Recipient Organization
SOUTHERN UNIV
(N/A)
BATON ROUGE,LA 70813
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
We propose a conference entitled "Nutrition Security: Moving from Conceptualization to Measurement." Its goal is to advance the development of a valid, reliable measure of nutrition security that is feasible to measure as a part of the U.S. nutrition monitoring system. Because measurement is crucial to needs assessment, policy and program development and evaluation, and nutrition monitoring, this activity will advance multiple NIFA program priority areas. The proposed conference will bring together researchers and stakeholders working on nutrition security, nutrition equity, food security, measurement creation and validation, nutrition monitoring, and food assistance and nutrition programs. Its objectives, broadly described, are, first, to present a conceptual framework for nutrition security; second, to describe work completed by multiple research groups on potential measures of nutrition security; and third, to engage key researchers and stakeholders in a discussion to identify research priorities and recommend next steps. Findings and research recommendations will be synthesized and communicated in one or more peer-reviewed journal articles as well as a non-technical summary for dissemination through the USDA Nutrition Hub, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
Animal Health Component
20%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
20%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
Its goal is to advance the development of a valid, reliable measure of nutrition security that is feasible to measure as a part of the U.S. nutrition monitoring system. Because measurement is crucial to needs assessment, policy and program development and evaluation, and nutrition monitoring, this activity will advance multiple National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) program priority areas.
Project Methods
The proposed conference will take the form of an interactive workshop that will bring together researchers and stakeholders working on nutrition security, nutrition equity, food security, measurement creation and validation, nutrition monitoring, and food assistance and nutrition programs. The workshop will include formal presentations that will level-set current understanding of the state of nutrition security research, bringing together research groups thathave conducted measurement development research. There will also be presentations that will emphasize the need for an inclusive framework that encompasses the complete lifecycle range, as well as diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. These presentations will create a basis for the "ideate" component of the design process. Having established a common basis for dialog, the brainstorming and small group sessions can more effectively support the development or identification of measures. This will provide optimal input to envision and identify draft measures that can be refined into one or more prototypes for a nutrition security measure that can be further tested for validity and usability.