Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children

Objectives: Food insufficiency leads to significant negative health outcomes among children. A neighborhood's social environment (including social cohesion and support) could be associated with participation in federal nutrition programs that reduce food insufficiency through sharing of informa...

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Main Authors: Claire E. Branley, Mary R. Lee, Sharina Person, Kurt Hager, Stephenie C. Lemon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Preventive Medicine Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221133552500213X
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author Claire E. Branley
Mary R. Lee
Sharina Person
Kurt Hager
Stephenie C. Lemon
author_facet Claire E. Branley
Mary R. Lee
Sharina Person
Kurt Hager
Stephenie C. Lemon
author_sort Claire E. Branley
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: Food insufficiency leads to significant negative health outcomes among children. A neighborhood's social environment (including social cohesion and support) could be associated with participation in federal nutrition programs that reduce food insufficiency through sharing of information related to how to enroll. We sought to examine the association of parent-perceived neighborhood support with food insufficiency and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) among US children. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2022 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative survey of US children aged 0–17, were used (n = 49,907). Weighted ordinal logistic regression models estimated the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for the relationship between caregiver-perceived neighborhood support and food insufficiency and weighted logistic regression models for the association between neighborhood support and SNAP and WIC participation. Results: In 2022, 44 % of children lived in non-supportive neighborhoods. After controlling for covariates and accounting for sampling weights, children in non-supportive neighborhoods had 2.41 times the odds of food insufficiency (aOR: 2.39; 95 % CI: 2.19–2.65) and 1.18 times the odds of participating in SNAP (95 % CI 1.01–1.37), but there was no significant association with WIC participation (aOR: 1.04, 95 % CI 0.84–1.29). Conclusions: Despite low neighborhood social support being significantly associated with food insufficiency, it is associated with only slightly higher odds of participation in SNAP and is not associated with WIC participation. Further research is needed to understand whether social networks can be leveraged to improve uptake of these programs.
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spelling doaj-art-d02c53ce905a4ebd8f69edb40ab7316f2025-08-23T04:48:07ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552025-09-015710317410.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103174Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US childrenClaire E. Branley0Mary R. Lee1Sharina Person2Kurt Hager3Stephenie C. Lemon4Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester MA, USADepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USADivision of Biostatistics and Health Services Research, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester MA, USADivision of Epidemiology, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester MA, USADepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Worcester MA, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.Objectives: Food insufficiency leads to significant negative health outcomes among children. A neighborhood's social environment (including social cohesion and support) could be associated with participation in federal nutrition programs that reduce food insufficiency through sharing of information related to how to enroll. We sought to examine the association of parent-perceived neighborhood support with food insufficiency and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) among US children. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2022 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative survey of US children aged 0–17, were used (n = 49,907). Weighted ordinal logistic regression models estimated the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for the relationship between caregiver-perceived neighborhood support and food insufficiency and weighted logistic regression models for the association between neighborhood support and SNAP and WIC participation. Results: In 2022, 44 % of children lived in non-supportive neighborhoods. After controlling for covariates and accounting for sampling weights, children in non-supportive neighborhoods had 2.41 times the odds of food insufficiency (aOR: 2.39; 95 % CI: 2.19–2.65) and 1.18 times the odds of participating in SNAP (95 % CI 1.01–1.37), but there was no significant association with WIC participation (aOR: 1.04, 95 % CI 0.84–1.29). Conclusions: Despite low neighborhood social support being significantly associated with food insufficiency, it is associated with only slightly higher odds of participation in SNAP and is not associated with WIC participation. Further research is needed to understand whether social networks can be leveraged to improve uptake of these programs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221133552500213XFood insufficiencyChild healthSocial support
spellingShingle Claire E. Branley
Mary R. Lee
Sharina Person
Kurt Hager
Stephenie C. Lemon
Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
Preventive Medicine Reports
Food insufficiency
Child health
Social support
title Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
title_full Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
title_fullStr Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
title_full_unstemmed Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
title_short Association between parent-perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among US children
title_sort association between parent perceived neighborhood support on food insufficiency and public benefit participation among us children
topic Food insufficiency
Child health
Social support
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221133552500213X
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