Other Titles

Nurses' Contributions to Addressing Food Insecurity: An Integrative Review [Poster Title]

Abstract

Background: Hunger, or food insecurity, is a growing problem globally and contributes to disproportionally higher mortality and morbidity rates, particularly within vulnerable populations. As frontline healthcare workers, the daily work of nurses is critical to meeting social and environmental needs of health, such as hunger. Yet, to date, there is no comprehensive review of the literature that examines nurse-involved research related to food insecurity.

Purpose: The purpose of this integrative review was to synthesize findings of nurse-involved observational and interventional studies that address food insecurity.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of multiple databases for peer-reviewed literature from inception through December 4, 2023. The search utilized a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary for the concepts “Food Insecurity” and “Nursing.” Fifty-four articles met inclusion criteria and were included in the in-depth analysis.

Results: Four themes emerged from the analysis: Health outcomes, health behaviors, building capacity, and building belonging

Conclusions: Nurses contribute to alleviating food insecurity and improving health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. This review adds to the body of knowledge demonstrating how nurses affect changes in health outcomes, health behaviors, community capacity, and community members’ sense of belonging through research activities.

Notes

References: Chiu, P., Hawkins, J., Eviza, K. & Gray, S. (2022). Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: Scaling up and measuring our impact during the decade of action. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 54, 664-667. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12791

Dossey, B. M., Rosa, W. E., & Beck, D. M. (2019). Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: From Nightingale to now. The American Journal of Nursing, 119(5), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000557912.35398.8f

Eder, M., Henninger, M., Durbin, S., Iacocca, M. O., Martin, A., Gottlieb, L. M., & Lin, J. S. (2021). Screening and Interventions for Social Risk Factors: Technical Brief to Support the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA, 326(14), 1416–1428. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.12825

Fields, L., Perkiss, S., Dean, B. A., & Moroney, T. (2021). Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 53(5), 568–577. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12675

Jennifer Grenier, D. N. P., & Nicole Wynn, M. S. N. (2018). A nurse-led intervention to address food insecurity in Chicago. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No03Man04

Hawkins, J. & Tremblay, B. (2024). Including the Sustainable Development Goals in nursing scholarship: A call to action. American Journal of Nursing, 124(9), 8. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0001050748.33727.e6

Sensor, C.S., Branden, P.S., Clary-Muronda, V., Hawkins, J.E., Fitzgerald, D., Shimek, A. M., Al-Itani, D., Madigan, E. & Rosa, W.E. (2021). Nurses achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: The United Nations and Sigma. American Journal of Nursing, 121(4), 65-68. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000742544.07615.db

Whittemore, R., & Knafl, K. (2005). The integrative review: Updated methodology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52(5), 546–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03621.x

World Food Programme WFP, 2023: SIN and Global Network Against Food Crises. 2023. https://www.fsinplatform.org/global-report-food-crises-2023 GRFC 2023. Rome.

Description

As frontline healthcare workers, the daily work of nurses is critical to meeting social and environmental needs of health, including hunger. This integrative review synthesizes findings of nurse-involved research addressing food insecurity.

Author Details

Janice Evans Hawkins, PhD; Beth Tremblay, PhD; Roy E. Brown, MLIS

Sigma Membership

Epsilon Chi

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Sustainable Development Goals, Policy and Advocacy, Global Health Issues, Ethics, Food Insecurity

Conference Name

48th Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Conference Year

2025

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2025-11-18

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Nurses' Contributions to Zero Hunger: An Integrative Review

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Background: Hunger, or food insecurity, is a growing problem globally and contributes to disproportionally higher mortality and morbidity rates, particularly within vulnerable populations. As frontline healthcare workers, the daily work of nurses is critical to meeting social and environmental needs of health, such as hunger. Yet, to date, there is no comprehensive review of the literature that examines nurse-involved research related to food insecurity.

Purpose: The purpose of this integrative review was to synthesize findings of nurse-involved observational and interventional studies that address food insecurity.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of multiple databases for peer-reviewed literature from inception through December 4, 2023. The search utilized a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary for the concepts “Food Insecurity” and “Nursing.” Fifty-four articles met inclusion criteria and were included in the in-depth analysis.

Results: Four themes emerged from the analysis: Health outcomes, health behaviors, building capacity, and building belonging

Conclusions: Nurses contribute to alleviating food insecurity and improving health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. This review adds to the body of knowledge demonstrating how nurses affect changes in health outcomes, health behaviors, community capacity, and community members’ sense of belonging through research activities.