TABLE 1.
Main characteristics of the 18 studies included in this study regarding refugees’ food intake1
| Author, year (ref) | Study design2 | Sampling method | Time of data collection | Region of origin or race | Current US living area | Sample size | Sex | Age, y | SES | Time lived in or acculturation to the United States |
| Dharod, 2015 (15) | II, FFQ | Snowball | Jun 2010 to Jul 2011 | Montagnard (Vietnam) | North Carolina | 42 | F | Mean: 40 y | No formal education: 60%; household income ≤$500/mo: 39%; no health insurance: 66%; SNAP: 66% | Poor English proficiency: 88% |
| Anderson et al., 2014 (16) | SQ via FG, FFQ | Purposive3, snowball | Jul–Oct 2002 | Sudan | Atlanta, GA | 49 (households) | M, F | Child ≤3 y in each house; others: 68.9% from 21 to 30 y | Food insecurity: 37%; reported child hunger: 12% | Lived in the United States <4 y: 89.8% |
| Haley et al., 2014 (17) | FG, II | Snowball | NA | Burma | Worcester, MA | 18 | M, F | 20–40 y | NA | NA |
| Peterman et al., 2013 (18) | FG, SQ | Random | Apr–May 2007 (FG);Sep–Nov 2007, Apr–Jun 2008 (SQ) | Cambodia | Lowell, MA | 11 (FG); 160 (SQ) | F | 30–65 y (FG); 35–60 y (SQ) | ≤1 y of education: 24%; high school: 21%; employed: 58%; above the federal poverty rate: 15%; food security rate: 24%; current FSP: 30% | Lived in the United States: 19.3 ± 7.04 y; acculturation score5: 2.1 ± 0.7 |
| Dharod et al., 2013 (19) | SQ via II, FFQ | Snowball | Oct 2006 to Dec 2007 | Somalia | Lewiston, ME | 195 | F | Mean: 33.6 y | No formal education: 49%; mean household income<$1000/mo; food insecurity rate: 67%; current SNAP: 92%; current WIC: 75% | Poor English proficiency: 72% |
| CDC, 2011 (20) and Cuffe et al., 2014 (21) | Intervention study | Random | Dec 2007 to Nov 2008; Jun 2009 to Jan 2011; Sept 2010 to Jan 2011; NA | Bhutan | Minnesota, Utah, and Texas | 99; 141; 326; 49 | M, F | 15–50 y; 17–65 y | NA | |
| Peterman et al., 2011 (22) | FG, SQ, 24-h dietary recall | Random | 2007–2008 | Cambodia | Lowell, MA | 11 (FG); 150 (SQ) | F | 35–60 y | Education ≤1 y: 23%; some education: 54%; high school: 23% | Acculturation score5: 2.1 ± 0.7; lived in the United States: 18.7 ± 7.7 y |
| Vue et al., 2011 (23) | FG | Purposive3 | NA | Hmong | Northern California | 15 | F | 19–37 y | Living in low-income community | All speak English well |
| Rondinelli et al., 2011 (24) | FG, II | Random | Dec 2006 to Mar 2007 | Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Vietnam | San Diego County, CA | 16 (refugees resettled in the United States; other nonrefugees were included) | M, F | 37–54 y | <High school: 37%, no college degree | Lived in the United States: 3.0 y (interquartile: 1.3–4.0 y) |
| Peterman et al., 2010 (25) | FG, SQ | Random | End of 2010 | Cambodia | Lowell, MA | 11 (FG); 133 (SQ) | F | 35–60 y | <High school: 82% | Acculturation score5: 2 |
| Hadley et al., 2010 (26) | FG, SQ | Snowball through local resettlement agency | 2006 | Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Somalia, Togo, Russia (Meskhetian Turk) | Midwest of the United States | 281 | M, F | 18–84 y | ≥1 y of education: 79%; currently employed: 61%; household income <$500/mo: 25%; current FSP: 53% | Able to read English: 56%; lived in the United States: 8.0 ± 2.3 y |
| Patil et al., 2009 (27) | FG, SQ | Purposive3 | NA | Mixed6 | NA | 157 | F | 18–74 y | ≥High school education: 50%; household income <$1000/mo: 48%; current FSP: 50%; current WIC: 47%; currently employed: 59% | |
| Willis and Buck, 2007 (28) | II, SQ, 3-d 24-h food diary | Purposive3 | Jun 2005 to Feb 2006 | Sudan (Dinka or Nuer) | NA | 31 (II); 29 (SQ) | M, F | 20–49 y | Some college and above: 42%; unemployed: 35% | Lived in the United States <5 y: 55% |
| Hadley and Sellen, 2006 (29) | SQ, FG | Snowball | NA | Liberia | Northeastern United States | 33 | F | Mean: 35.9 y | ≥High school: 51%; <$1000/mo: 60%; food insecurity rate: 85%; child hunger: 42%; FSP: 51%; WIC: 54%; currently employed: 48% | All subjects had lived in the United States <5 y |
| Barnes and Almasy, 2005 (30) | II | Snowball | NA | Bosnia, Cuba, Iran | NA | 31 | M, F | 19–71 y | High school: 65%; some college: 23%; employed in low-paying job: 58% | Fluent English: none; lived in the United States: 2.8 y (3 mo to 5 y) |
| Rairdan and Higgs, 1992 (31) | II | NA | NA | Hmong | Spokane, WA | 13 (households) | M, F | NA | NA | NA |
| Story and Harris, 1989 (32) | II (including itemized food consumption) | Randomly selected from a school list | June 1984 | Hmong, Cambodia | NA | 60 | M, F | 28–69 y | Husbands employed: 23%; wives employed: 17%; FSP: 73%; WIC: 42% | All subjects had lived in the United States <5 y |
| Story and Harris, 1988 (33) | SQ (including itemized food consumption) | Randomly selected from Southeast Asian refugee high school students | Fall 1985 | Vietnam, Hmong, Cambodia | Minneapolis, MN | 207 | M, F | High-school age; grades 10–12 | No father at home: 56.5%; no mother at home: 34.5%; youth employed part time: 8% | All subjects had lived in the United States <5 y |
1
FFQ, Food Frequency Questionnaire; FG, focus group interview; FSP, food stamp program; II, individual interview; NA, not available; ref, reference; SES, socioeconomic status; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; SQ, survey questionnaire; WIC, Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
3
Purposive sampling: a nonrepresentative subset of some larger population under very specific characteristics or purpose.
4
Mean ± SD (all such values).
5
Acculturation was measured by using a scale that focuses on cultural orientation and values rather than behaviors or proxies for acculturation. The scale ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 representing identifying only with natives and 5 representing identifying only with Americans (10).
6
Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Ethopia, Somalia, Kenya, Russia (Meskhetian Turk) (FG); Liberia, Somalia, Russia (Meskhetian Turk) (SQ).