RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Family Medicine Clinician Screening and Barriers to Communication on Food Insecurity: A CERA General Membership Survey
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 196
OP 205
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2023.230319R1
VO 37
IS 2
A1 Bunt, Stephanie K.
A1 Traxler, Matthew
A1 Zimmerman, Bridget
A1 Rosenbaum, Marcy
A1 Heaberlin, Sally
A1 Cronholm, Peter F.
A1 Kinsey, Eliza W.
A1 Skelly, Kelly
YR 2024
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/37/2/196.abstract
AB 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.”