Gender differences in the use of coping strategies to reduce food insecurity in Colombia

Bibliographic Data

ID5222958
AuthorsLina Maria Sanchez-Cespedes (0000-0003-0698-8542, Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Eliana Lorena Suárez-Higuera (0000-0001-5516-537X, Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Victoria Eugenia Soto-Rojas (0000-0003-4849-8760, Universidad Icesi-Cali, Colombia), Lina Johanna Rosas-Vargas (0000-0002-9425-273X, Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Sara Eloísa Del Castillo-Matamoro (0000-0003-4939-914X, Universidad Nacional de Colombia)
Year2022
Volume38
Issue8
Pagese00252121-e00252121
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCadernos de Saude Publica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0102-311X • E-ISSN: 1678-4464
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/0102-311xen252121
PMID36102381
OpenAlexW4295278780
SCIELO_PIDS0102-311X2022000805008
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited3

This study explores the gender differences in the use of coping strategies to reduce food insecurity in Colombian urban and rural households. Data was collected from the Colombian National Survey of Nutritional Status (ENSIN 2015), and analyzed using ordinal logistic regression models, logistic models, and simultaneous equation models. Results show that rural households have a higher prevalence of food insecurity than their urban counterparts. After adjusting for household characteristics - e.g., head of household schooling level -, urban households were more likely to present severe and moderate food insecurity, whereas rural households were more likely to experience mild food insecurity. This result was explained by self-consumption and certain coping strategies, such as selling seeds from the next harvest or animals, implemented by rural households. Even though female-headed households present on average higher levels of food insecurity than male-headed ones, because they are more likely to use coping strategies, especially in rural areas, they can reduce and even cancel out this gap. Hence, female heads are more successful in mitigating food insecurity

Agricultural economics · Agriculture · Coping (psychology) · Economics · Environmental health · Food consumption · Food insecurity · Food security · Geography · Logistic regression · Ordered logit · Rural area · Socioeconomics · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Medicine · Psychology · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability