Date of Award

2026-08-01

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Speech Language Pathology

Advisor(s)

Vannesa Mueller

Abstract

Pediatric feeding disorders and food insecurity represent two compounding challenges for families navigating pediatric therapy services, yet their intersection has received little empirical attention. This study examined food insecurity rates across three pediatric therapy groups and explored the relationship between food insecurity and parent engagement in therapy. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 175 caregivers of children actively receiving feeding therapy only (n = 34), speech-language therapy only (n = 93), or combined feeding and speech-language therapy (n = 48). Food insecurity was assessed using the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module: Six-Item Short Form, and parent engagement was measured using an adapted version of the Parent Participation Engagement Measure. Results indicated that all three therapy groups exceeded the national food insecurity rate of 13.7%, with an overall sample rate of 31.4%, more than double the national average. Group-specific rates were 20.6% for feeding-only, 30.1% for speech-language-only, and 41.7% for combined therapy families. The overall correlation between food insecurity and parent engagement was negative but did not reach statistical significance (ρ = −.144, p = .057), likely due to a ceiling effect on engagement scores. However, a strong and statistically significant negative correlation emerged in the combined therapy group (ρ = −.495, p < .001), indicating that families managing dual service demands were most affected. These findings suggest that food insecurity is a clinically relevant structural condition that shapes therapeutic participation, particularly for families navigating multiple concurrent services. Universal food insecurity screening and resource integration are recommended as standard components of pediatric speech-language and feeding therapy practice.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

138 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Kendra Kendra Rosales

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