This study will examine two novel food prescription interventions against a standard of care mobile market for increasing utilization of food prescription programs among older adults, in collaboration with two primary care clinics and a grocery delivery service in Buffalo, N.Y.
Jill N. Tirabassi, MD, MPH (Department of Family Medicine)
Lucia A. Leone, PhD (Department of Community Health and Health Behavior)
American Heart Association - [01/01/2024 - 12/31/2025]
Food insecurity in older adults is a complex issue that is growing in scale. This project will compare two innovative produce prescription delivery models against a usual care produce prescription model. The patient population is older adults (aged 65 and over) who have screened positive for food insecurity from one of three primary care clinics in Erie County Medical Center (ECMC). ECMC is located in a medically underserved area of Buffalo, N.Y., where the majority of the population identifies as African American. Each participant will be randomized to one of the three study arms. Each intervention will give a participant free food (21 servings of fruits and vegetables) weekly for 12 weeks. The usual care arm is receiving access to a mobile market-based produce prescription which can be redeemed at over 10 locations in the city. The first intervention arm will have a fully customizable box of fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to their home. The second intervention arm will be a meal kit delivery box where a participant can choose from six to nine options weekly. Outcomes compared across arms include enrollment, redemption, and food usage. We will also explore impact of the intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption and related psychosocial behaviors. We will collaborate an older adult patient advisory group in the development of the two novel interventions and utilize rapid weekly survey feedback to optimize the programs before the end of the 12-week time period. This research will help understand how to best address low utilization rates of food prescription programs with the goal of reducing food insecurity and chronic disease among older adults.
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