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Food insecurity and mental health: Surprising trends among community health volunteers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the 2008 food crisis

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  • Maes, Kenneth C.
  • Hadley, Craig
  • Tesfaye, Fikru
  • Shifferaw, Selamawit
Abstract
The 2008 food crisis may have increased household food insecurity and caused distress among impoverished populations in low-income countries. Policy researchers have attempted to quantify the impact that a sharp rise in food prices might have on population wellbeing by asking what proportion of households would drop below conventional poverty lines given a set increase in prices. Our understanding of the impact of food crises can be extended by conducting micro-level ethnographic studies. This study examined self-reported household food insecurity (FI) and common mental disorders (CMD) among 110 community health AIDS care volunteers living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the height of the 2008 food crisis. We used generalized estimating equations that account for associations between responses given by the same participants over 3 survey rounds during 2008, to model the longitudinal response profiles of FI, CMD symptoms, and socio-behavioral and micro-economic covariates. To help explain the patterns observed in the response profiles and regression results, we examine qualitative data that contextualize the cognition and reporting behavior of AIDS care volunteers, as well as potential observation biases inherent in longitudinal, community-based research. Our data show that food insecurity is highly prevalent, that is it associated with household economic factors, and that it is linked to mental health. Surprisingly, the volunteers in this urban sample did not report increasingly severe FI or CMD during the peak of the 2008 food crisis. This is a counter-intuitive result that would not be predicted in analyses of population-level data such as those used in econometrics simulations. But when these results are linked to real people in specific urban ecologies, they can improve our understanding of the psychosocial consequences of food price shocks.

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  • Maes, Kenneth C. & Hadley, Craig & Tesfaye, Fikru & Shifferaw, Selamawit, 2010. "Food insecurity and mental health: Surprising trends among community health volunteers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the 2008 food crisis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1450-1457, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:70:y:2010:i:9:p:1450-1457
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    8. Carter, Kristie N. & Kruse, Kerri & Blakely, Tony & Collings, Sunny, 2011. "The association of food security with psychological distress in New Zealand and any gender differences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(9), pages 1463-1471, May.
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    10. Maes, Kenneth & Kalofonos, Ippolytos, 2013. "Becoming and remaining community health workers: Perspectives from Ethiopia and Mozambique," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 52-59.
    11. Piperata, Barbara A. & Schmeer, Kammi K. & Rodrigues, Andres Herrera & Salazar Torres, Virgilio Mariano, 2016. "Food insecurity and maternal mental health in León, Nicaragua: Potential limitations on the moderating role of social support," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 9-17.
    12. Tsai, Alexander C. & Tomlinson, Mark & Comulada, W. Scott & Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane, 2016. "Food insufficiency, depression, and the modifying role of social support: Evidence from a population-based, prospective cohort of pregnant women in peri-urban South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 69-77.
    13. Trudell, John Paul & Burnet, Maddison L. & Ziegler, Bianca R. & Luginaah, Isaac, 2021. "The impact of food insecurity on mental health in Africa: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
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    15. Tsai, Alexander C. & Bangsberg, David R. & Emenyonu, Nneka & Senkungu, Jude K. & Martin, Jeffrey N. & Weiser, Sheri D., 2011. "The social context of food insecurity among persons living with HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(12), pages 1717-1724.

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