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Hunger and food insecurity in Nairobi’s slums: an assessment using IRT models

Hunger and food insecurity in Nairobi’s slums: an assessment using IRT models
Hunger and food insecurity in Nairobi’s slums: an assessment using IRT models
Although linked to poverty as conditions reflecting inadequate access to resources to obtain food, issues such as hunger and food insecurity have seldom been recognized as important in urban settings. Overall, little is known about the prevalence and magnitude of hunger and food insecurity in most cities. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of urban dwellers live on less than one dollar a day, it is obvious that a large proportion of the urban population must be satisfied with just one meal a day. This paper suggests using the one- and two-parameter item response theory models to infer a reliable and valid measure of hunger and food insecurity relevant to low-income urban settings, drawing evidence from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System. The reliability and accuracy of the items are tested using both the Mokken scale analysis and the Cronbach test. The validity of the inferred household food insecurity measure is assessed by examining how it is associated with households’ economic status. Results show that food insecurity is pervasive amongst slum dwellers in Nairobi. Only one household in five is food-secure, and nearly half of all households are categorized as “food-insecure with both adult and child hunger.” Moreover, in line with what is known about household allocation of resources, evidence indicates that parents often forego food in order to prioritize their children.
food insecurity, hunger, sub-saharan africa, slum, nairobi
235-255
Faye, Ousmane
70dac019-6153-4eeb-a4f2-af8ec86b6e1c
Baschieri, Angela
8512fd8e-0c0a-4741-acb6-5d05bee0b108
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Muindia, Kanyiva
05d6ab5c-b1a3-4237-a928-473c71ee55af
Faye, Ousmane
70dac019-6153-4eeb-a4f2-af8ec86b6e1c
Baschieri, Angela
8512fd8e-0c0a-4741-acb6-5d05bee0b108
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Muindia, Kanyiva
05d6ab5c-b1a3-4237-a928-473c71ee55af

Faye, Ousmane, Baschieri, Angela, Falkingham, Jane and Muindia, Kanyiva (2011) Hunger and food insecurity in Nairobi’s slums: an assessment using IRT models. Journal of Urban Health, 88 (2), 235-255. (doi:10.1007/s11524-010-9521-x). (PMID:21234694)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Although linked to poverty as conditions reflecting inadequate access to resources to obtain food, issues such as hunger and food insecurity have seldom been recognized as important in urban settings. Overall, little is known about the prevalence and magnitude of hunger and food insecurity in most cities. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of urban dwellers live on less than one dollar a day, it is obvious that a large proportion of the urban population must be satisfied with just one meal a day. This paper suggests using the one- and two-parameter item response theory models to infer a reliable and valid measure of hunger and food insecurity relevant to low-income urban settings, drawing evidence from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System. The reliability and accuracy of the items are tested using both the Mokken scale analysis and the Cronbach test. The validity of the inferred household food insecurity measure is assessed by examining how it is associated with households’ economic status. Results show that food insecurity is pervasive amongst slum dwellers in Nairobi. Only one household in five is food-secure, and nearly half of all households are categorized as “food-insecure with both adult and child hunger.” Moreover, in line with what is known about household allocation of resources, evidence indicates that parents often forego food in order to prioritize their children.

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More information

Published date: June 2011
Keywords: food insecurity, hunger, sub-saharan africa, slum, nairobi
Organisations: Social Statistics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 182855
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/182855
PURE UUID: bebd5d98-070a-4a3e-a9a4-3dac9314232a
ORCID for Jane Falkingham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-5875

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 24 Apr 2011 17:06
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:12

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Contributors

Author: Ousmane Faye
Author: Angela Baschieri
Author: Jane Falkingham ORCID iD
Author: Kanyiva Muindia

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