Validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in rural Lebanon

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dc.contributor.authorNaja, F.
dc.contributor.authorHwalla, N.
dc.contributor.authorFossian, T.
dc.contributor.authorZebian, D.
dc.contributor.authorNasreddine, L.
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVE: To assess the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) in rural Lebanon. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study on a sample of households with at least one child aged 0-2 years. In a one-to-one interview, participants completed an adapted Arabic version of the HFIAS. In order to evaluate the validity of the HFIAS, basic sociodemographic information, anthropometric measurements of the mother and child, and dietary intake data of the child were obtained. In order to examine reproducibility, the HFIAS was re-administered after 3 months. SETTING: Rural Lebanon. SUBJECTS: Mother and child pairs (n 150). RESULTS: Factor analysis of HFIAS items revealed two factors: 'insufficient food quality' and 'insufficient food quantity'. Using Pearson's correlation, food insecurity was inversely associated with mother's and father's education levels, number of cars and electrical appliances in the household, income, weight-for-age and length-for-age of the child and the child's dietary adequacy. In contrast, mother's BMI and crowding index were positively associated with food insecurity scores (P < 0·05 for all correlations). Cronbach's α of the scale was 0·91. A moderate correlation was observed between the two administrations of the questionnaire (intra-class correlation = 0·58; P < 0·05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that the adapted Arabic version of the HFIAS is a valid and reliable tool to assess food insecurity in rural Lebanon, lending further evidence to the utility of the HFIAS in assessing food insecurity in culturally diverse populations.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityFarah Naja, Nahla Hwalla, Talar Fossian, Dina Zebian and Lara Nasreddine
dc.identifier.citationPublic Health Nutrition, 2014; 18(2):251-258
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S1368980014000317
dc.identifier.issn1368-9800
dc.identifier.issn1475-2727
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/97016
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.rightsCopyright © The Authors 2014
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980014000317
dc.subjectArab Spring
dc.subjectFood insecurity
dc.subjectHousehold Food Insecurity Access Scale
dc.subjectLebanon
dc.titleValidity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale in rural Lebanon
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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