• Stephanie K Bunt, Matthew Traxler, Bridget Zimmerman, Marcy Rosenbaum, Sally Heaberlin, Peter F Cronholm, Eliza W Kinsey, and Kelly Skelly.
• From the Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (SKB, MR, KS); Department of Family Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (MT); Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (BZ); University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA (SH); Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Center for Public Health, Leonard Davis Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (PFC, EWK). stephanie-bunt@uiowa.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2024 Mar 1; 37 (2): 196205196-205.

PurposeFood insecurity (FI) is a hidden epidemic associated with worsening health outcomes affecting 33.8 million people in the US in 2021. Although studies demonstrate the importance of health care clinician assessment of a patient's food insecurity, little is known about whether Family Medicine clinicians (FMC) discuss FI with patients and what barriers influence their ability to communicate about FI. This study evaluated FM clinicians' food insecurity screening practices to evaluate screening disparities and identify barriers that influence the decision to communicate about FI.MethodsData were gathered and analyzed as part of the 2022 Council of Academic Family Medicine's Educational Research Alliance survey of Family Medicine general membership.ResultsThe majority of respondents reported (66.9%) that their practice has a screening system for food insecurity, and most practices used a verbal screen with staff other than the clinician (41%) at specific visits (63.8%). Clinicians reported "rarely or never asking about FI" 40% of the time and only asking "always or frequently" 6.7% of the time. Inadequate time during appointments (44.5%) and other medical issues taking priority (29.4%) were identified as the most common barriers. The lack of resources available in the community was a significant barrier for clinicians who worked in rural areas.ConclusionsThis survey provides insight into food insecurity screening disparities and identifies obstacles to FMC screening, such as time constraints, lack of resources, and knowledge of available resources. Understanding current communication practices could create opportunities for interventions to identify food insecurity and impact "Food as Medicine."© Copyright 2024 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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