Quality Improvement to Identify and Address Food Insecurity During Pediatric Hospitalizations

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39492624/ Identifying and helping families who are experiencing food insecurity, or a lack of consistent access to enough food, is not yet done as part of routine clinical care at children’s hospitals across the country. In an AHRQ-funded study published in Hospital Pediatrics, researchers aimed to increase food insecurity screening for hospitalized children from 0 to 60 percent and provide location-based food resources to eligible families. Researchers screened 2,800 patients in a tertiary, freestanding children’s hospital from 2021 to 2023. With the Model for Improvement developed by Associates in Process Improvement, screening rates for food insecurity increased from 0 to 77 percent. Researchers concluded that integrating food insecurity screening is a feasible and effective approach to addressing the issue, leading to better health outcomes for children.