Addressing food insecurity in health care settings

Many health care settings are exploring ways to reduce patient food insecurity, but there is little rigorously conducted research in this area. A review of articles covering food insecurity interventions in health care settings from 2000-2018 found that interventions focused on either referrals or direct provision of food or vouchers both suffered from poor follow-up, a general lack of comparison groups, and limited statistical power and generalizability. Given the clear and convincing evidence that food insecurity has an adverse impact on health and well-being across the life course, more research is needed to better explore what makes for effective food interventions.

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Interventions Addressing Food Insecurity in Health Care Settings: A Systematic Review

Emilia H. De Marchis, MD, MAS, et al

University of California, San Francisco, Department of Family & Community Medicine, San Francisco, California