6-Month Outcomes of A home-Delivered Meal Program for Acute Nutritional Risk

Maria-Ghalili, R. Di; Thoman, K.; Albajri, Eram; Nasser, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1093/geroni/igx004.1945

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The exceptions involve two pilot interventions for patients with diabetes: one that provided diabetes-appropriate food boxes for pickup at neighborhood food pantries [ 20 ] and another that provided access to fresh produce in the clinical setting [ 29 ]. The only food as medicine research that, to the best of our knowledge, evaluates healthcare utilization is the very promising but small body of research on medically tailored meals for high-risk patients [ 14 , 34 , 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food as Medicine Clinic: Early Results and Lessons Learned

Hu¹,

Cherian²,

Chagin³

et al. 2022

Cureus

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Introduction: Hospital-based food pantries are commonly used to address food insecurity. However, few studies have examined the impact of these food pantries on patients with chronic health conditions. In this study, we sought to assess the effect of a hospital-based food pantry clinic on self-reported dietary changes, health outcomes, and resource utilization.Methods: This study included food insecure participants with suboptimally controlled congestive heart failure, hypertension, or diabetes who visited a Food as Medicine (FAM) clinic at an academic healthcare system between October 2018 and November 2019. The clinic provided a three-day supply of food for participants and their families up to two times per month for up to 12 months. Baseline, three-month, and six-month surveys were used to assess dietary behaviors, and electronic health record (EHR) data were used to assess health outcomes and utilization. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to explore variables associated with FAM clinic use.Results: At three months, participants self-reported improved dietary behaviors, including increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as snacks and an increased variety of fruits and vegetables consumed. There were no statistically significant changes in clinical or healthcare utilization measures, despite small absolute improvements in systolic blood pressure (SBP), hospitalizations, and emergency department (ED) visits. There was a weak association between FAM clinic visit frequency and changes in dietary behaviors.Conclusion: Among patients with chronic diseases, the use of the FAM clinic was associated with improved self-reported dietary behaviors and a nonsignificant improvement in health outcomes and resource utilization.

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