Outcomes of a homestead food production program on nutritional knowledge, dietary diversity, food security and empowerment of rural women in Tehran province, Iran

Neda Ezzeddin; Naser Kalantari; Morteza Abdollahi; Parisa Amiri; Bahareh Amini; Farid Zayeri

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17658-z

Outcomes of a homestead food production program on nutritional knowledge, dietary diversity, food security and empowerment of rural women in Tehran province, Iran

BMC Public Health. 2024 Jan 8;24(1):118. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17658-z.

Authors

Neda Ezzeddin¹, Naser Kalantari¹, Morteza Abdollahi², Parisa Amiri³, Bahareh Amini¹, Farid Zayeri⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Nutrition, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, and Social Determinants of Health Research Center, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Research Centre for Social Determinants of Health, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Proteomics Research Center, Department of Biostatistics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Darband Street, Tehran, Iran. fzayeri@gmail.com.

Abstract

Background: Food and nutrition insecurity is a major health issue in developing countries. Homestead food production (HFP) programs are strategies for improving food and nutrition security of a country. Iran implemented a HFP program entitled "Nutrition Improvement of Rural and Nomadic Women" in its villages for a five-year period from 2017. The current study assessed the outcomes of this mentioned program and its determinants among rural women in Tehran province.

Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study comprised a group covered by the program (n = 143) and a non-covered group (n = 160). The participants were selected randomly from 32 villages of five counties in Tehran province. Data was collected using five questionnaires: (1) General information, (2) Women's empowerment, (3) Nutritional knowledge, (4) Dietary diversity, and (5) Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 21 and the IBM Amos SPSS version 22 software.

Results: The results of the study showed no significant improvement in the expected indicators, such as frequency of home gardening, nutritional knowledge, dietary diversity, women's empowerment, and household food insecurity status among women covered by the program (p > 0.05). The structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated that women's empowerment from the dimension of decision-making power (r = 0.151) and nutritional knowledge (r = 0.135) were the significant positive predictors of dietary diversity (p < 0.05), while household food insecurity predicted it negatively (r=-0.138) (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Because the current evaluated program has not been able to improve the expected indicators, modification of the program implementation may be needed, such as: addressing the probable barriers and challenges and strengthening the facilities in the covered villages. The current study presents a model of the dietary diversity predictors for consideration in redesigning or enhancing the program.

Keywords: Dietary diversity; Food security; Home garden; Homestead food production; Nutritional knowledge; Structural equation modelling; Women’s empowerment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet*
Female
Food Security
Food*
Humans
Iran

Grants and funding

457/the Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences