Food Insecurity Among Older Adults with a History of Incarceration

AbstractObjectivesTo examine the association between history of incarceration (HOI) and food insecurity (FI) among older adults.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis utilizing data from 12,702 respondents aged 51+ who participated in the 2012 and 2014 waves of The Health and Retirement Study. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the association between HOI and FI, adjusting for demographic variables using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsIn our sample, 12.8% of participants reported FI. Having a HOI increased odds of FI (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.52-2.21), especially among Blacks (OR 1.78; 95% CI 1.29-2.46) and Whites (OR 2.27; 95% CI 1.74-2.97), but not Hispanics (OR 1.11; 95% CI 0.69-1.77) or other racial/ethnic groups (OR 1.79; 95% CI 0.71-4.52).DiscussionFI is an important issue among older adults with a HOI. Stronger linkages between formerly incarcerated older adults and existing food assistance programs are needed.