Browsing by Author "Sunkara, Neha"
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Item An Investigation of the Food Insecurity Status and Health Disparities of Houston Food Distribution Organization Clientele(2021-04-01) Huang, Allen; Sunkara, NehaFood insecurity is a social determinant of health disparities with an increasing number of food insecure individuals at risk for chronic illnesses like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effects on employment and food availability have had a startling effect on food insecure individuals; those same individuals who suffer from a pre-existing health condition are also at an increased risk of severe illness or death. This research project investigates the perspectives of food insecure clientele regarding the operational efficiency of Houston food distribution organizations and how well they meet their clienteles’ health and food needs. In Summer 2021, at least 50 telephone interviews will be conducted with food insecure clientele covering a range of 18 questions about themselves and their household’s demographics, eating habits, and their general health. The results will be tabulated based on the respondents’ answers to the interview questions in correlation to any chronic illnesses they possess. Some categories considered in the tabulation include food distribution satisfaction, clienteles’ perception of their own health, and clienteles’ priorities when making food choices. The goal of the study is to comprehend the relationship between health and food insecure clients and whether food distribution organizations are addressing food insecurity in conjunction with clienteles’ associated health disparities. The project could be used for developing a model for food distribution organizations to work more closely with entities such as Harris Health to recognize and address the health needs of food insecure clientele.Item Comprehending Institutional Program Practices of Texas Food Distribution Organizations(2022-04-14) Sunkara, Neha; Tran, SamuelFood insecurity is briefly defined as experiencing the lack of or difficulty accessing affordable, nutritionally-dense foods. Providing food can be a stopgap measure, but ideally, food insecurity should be addressed in conjunction with health disparities. The goal of this ARC project is to conduct case studies on Texas food distribution organizations and evaluate institutional program practices that address food insecurity and health disparities together. The first stage of the project identifies two to four food distribution organizations across five Texas counties and collects publicly available information regarding their individual programs. The second stage involves creating a repository system with parameters for each program and developing a coding scheme using similarities identified among the facilities’ initiatives. Finally, a report will be produced that explains the coding scheme to identify key features of relevant programs and provide exemplars of each feature. This project will further evolve a more systematic relationship between food insecurity and health disparities within Texas food distribution organizations. Research from the administrators’ and food distribution organizations’ perspective is pertinent to comprehending how to better integrate food insecurity and health disparities together. Understanding significant characteristics among these individual programs can enhance the services they provide and better address the health of food-insecure clientele. Through this, a model program addressing both food insecurity and health disparities can be visualized.