Seasonal variations in household food insecurity and dietary diversity and their association with maternal and child nutritional status in rural Ethiopia

Roba, Kedir T.; O'Connor, Thomas P.; O'Brien, Nora M.; Aweke, Chanyalew S.; Kahsay, Zenebe A.; Chisholm, Nick; Lahiff, Edward

Seasonal variations in household food insecurity and dietary diversity and their association with maternal and child nutritional status in rural Ethiopia

dc.contributor.author	Roba, Kedir T.
dc.contributor.author	O'Connor, Thomas P.
dc.contributor.author	O'Brien, Nora M.
dc.contributor.author	Aweke, Chanyalew S.
dc.contributor.author	Kahsay, Zenebe A.
dc.contributor.author	Chisholm, Nick
dc.contributor.author	Lahiff, Edward
dc.contributor.funder	Irish Aid	en
dc.contributor.funder	Higher Education Authority	en
dc.date.accessioned	2019-06-11T09:03:02Z
dc.date.available	2019-06-11T09:03:02Z
dc.date.issued	2019-05-20
dc.date.updated	2019-06-11T08:53:21Z
dc.description.abstract	Food availability and access are strongly affected by seasonality in rural households in Ethiopia. However, relationships between household food insecurity indicators and dietary diversity and nutritional status of reproductive age mothers and their young children are unclear. A longitudinal study was conducted among 800 farming households in lowland and midland agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia in pre and post-harvest seasons. A structured interview, which included measures of three food access indicators − household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS), household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and household food consumption score (HFCS) − was conducted. Additionally, a subset of 183 households was selected for assessment of indicators of nutritional status including maternal and child dietary diversity and anthropometric measurements for children 6–23 months of age. Magnitudes of household food insecurity indices were high by international standards, particularly during the lean season (pre-harvest). Using correlation, Chi square and multivariable regression models, HFCS in both seasons was related to maternal body mass index and haemoglobin, and weight-for-length of their children. HDDS was associated in the post-harvest season with haemoglobin level of the mothers, and weight-for-length of their children. HFCS was a better predictor of nutritional status of mothers and children in both the food surplus and lean seasons, while HDDS was a better predictor of maternal and child nutritional status post-harvest. It is recommended that nutritional interventions should therefore focus on household food insecurity as well as targeting the individual nutritional status of mothers and children.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	Irish Aid (Agridiet Project); Higher Education Authority (Programme of Strategic Cooperation)	en
dc.description.status	Peer reviewed	en
dc.description.version	Accepted Version	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.identifier.citation	Roba, K. T., O'Connor, T. P., O'Brien, N. M., Aweke, C. S., Kahsay, Z. A., Chisholm, N. and Lahiff, E. (2019) 'Seasonal variations in household food insecurity and dietary diversity and their association with maternal and child nutritional status in rural Ethiopia', Food Security. doi: 10.1007/s12571-019-00920-3	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1007/s12571-019-00920-3	en
dc.identifier.eissn	1876-4525
dc.identifier.endpage	14	en
dc.identifier.issn	1876-4525
dc.identifier.journaltitle	Food Security	en
dc.identifier.startpage	1	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10468/8042
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Springer Nature Switzerland AG	en
dc.relation.uri	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00920-3
dc.rights	© 2019, International Society for Plant Pathology and Springer Nature B.V. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Food Security. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00920-3	en
dc.subject	HFIAS	en
dc.subject	HFCS	en
dc.subject	HDDS	en
dc.subject	Malnutrition	en
dc.subject	Seasonality	en
dc.subject	Maternal and children	en
dc.subject	Ethiopia	en
dc.title	Seasonal variations in household food insecurity and dietary diversity and their association with maternal and child nutritional status in rural Ethiopia	en
dc.type	Article (peer-reviewed)	en