Validation of a Measure of Household Hunger for Cross-Cultural Use (2010)

Few recognized measures of food insecurity allow for making cross-cultural comparisons, which results in a dearth of important information needed for geographic targeting, prioritization of interventions, and cross-country evaluation of policies and programs. This study aimed to evaluate the internal, external, and cross-cultural validity of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), a 9-item, 4-frequency measurement scale to assess the access component of household food insecurity in resource-poor areas. Data were collected in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique (2 datasets), South Africa, West Bank/Gaza Strip, and Zimbabwe.

The study shows that a reduced scale composed of three items and three frequency categories meets the criteria for validity for the seven diverse data sets and may have validity in broader geographic areas as well. Potential users should note that this reduced 3-item, 3-frequency scale does not provide a measure of the access component of food insecurity, but does provide a measure of household hunger. Use of the 3-item, 3-frequency scale should not preclude the concurrent use of a culturally specific measure of food insecurity in those contexts or settings where a valid, culturally specific measure of food insecurity is available.

The study was carried out by FANTA-2 in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Tufts University. It was funded by USAID’s Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition in the Bureau for Global Health. Financial support from the European Commission (EC) through the EC-FAO program on linking information and decision making to improve food security (foodsec.org) and Tufts University is gratefully acknowledged.

Download the report [1.6 mb]