J E S S I C A H A M ,

U N I V E R S I T Y O F G E O R G I A

Worried sick: investigating the linkages among food insecurity, mental health, and productivity in the Ghanaian savannah

Does poor mental health affect human biology and health?

If so, do these effects feed back into food insecurity?

Upper West GhanaWhy food insecurity, why here?

33% of the population in the north is food insecure

6% of the population in the south is food insecure

42% of the Wa West district is food insecure

2009; 2012 WFP

Setting the scene

Upper West Livelihoods

Women: charcoal, sheanuts, firewood, beer brewing, trading

Men: day labor (farm and market), security guard

Shea fruit Charcoal

Sorghum Maize

Community 1

Community 2

Household Food Insecurity Access Survey

8 Questions (1 month recall)Adapted from the Food and Nutritional Assistance—FANTA survey

3 domains Perception of food accessibility Perception of quantity of food

consumed Perception of quality of food

consumed

Frequency of occurrence Never Rarely (1-2x) Sometimes (3-10x) Often (>10x)

Food Insecurity March

Mean Score 1: 4.4

Mean Score 2: 13.1

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FI 1 FI 2 FI 3 FI 4 FI 5 FI 6 FI 7 FI 8

Pe

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eCommunity 1

Community 2

Food Insecurity July

Mean Score 1: 3.4

Mean Score 2: 6.7

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FI 1 FI 2 FI 3 FI 4 FI 5 FI 6 FI 7 FI 8

Community 1

Community 2

Food Insecurity October

Mean Score 1: 0.79

Mean Score 2: 2.4

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FI 1 FI 2 FI 3 FI 4 FI 5 FI 6 FI 7 FI Q8

Community 1

Community 2

Mean Food Insecurity Scores

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

March July October

Community 1

Community 2

Mental Health Survey

14 symptoms5 psychological (too much thinking)

8 somatic (heart pounding)

2 cognitive (easily forgetting)

Frequency of occurrence Never

Rarely (1-2x)

Sometimes (3-10x)

Often (>10x)

Mental Health March

Mean Score 1: 10.5

Mean Score 2: 14.0

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MH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

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Community 1

Community 2

Mental Health July

Mean Score 1: 7.0

Mean Score 2: 10.5

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90

100

MH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Community 1

Community 2

Mental Health October

Mean Score 1: 4.9

Mean Score 2: 8.0

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MH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Community 1

Community 2

Mean Mental Health Scores

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4

6

8

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16

March July October

Community 1

Community 2

What is going on with the food insecurity and mental health scores?

“In anthropological terms, people are at one and the same time embedding their decisions in both short and long term frameworks, in which present consumption or expenditure decisions express, confirm, or create a potential claim over the longer term. The optimal solution meets both sets of expectations and predictions”

(Guyer 1997)

Worries

Integrating the WEAI

Biological Outcomes: blood pressure and cortisol

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16

March July October

Community 1

Community 2

“Can’t work like you want to”

Worry sickness

Measuring Productivity

Agricultural yields for 2013 and 2014

15 weeks of labor allocation surveys

Iterated structured interviews on income earned and income allocated

Illness, days of missed work