Child & Youth Diabetes Strategy

Food Insecurity Screening among Families of Children with Diabetes

Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson)

Focus: Food insecurity, diabetes management

Target Population: Families with children with diabetes

Reach: Toronto (GTA)

Grant:  $53,100

Project Goal

To increase awareness of food insecurity, its related risks to wellbeing, and provide a protocol that can assist healthcare providers to best support families of children with diabetes.

Project Overview

Food insecurity in North America is consistently more prevalent among households with a person living with diabetes. The likelihood of food insecurity increases 4% for each year earlier that someone is diagnosed with diabetes. Many food-insecure families with a child with diabetes find themselves caught between competing expenses such as procuring food, buying prescribed medications and supplies for diabetes, and managing other living expenses. If not well supported, families may make expense-related decisions that can negatively impact the management of the child’s diabetes and the child’s overall health and wellbeing.

Food insecurity significantly impacts diabetes management but is not routinely assessed in pediatric diabetes care practice. This Toronto Metropolitan University project will implement a food insecurity screening initiative to be used with families of children with diabetes in a pediatric out-patient clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children and evaluate its feasibility and acceptability by healthcare providers and families.