A small study conducted at Philadelphia-based Einstein Medical Center suggests food insecurity could be linked to high hospitalization rates, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The analysis suggested more than half of Americans who have high hospitalization rates do not have access to nutritious food or are at risk of not having access, according to the report.
To come to this conclusion, researchers from the Center for Urban Health Policy and Research at Einstein Healthcare Network used hospital billing data to identify 40 patients with high utilization rates, classified as three or more inpatient admissions in the past year. They then interviewed these patients over the course of three months, according to the report.
The majority of those identified as high utilizers were black women with six or more chronic conditions. On average the participants were just over 60 years old. More than half lived in poor communities, according to the report.
Based on interviews with these patients, the researchers found 30 percent had difficulty accessing healthy food by USDA standards and 25 percent were considered at risk of having access issues, according to the report. Researchers found that many of the challenges to healthy food access included dependence on others to acquire or prepare food and a lack of knowledge of community resources available to them, according to the report.
Access to healthy food is not only an issue in urban areas. Food deserts — which the USDA classifies as a community where at least a third of its residents live more than a mile from a supermarket — exist in both rural and urban areas. Data from Feeding America indicates food insecurity exists in every single U.S. county.
Hospitals have a stake in making sure their patients are well-fed because it can help them better manage their health and chronic conditions. The researchers suggested if hospitals don't already, they should start to work with patients to understand their level of access to healthy food options, according to the report.
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