Discordant Experiences of Food Insecurity within Households in Cameroon: An examination of data from the 2018 Demographic and Health Surveys

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the degree to which cohabiting couples (men and women) in Cameroon responded differently to the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and, where discordance exists, to test hypothesized drivers of difference.

Design:

This cross-sectional study employed descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses using R.

Setting:

Nationally representative sample of cohabiting adults in Cameroon.

Participants:

2,889 couples (male/female; 5,778 total adults) from the Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (2018) couples recode.

Results:

Food insecurity was more prevalent and reported with higher severity among males compared to females. Discordance in reported food insecurity was evident in 57% - 79% of cohabiting couples in the dataset, depending on the measure used. Discordance was not clearly associated with household wealth. Further, among couples with discordant food insecurity experiences, males more often affirmed items that their female partners did not affirm. Contrary to our hypotheses, items reflecting household food security did not show greater agreement among couples than did individual items. Of our hypothesized predictors, only current employment status among males was significantly associated with the difference in food security scores among couples.

Conclusions:

This study highlights the importance of examining intrahousehold differences in food security. Understanding how individuals within a household experience and perceive their food situation and the underlying factors driving disparities is crucial for improving the effectiveness of targeted food and nutrition policies.