Food insecurity and coping strategies amongst undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

Syed Elias, Sharifah Munirah and Ibrahim, Nur Suhailie and Sutantri, Sutantri (2023) Food insecurity and coping strategies amongst undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 19 (2). pp. 242-249. ISSN 1675-8544 E-ISSN 2636-9346

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Abstract

Introduction: Undergraduate students are at a high risk for food insecurity and knowledge on relevant coping strategies is the key issue in dealing with food insecurity. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the food insecurity status, coping strategies, and the factors associated with food insecurity and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 383 undergraduate students from health-related courses at the International Islamic University Malaysia Kuantan campus. The participants were selected by convenience sampling. The instrument used for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire consisting of three parts: socio-demographic background, food insecurity, and coping strategies. The data were analysed as descriptive and inferential analyses, such as Chi-Square, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis. Results: It was found that 21.41% of the participants reported experiencing food insecurity. There were significant associations between parents’ income (p<0.001), financial status (p<0.001), academic performance (p = 0.04) and working part-time (p = 0.01) with food insecurity. It was also discovered that there were significant associations between working part-time (p<0.001), faculty of study (p<0.001), academic year (p<0.001), financial status (p<0.001), academic cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (p<0.001) and monthly expenses (p = 0.01) with Malaysian Coping Strategies Instruments (MCSI) score. A significant association between food insecurity and MCSI score (p<0.001) was also found in this study. Conclusion: The prevalence of food insecurity was consistent with previous studies, which is considered high in Malaysia. The findings could assist university authorities to identify the characteristics of the students that are related to food insecurity.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Food insecurity, Coping strategies, Undergraduate students, Malaysia
Subjects:	R Medicine > RT Nursing
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Nursing Kulliyyah of Nursing > Department of Special Care Nursing
Depositing User:	SHARIFAH MUNIRAH SYED ELIAS
Date Deposited:	27 Mar 2023 08:59
Last Modified:	24 Jan 2024 16:46
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/104204

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