How Food Insecurity and Financial Difficulty Relate to Emotional Well-Being and Social Functioning
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between social barriers, particularly healthy food availability and financial difficulty, and well-being among uninsured free clinic patients in the United States.
Target Audience
Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is an interdisciplinary, multi-specialty Journal, and articles span the spectrum of medical topics, providing timely, up-to-date information for primary care physicians and specialists alike. The SMJ enables physicians to provide the best possible care to patients in this age of rapidly changing modern medicine. Therefore, the readers of the SMJ are an appropriate target for this article.
Learning Objectives
Medically uninsured individuals living in poverty experience poor health and face social barriers that negatively affect their health.
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between social barriers, particularly healthy food availability and financial difficulty, and well-being among uninsured free clinic patients in the United States.At the conclusion of the activity, learners should be better prepared to:
- Understand the multiple social determinants of health that are affected by lack of healthy food, poverty, and access to healthcare insurance and value health care.
- Assess the social determinants of health in your patient population in the context of nutrition, poverty, and access to healthcare
- Develop an action plan for those patients in your practice who need assistance within their community of poverty and food desert and identify the resources to apply to their health improvement, including mental health.
Additional Information
Southern Medical Association (SMA) requires instructors, planners, managers, and all other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose conflicts of interest (COI) with ineligible entities within the last 24 months of the development of this activity. All identified COIs are thoroughly vetted and mitigated prior to the release of the activity. SMA is committed to providing its learners with high quality activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.
The following individuals, unless otherwise noted, have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Manuscript Author(s):
Akiko Kamimura, PhD, MSW
Rebecca Higham, MPH
Samin Panahi, MS
Edward Lee, MS
Rachel J. Griffin, BA
Justine Sundrud, BS
Mary Lucero, MPA
Southern Medical Association/Southern Medical Journal Editorial Staff:
Steven T. Baldwin, MD, SMJ Editor-in-Chief
G. Richard Holt, MD
Jennifer S. Price, MA, Managing Editor
Anita McCabe, Copyeditor
Southern Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Southern Medical Association designates this Internet Activity Enduring Material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
AAPA: AAPA accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.
AANPCP: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Healthcare Professionals
For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board. All healthcare professionals who are not MDs or DOs will receive a certificate of participation.
Available Credit
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
This course from Southern Medical Association is offered for free to Mocingbird users. Log in or register to take this course.
This activity is designed to be completed within the time designated; learners should claim only those credits that reflect the time actually spent in the activity. To successfully earn credit, participants must complete the activity online during the valid credit period noted, following these steps:
- Read the goals and objectives, accreditation information, and author disclosures.
- Login in below to access the article in order to study the educational content and references.
- Online, choose the best answer to each test question. To receive a certificate, you must receive a passing score.
- Complete the activity evaluation and attestation.