TABLE 1.
Similarities and differences between the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, the Food Insecurity Experiences Scale, and the Household Water Insecurity Experience Scale1
| HFIAS (60) | FIES (61) | HWISE (62) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date published | 2007 | 2013 | 2019 |
| Number of items | 9 | 8 | 12 |
| Response type | Likert: never, rarely, sometimes, often | Yes, no | Likert: never, rarely, sometimes, often/always |
| Range | 0–27 | 0–8 | 0–36 |
| Categorizations and cutoffs | None, mild, moderate, severe; cutoffs established using an algorithm | None, moderate, severe; cutoffs vary by population, determined using Item Response Theory (63) | Dichotomous; ≥12 indicates water insecurity (62) |
| Applicable to households | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Applicable to individuals | An individually focused scale has been developed (64) | Yes | Individually focused items are being implemented by Gallup World Poll |
| Recall period | Month | Month or year | Month for HWISE, year for individually focused items implemented by Gallup World Poll |
| Dimensionality | Unidimensional | Unidimensional | Unidimensional |
| Equivalence established | No | Yes | Yes, in LMICs; untested in HICs |
| Guttman ordering | Yes | Yes | No |
| Suitable in HICs | Yes | Yes | Untested |
| Suitable in children | Untested | Used for ages ≥15 y | Untested |
| Short form | The Household Hunger Scale (65) assesses only household hunger | No | Yes, HWISE-4 (66) is highly correlated with full scale and correctly classifies water-insecure households |
1
FIES, Food Insecurity Experience Scale; HFIAS, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale; HIC, high-income country; HWISE, Household Water Insecurity Experiences; LMIC, low- and middle-income country.