Food Security Status, Coping Strategies, and Health of Women’s Welfare Society Beneficiaries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Facility-Based Study

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the food security status of low-income women in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in addition to their coping strategies, health, and well-being. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 113 women receiving food assistance from a women’s welfare society. Data were collected using in-person structured interviews. Overall, 50% of the women were food-insecure. Compared with food-secure women, food-insecure women were more likely to utilize many coping strategies. The mean score of coping strategies was significantly greater among food-insecure women, than that of food-secure women (21.0 ± 5.35 and 10.2 ± 5.78, respectively; p < .001). Food-insecure women were also more likely to report poor mental and overall health compared to food-secure women (p = .008 and p < .001, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in life satisfaction between both food security groups (p = .260). Low-income women may use several strategies to cope with food insecurity, which may affect mental and overall health. Further research is needed on the effect of food insecurity on health and well-being of low-income groups in Saudi Arabia. Qualitative data are also needed to better understand the reasons of food insecurity and preventing poor health outcomes among disadvantaged populations in Saudi Arabia.

KEYWORDS:

• Food security
• low-income women
• coping strategies
• health status

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Awatif M. Alahmari and Raneem S. Abuzaid for their collaborative effort during data collection. Furthermore, we wish to thank all women who participated in this study for their time and collaboration throughout the data collection process.

Declaration of Interests

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors