimination parameter to vary across items.
From page 40...
... Interim Recommendation 2: In presenting the data in the an nual food security reports, USDA should prominently report frequencies of the individual items that make up the scale. APPROPRIATENESS OF A HOUSEHOLD INTERVIEW SURVEY TO ESTIMATE THE PREVALENCE OF FOOD INSECURITY Food uncertainty and insufficiency are household-level concepts.
From page 41...
... Theoretically, it is also reasonable to consider questions of the frequency and duration of food insecurity using a household survey. The current version of the 18-item food security scale used in the CPS does not collect much information relevant to frequency and duration.
From page 42...
... In addition, the design of the CPS could also allow for some longitudinal analysis of the food security of some households. The survey interviews the same households for 4 months, does not interview them for the next 8 months, and again interviews them for 4 months following the 8-month break; a portion of the households could receive the Food Security Supplement twice while they are part of the CPS sample.
From page 43...
... APPLICABILITY OF THE FOOD SECURITY MEASURE FOR ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 requires that federal departments and agencies within departments develop a strategic plan for multiple years and annual performance plans with specific targets, and then report annually on the agency's success in meeting those targets. The 2000-2005 strategic plan of the Food and Nutrition Service -- the agency with responsibility for the major food assistance programs in the United States, including the Food Stamp
From page 44...
... . Thus, effective performance of the programs cannot be directly linked to improved food security status, nor can a deterioration of food security be attributed to failure of these programs.
From page 45...
... SURVEY OPTIONS FOR MEASURING FOOD INSECURITY As stated earlier, USDA bases its annual report and estimates of the prevalence of food insecurity on data collected from the Food Security Supplement to the CPS. The food security questions that are included in the CPS also appear on a number of other nationally rep
From page 46...
... The 18-item household food security survey module used in the CPS-which was developed by USDA in collaboration with an expert panel and a federal interagency working group that included NCHS -- has been included in NHANES since 1999. This module has been used in a number of other surveys.
From page 47...
... Interim Recommendation 4: USDA should explore the use of alternative or additional surveys to estimate the national preva lence of food insecurity. In the meantime, USDA should con tinue to measure food insecurity as currently conducted using the Food Security Supplement of the Current Population Survey.
From page 48...
... The panel in its final report will examine in more depth the issues raised in the workshop relating to the concepts, definitions, measurement issues, and analytical methods used to measure food security; possible alternative survey vehicles for measuring the concepts instead of or supplemental to the CPS; and the problems of special populations. In addition, the panel will address and make recommendations as appropriate on the tasks specified for Phase 2 and listed in Chapter 1.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.