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Technology-enabled approaches to conducting 24-h dietary recalls (24HR) may reduce dietary assessment bottlenecks in low-resource settings. However, few studies have assessed their performance relative to conventional pen-and-paper interview (PAPI) approaches and none have validated performance against a benchmark (e.g. weighed food record (WFR)) in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). This study assessed relative accuracy and cost-effectiveness of INDDEX24, a technology-enabled approach to conducting 24HR, compared with a PAPI approach and against an observer WFR. Women aged 18-49 years from northern Viet Nam (n 234) were randomly assigned to be interviewed using INDDEX24 or PAPI 24HR following a WFR. The two one-sided t test approach assessed the equivalence of each recall modality to the benchmark. Difference-in-differences analysis compared the recall-benchmark results across modalities. Cost per percentage point of accuracy for INDDEX24 and PAPI was derived from accuracy results and the cost to conduct the 24HR. The PAPI and INDDEX24 24HR were statistically equivalent to the WFR for all nutrients except vitamin A. INDDEX24 diverged significantly less than PAPI from the WFR for Fe (0·9 v. -1·3 mg) and PAPI diverged less for protein (-3·7 v. 7·9 g). At the individual level, 26 % of PAPI and 32 % of INDDEX24 respondents had energy intakes within +/- 10 % of the WFR. INDDEX24 cost $111 004 and the PAPI cost $120 483 (USD 2019), making INDDEX24 more cost-effective across most indicators. INDDEX24 was an accurate and cost-effective method for assessing dietary intake in the study context and represents a preferred alternative to PAPI 24HR in Viet Nam and other LMIC.

The INDDEX24 Dietary Assessment Platform (INDDEX24) was developed to facilitate the collection of 24-h dietary recall (24HR) data. Alongside validation studies in Viet Nam and Burkina Faso in 2019-2020, we conducted activity-based costing studies to estimate the cost of conducting a 24HR among women of reproductive age using INDDEX24 compared with the pen-and-paper interview (PAPI) approach. We also modelled alternative scenarios in which: (1) 25-75 % of dietary reference data were borrowed from the INDDEX24 Global Food Matters Database (FMDB); (2) all study personnel were locally based and (3) national-scale surveys. In the primary analysis, in Viet Nam, the 24HR cost US $111 004 ($755/respondent, n 147) using INDDEX24 and $120 483 ($820/respondent, n 147) using PAPI. In Burkina Faso, the 24HR cost $78 105 ($539/respondent, n 145) using INDDEX24 and $79 465 ($544/respondent, n 146) using PAPI. In modelled scenarios, borrowing dietary reference data from the FMDB decreased the cost of INDDEX24 by 17-34 % (Viet Nam) and 5-15 % (Burkina Faso). With all locally based personnel, INDDEX24 cost more than PAPI ($498 v. $448 per respondent in Viet Nam and $456 v. $410 in Burkina Faso). However, at national scales (n 4376, Viet Nam; n 6500, Burkina Faso) using all locally based personnel, INDDEX24 was more cost-efficient ($109 v. $137 per respondent in Viet Nam and $123 v. $148 in Burkina Faso). In two countries and under most circumstances, INDDEX24 was less expensive than PAPI. Higher INDDEX24 survey preparation costs (including purchasing equipment) were more than offset by higher PAPI data entry, cleaning and processing costs. INDDEX24 may facilitate cost-efficient dietary data collection.

Effective nutrition policies require timely, accurate individual dietary consumption data; collection of such information has been hampered by cost and complexity of dietary surveys and lag in producing results. The objective of this work was to assess accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a streamlined, tablet-based dietary data collection platform for 24-hour individual dietary recalls (24HR) administered using INDDEX24 platform v. a pen-and-paper interview(PAPI) questionnaire, with weighed food record (WFR) as a benchmark. This cross-sectional comparative study included women 18-49 years old from rural Burkina Faso (n 116 INDDEX24; n 115 PAPI). A WFR was conducted; the following day, a 24HR was administered by different interviewers. Food consumption data were converted into nutrient intakes. Validity of 24HR estimates of nutrient and food group consumption was based on comparison with WFR using equivalence tests (group level) and percentages of participants within ranges of percentage error (individual level). Both modalities performed comparably estimating consumption of macro- and micronutrients, food groups and quantities (modalities' divergence from WFR not significantly different). Accuracy of both modalities was acceptable (equivalence to WFR significant at P < 0·05) at group level for macronutrients, less so for micronutrients and individual-level consumption (percentage within ±20 % for WFR, 17-45 % for macronutrients, 5-17 % for micronutrients). INDDEX24 was more cost-effective than PAPI based on superior accuracy of a composite nutrient intake measure (but not gram amount or item count) due to lower time and personnel costs. INDDEX24 for 24HR dietary surveys linked to dietary reference data shows comparable accuracy to PAPI at lower cost.

Refugees experience elevated risk of chronic disease post-resettlement. Understanding contributors to refugee knowledge of the connection between food and health may help promote healthful resettlement. A random survey was conducted with Cambodian refugee and asylee women in Lowell, MA (n = 160). Knowledge of the connection between health and food categories (meat with fat, soda, fast food, high-sodium sauces, salt, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains) was assessed. High food security, literacy, and having participated in nutrition education were related to higher knowledge. Approaches to refugee health should include improving food security and should be tailored to varied literacy levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive Summary: Home and community gardening is emerging as a beneficial intervention for resettled refugee populations. Using an interdisciplinary lens, we examined whether gardening influences mental health, food security, and economic well-being. A mixed methods study (n = 29) was conducted with quantitative surveys to assess indicators of mental health, food security, and economic well-being. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews explored gardener participants' experience of gardening benefits (n = 10). Participants had on average been in the United States for seven and a half years, with most having lived in refugee camps prior to arrival. Findings showed gardeners reporting fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma, and lesser food insecurity than non-gardeners, and similar indicators of economic well-being. Non-parametric regression analysis showed that being a gardener significantly predicted less psychological distress. Qualitative data substantiated these findings with gardeners reporting improved mental health, closer family, social relationships and connections with culture, and more access to fresh and organic food. The multiple, simultaneous benefits of gardening reported here provide strong support for building community-based health promotion programs to assist refugee integration, including long after arrival. The study further highlights the importance of examining these interrelated factors of mental health, food security, and economic well-being simultaneously and reevaluating the established goals of refugee resettlement, particularly in the United States. We offer the following recommendations: • Policymakers and refugee resettlement practitioners should integrate culturally appropriate community-based health promotion efforts in refugee programs long after the initial resettlement period. • Researchers on refugee integration outcomes should include interdisciplinary perspectives that offer comprehensive understanding of processes related to health outcomes. • Policymakers on refugee resettlement and integration should consider the linkages between mental health, food security, and economic well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the claim that food insecurity leads to participation in unrest. I argue that insecure access to food can provide a motivational force to engage in urban unrest. But individuals must also have the capacity to partake in collective action, and acute food insecurity may undermine mobilization potential. Further, food insecurity is a mundane and widespread grievance often seen as an apolitical issue. I therefore suggest that organizational networks could facilitate the occurrence of unrest, as they provide both an existing mobilizing structure and the potential to politicize an individual-level grievance. The article explores the relationship between food access and unrest participation on the individual level in the context of Johannesburg, South Africa. I find that food insecurity increases the likelihood of unrest participation and that some types of organizational networks are catalysts of such effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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How gender-based differences in time spent on household and labor-market activities affect men's and women's well-being is of growing interest to economists and policymakers. In many countries, women perform more unpaid work than men and have fewer opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty through education and training. This article analyzes the relationship between poverty and gender inequality in time use among monogamous couples in Ghana. A key finding is that women in poor households face heterogeneous levels of inequality in time use, depending on the type of activity, inequality in time use, and characteristics of the household. The study highlights the importance of devising gender-aware policies and altering entrenched cultural stereotypes, thereby helping to reduce inequality between men and women. This should afford more women the opportunity to play a more productive and economically meaningful role in the formal labor market. HIGHLIGHTS In Ghana, poor households face significantly higher gender inequality in time use compared to rich households. Levels of time-use inequality for poor women vary in relation to activity and household characteristics. Policies should prioritize reducing poverty to alleviate intrahousehold inequality. Gender-aware policies should address norms that impede women's labor market participation and autonomous time allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use data collected from panel phone surveys to document the changes in food security of households in rural Liberia and Malawi during the market disruptions associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. We use two distinct empirical approaches in our analysis: (a) an event study around the date of the lockdowns (March to July 2020), and (b) a difference-in-differences analysis comparing the lockdown period in 2020 to the same months in 2021, in order to attempt to control for seasonality. In both countries, market activity was severely disrupted and we observe declines in expenditures. However, we find no evidence of declines in food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editors and staff of the Food and Nutrition Bulletin wish to acknowledge the meaningful contributions made by our reviewers and Editorial Board over the past year and to thank them for the countless hours they have volunteered for this purpose. By identifying manuscripts with the potential to make valuable additions to the literature - and by then working with authors to improve the composition, science, and integrity of their submissions - these august scholars have had a vital and lasting impact on the future of nutrition scholarship. [Extracted from the article]