Comparison of household food security scale at two different times in central Colombia

This study explored the internal validity of a locally adapted household food security scale used twice in Central Colombia: Colombia National Nutrition Survey 2005 – Central Region data (ENSIN; n=1,133); and MANA Food Supplement Evaluation 2006 in Antioquia (n=1,319). Rasch Modeling was used to evaluate infit and measurement values for adult and children items separately. The household food security scale presents good fitness for adults and children. Consistency in item measurement values between surveys was found for all except for two items in the adult subscale. Infit values were within adequate range (0.8–1.2) for all but one item. Rasch Modeling revealed a large gap between the less severe items and the rest of the items in the survey. Nevertheless, there are gaps in measurement of less severe portions of the food insecurity construct that may be addressed with additional items to differentiate the qualitative experience of food insecurity at the household level. The results indicate that the adjusted version of the household food security scale is valid for application to households in Central Colombia, especially in describing the situation of households experiencing moderate and severe food insecurity.