Can screening for food insecurity make a difference for patients? The jury is out By Alia Sajani June 25, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/06/25/food-insecurity-screening-uspstf-evidence-gaps/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9-ciqIxPhrMzsZyWBbowDdBZmfR2Vg4FTakIjLnbi7L_wp7IvIBHiJa_CZCPka3FaaXx7i_RhSiXWttzqKfYWsEi_EdQ&_hsmi=313187806&utm_content=313187806&utm_source=hs_email “I” for “Insufficient”: Does it help when doctors screen for food insecurity? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found no strong evidence that screening for food insecurity in primary care settings actually improves people’s health outcomes, it wrote in a draft recommendation published yesterday. The team of experts labeled the statement with an “I,” meaning there was insufficient evidence for the intervention. Instead, they suggested clinicians continue having discussions with patients about food insecurity and connecting them with resources available in their communities. “Food insecurity is a complex social risk,” Tumaini Coker, who served on the task force, told STAT’s Alia Sajani. People who don’t have access to nutritious food may also struggle to pay for transportation or housing, which complicates the task of figuring out the impact of food interventions on their own. Read more from Alia on how experts considered the sticky issue.