Measuring Food and Water Security in an Aboriginal Community in Regional Australia.
Loretta Weatherall, Alinta Trindall, Trish Tonkin and 19 others
PMID 39800851WHAT IT FOUND
Almost half of surveyed adults in Walgett were food insecure and 44% water insecure; 30% had both.
People reported spending $30 to $50 a week on bottled water, and many relied on it because water was seen as poor quality.
Key findings
0146% of participants were food insecure and 44% were water insecure.
0230% of participants experienced both food and water insecurity, and food insecurity scores increased by 0.43 for each unit increase in water insecurity scores.
0386% of participants relied on purchased or donated bottled water because of water quality, and 83% because of interruption; many spent $30 to $50 a week on bottled water.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that poor water quality caused food insecurity or that one problem led to the other. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling outside the supermarket, so people who did not shop there may have been missed. The study was done in one remote Aboriginal community, so the levels and experiences may not apply to other communities. Food and water insecurity were measured by self-report, and some questions may have made people sad or ashamed, which could affect answers. The water insecurity analysis used 247 of the 251 participants, because people with many missing responses were excluded. The study measured prevalence and experiences, not the effect of any clinical intervention or program.
Declared interests
Funding came from a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia IDEAS grant, and one author was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the link between food and water insecurity scores as proof that fixing water will fix food. The study measured both at one time in one community.