Family Medicine Clinician Screening and Barriers to Communication on Food Insecurity: A CERA General Membership Survey

Stephanie K Bunt; Matthew Traxler; Bridget Zimmerman; Marcy Rosenbaum; Sally Heaberlin; Peter F Cronholm; Eliza W Kinsey; Kelly Skelly

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2023.230319R1

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Family Medicine Clinician Screening and Barriers to Communication on Food Insecurity: A CERA General Membership Survey

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Family Medicine Clinician Screening and Barriers to Communication on Food Insecurity: A CERA General Membership Survey

Stephanie K Bunt, Matthew Traxler, Bridget Zimmerman, Marcy Rosenbaum, Sally Heaberlin, Peter F Cronholm, Eliza W Kinsey and Kelly Skelly

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Vol.37(2), pp.196-205

03/01/2024

DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2023.230319R1

PMID: 38740486

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Abstract

PURPOSE Food insecurity (FI) is a hidden epidemic associated with worsening health outcomes affecting 33.8 million people in the US in 2021. Although studies demonstrate the importance of health care clinician assessment of a patient's food insecurity, little is known about whether Family Medicine clinicians (FMC) discuss FI with patients and what barriers influence their ability to communicate about FI. This study evaluated FM clinicians' food insecurity screening practices to evaluate screening disparities and identify barriers that influence the decision to communicate about FI.METHODS Data were gathered and analyzed as part of the 2022 Council of Academic Family Medicine's Educational Research Alliance survey of Family Medicine general membership. RESULTS The majority of respondents reported (66.9%) that their practice has a screening system for food insecurity, and most practices used a verbal screen with staff other than the clinician (41%) at specific visits (63.8%). Clinicians reported "rarely or never asking about FI" 40% of the time and only asking "always or frequently" 6.7% of the time. Inadequate time during appointments (44.5%) and other medical issues taking priority (29.4%) were identified as the most common barriers. The lack of resources available in the community was a significant barrier for clinicians who worked in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS This survey provides insight into food insecurity screening disparities and identifies obstacles to FMC screening, such as time constraints, lack of resources, and knowledge of available resources. Understanding current communication practices could create opportunities for interventions to identify food insecurity and impact "Food as Medicine."

Details

Title: Subtitle: Family Medicine Clinician Screening and Barriers to Communication on Food Insecurity: A CERA General Membership Survey
Creators: Stephanie K Bunt - University of Iowa
Matthew Traxler - University of Minnesota
Bridget Zimmerman - University of Iowa
Marcy Rosenbaum - University of Iowa
Sally Heaberlin - University of Iowa
Peter F Cronholm - University of Pennsylvania
Eliza W Kinsey - University of Pennsylvania
Kelly Skelly - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Vol.37(2), pp.196-205
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2023.230319R1
PMID: 38740486
NLM abbreviation: J Am Board Fam Med
eISSN: 1558-7118
Language: English
Date published: 03/01/2024
Academic Unit: Biostatistics; Family and Community Medicine; Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education
Record Identifier: 9984626999302771

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