Award Date

May 2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Public Health

First Committee Member

Gabriela Buccini

Second Committee Member

Timothy Grigsby

Third Committee Member

Erika Marquez

Fourth Committee Member

Clariana Ramos de Oliveira

Number of Pages

71

Abstract

Food insecurity is prevalent among underserved communities and contributes to increasing maternal-child health disparities. The perinatal period from pregnancy through one year postpartum provides a critical window of opportunity to identify and address food insecurity (FI). However, barriers such as inadequate staffing, lack of institutional and community resources have prevented perinatal providers from offering equitable care for FI, defined as providing screening, referrals, and follow-up services. The Social Ecological Model (SEM) is a framework that observes concepts at multiple levels, including (i) individual, (ii) interpersonal, (iii) institutional, (iv) community, and (v) policy. The objective of this study is to understand barriers perceived by perinatal providers to implement screening, referring, and following up strategies for food-insecure pregnant people and children living in underserved areas through the lens of the SEM. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to interview 15 perinatal providers working in underserved communities in Southern Nevada. Qualitative thematic analysis guided by the SEM identified key themes. This study identified barriers at the individual provider level such as a lack of perinatal provider knowledge and education on FI; at the interpersonal level such as a patient’s hesitancy to reveal sensitive information to providers; at the institutional level such as a lack of standard procedures to conduct screening, referring, and following up; and at the community and policy levels such as organizational capacity and historical distrust of healthcare systems as obstacles to offering equitable care for FI in perinatal settings. This study documented critical factors to improve implementation of screening, referring, and following up strategies, such as incorporating FI trainings for providers and increasing connections between clinical and community perinatal providers. Utilizing the created recommendations may promote equitable care for FI within clinical and community perinatal settings.

Keywords

Food insecurity; Healthcare provider; Infant health; Maternal health; Qualitative

Disciplines

Public Health

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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