Food Security and Perceptions and Barriers to Healthy Eating in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries

Assessment of Food Security and Perceptions and Barriers to Healthy Eating in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries Living in the Community

Food security is one's ability to get food. Individuals with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) have many risk factors for low rates of food security. Some of these risk factors include lower levels of income and employment. Our long-term goal is to identify if food security is more prevalent in the SCI population, and to develop ways to improve food security in the SCI population. The purpose of this study is to determine the rates of food insecurity in a sample of people living with a SCI and to identify some perceptions of barriers to healthy eating in the SCI population.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries

Detailed Description

Food security is one's ability to get food. Individuals with a SCI have many risk factors for low rates of food security. Some of these risk factors include lower levels of income and employment. This study consists of a one-time survey using the US Adult Food Security Survey and another previously validated survey about perceptions of barriers to healthy eating.

Our long-term goal is to develop a large SCI food security and perceived barriers to healthy eating multicenter study in order to determine if these factors are significant issues in the SCI population. We also aim to determine the causes of these issues in order to develop interventions to improve the health of all people living with a SCI and potentially reduce their health care costs. The purpose of this study is to determine the rates of food insecurity in a sample of people living with a SCI and to identify some perceptions of barriers to healthy eating in the SCI population. This will also develop preliminary data to support a NIH R level grant application for a large, multicenter study to further explore SCI food security at the national level. Our central hypothesis is that there will be an increased rate of food insecurity in the SCI population compared to other groups in the literature, and that this will be associated with income and environmental barriers.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 149

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28203
      • Carolinas Rehabilitation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults, >18 years of age, of any ethnicity and race, with history of a SCI without the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis or malignant cancer, at least one year prior to enrollment in the study. All participants will be community wheelchair users.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age > 18 years old
• Male or female, any ethnicity, with the history of a spinal cord injury at least one year prior (without a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis or malignant cancer)
• Community wheelchair user
• Voluntary, informed consent of participant and interest in participating in further research studies
• Lives in the community, not a skilled nursing facility

Exclusion Criteria:

• age <18 years old
• Chronic, nontobacco substance-abuse
• Community ambulator

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food Security	The US Adult Food Security Survey will be administered to all participants. They will each receive a score of 0-10. A score of zero represents high food security. A score of 1-2 represents marginal food security. A score of 3-5 represents low food security, and a score of 6-10 represents very low food security.	Completed at time of enrollment
Perception Barriers	Perceived personal, social, and environmental barriers will be measured using a questionnaire previously used among young women	Completed at time of enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jesse Lieberman, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): October 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 25, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): September 25, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 1, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 1, 2018
• First Posted (ACTUAL): March 7, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): April 27, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 20, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Trauma, Nervous System; Spinal Cord Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: 05-17-21E

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No