Dissertation
Identifying Food Insecurity Affecting Rural Iowa Children
University of Iowa
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), University of Iowa
Spring 2025
Abstract
Background: Food insecurity (FI) is a social state of limited or reduced nutritional intake, linked to worsened health outcomes, obesity, nutrient deficiencies, emotional issues, and learning difficulties. FI disproportionately affects single-mother households, minorities, and rural populations. Purpose: This project aimed to implement standardized FI screening for children within a rural Iowa healthcare clinic and connect families to resources. Objectives included staff education, creating a standardized screening process, and receipt of resources. The ultimate vision was to provide emergency food boxes in-clinic through creation of agency partnerships. Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted using the Model for Improvement design framework. The project was deemed exempt and determined to be non-human subjects research. The process included creating strategical alliances between a rural health clinic, local food pantry, regional food bank, and Feeding America. A standardized staff education session with pre- and post-intervention surveys, routine FI screening implementation using the Hunger Vital Sign (HVS) with monthly data collection, and integration of community resources built into the electronic health record (EHR). Findings: Group staff training was efficient with 95.8% completion rate. Staff recognition of FI as a community issue impacting child health rose from 78.5% pre-intervention to 96.8% post-intervention. In the six months before implementation, 17 patients were screened with no FI cases identified. Post-intervention, 1,075 were screened, identifying 105 FI-positive patients a 9.7% positivity rate. Ninety-six percent of patients received resources during the project period. Discussion: Routine screening with the HVS proved highly effective in detecting FI. As the first partnership of its kind, the collaboration successfully secured valuable resources, resulting in the distribution of over 1,200 pounds of emergency food to patients.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Identifying Food Insecurity Affecting Rural Iowa Children
- Creators
- Kylee Cibula - University of Iowa
- Contributors
- Daniel Crawford (Chair) - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Project Type
- Poster
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Primary Care)
- Date degree season
- Spring 2025
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- 1 page
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Kylee Cibula
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Nursing; Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects
- Record Identifier
- 9984841036202771
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