Journal article
Is food insecurity a barrier to dental student success?
Journal of dental education, Vol.85(9), pp.1518-1524
09/01/2021
DOI: 10.1002/jdd.12623
PMID: 33905532
Abstract
Purpose The prevalence of food insecurity among undergraduate students is higher than the national average and associated with adverse academic outcomes. Our objective was to describe the prevalence of food insecurity, food access behaviors, and associations between food security status and well-being in a dental student population.
Methods All dental students (N = 328) enrolled in the College of Dentistry at the University of Iowa in the fall 2019 semester were invited to participate. The survey was designed to query demographic variables, food security status (i.e., the United States Department of Agriculture's 10-item Adult Food Security Module), and food- or hunger-related well-being (i.e., sleep, academic performance, and stress). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics survey platform. Following the initial invitation, students were sent two reminders and allowed 3 weeks for completion.
Results The survey response rate was 24.7%. Forty-seven percent of respondents were food insecure. Food insecure students were more likely to attend collegiate programming (e.g., lunch and learns) for the primary purpose of obtaining free food than their food secure peers (p <0.001). In addition, food insecure students were more likely to report experiencing food- or hunger-related sleep (p = 0.001), study or academic performance (p <0.001), or stress difficulties than their food secure peers (p <0.001).
Conclusion The prevalence of food insecurity in dental students was relatively high and associated with adverse food- and/or hunger-related well-being outcomes. Food insecurity might be a barrier to dental student success, compromising their immediate health and ability to learn.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Is food insecurity a barrier to dental student success?
- Creators
- Teresa A. Marshall - University of IowaRong Zheng - Dental Student at the time of Study Completion, Private Practice.Cari L. Anderson - University of IowaNidhi Handoo - University of IowaFang Qian - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of dental education, Vol.85(9), pp.1518-1524
- DOI
- 10.1002/jdd.12623
- PMID
- 33905532
- NLM abbreviation
- J Dent Educ
- ISSN
- 0022-0337
- eISSN
- 1930-7837
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- University of Iowa's Dental Student Research Program
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/01/2021
- Academic Unit
- Preventive and Community Dentistry; Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine; School of Social Work; Dental Research
- Record Identifier
- 9984367760002771
Metrics
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