Nurturing Outreach for Understanding and Reducing Inpatient Security of Health

Purpose

Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to the food needed for a healthy life. Food insecurity among families whose child has been hospitalized is a critical problem affecting a large, vulnerable population. The purpose of this study is to identity the most effective ways to help those families with food insecurity.

Condition

  • Food Insecurity

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
All ages
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • caregiver and legal guardian of a pediatric patient hospitalized in the acute care units of Brenner Children's Hospital, who have screened positive for food insecurity during the hospitalization. - lives in the same household as the pediatric patient hospitalized - lives in Forsyth County, North Carolina - has a freezer and oven in the household - does not have family members with food allergies in the household - willing to accept weekly meal deliveries at home address - speaks English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria

  • subjects who do not have the capacity to give legally effective consent - planning to leave Forsyth County, North Carolina within 6 months of enrollment date

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Prepared Meals 		Weekly home meal delivery for four weeks.
  • Other: Prepared Meals
    Participants will receive the intervention of weekly home meal delivery, consecutively for 4 weeks, delivered to their home. The meals will be provided by Providence Community Kitchen, which is a program of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. During the 4 weeks of meal provisions, participants will receive 7 family style frozen dinners delivered to the participant's home weekly. Meals are frozen, have minimal preparation time, and can be heated by oven.
Experimental
Grocery Gift Cards 		Weekly grocery store gift cards for four weeks.
  • Other: Grocery Gift Cards
    Participants will receive weekly grocery store gift cards, consecutively for 4 weeks. During the 4 weeks of gift card provisions, participants will receive (1) $40.00 grocery store gift card weekly, mailed to participants' home address by study staff.
Active Comparator
Standard of Care 		Provision of printed and electronic food access resources.
  • Other: Standard of Care
    Participants will receive the current standard for care for families endorsing inpatient food insecurity during a hospitalization, which include provision of printed and electronic food access resources. Currently, all families with positive food insecurity screening are met by a community health worker in the hospital who reviews current food access status with families (including enrollment in federal nutrition programs) and provides them with printed and electronic resources of nearby food pantries and other food access resources available to them at time of discharge from the hospital.
Experimental
Prepared Meals - Hematology/Oncology Cohort 		Weekly home meal delivery for four weeks.
  • Other: Prepared Meals
    Participants will receive the intervention of weekly home meal delivery, consecutively for 4 weeks, delivered to their home. The meals will be provided by Providence Community Kitchen, which is a program of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. During the 4 weeks of meal provisions, participants will receive 7 family style frozen dinners delivered to the participant's home weekly. Meals are frozen, have minimal preparation time, and can be heated by oven.
Experimental
Grocery Gift Cards - Hematology/Oncology Cohort 		Weekly grocery store gift cards for four weeks.
  • Other: Grocery Gift Cards
    Participants will receive weekly grocery store gift cards, consecutively for 4 weeks. During the 4 weeks of gift card provisions, participants will receive (1) $40.00 grocery store gift card weekly, mailed to participants' home address by study staff.
Active Comparator
Standard of Care - Hematology/Oncology Cohort 		Provision of printed and electronic food access resources.
  • Other: Standard of Care
    Participants will receive the current standard for care for families endorsing inpatient food insecurity during a hospitalization, which include provision of printed and electronic food access resources. Currently, all families with positive food insecurity screening are met by a community health worker in the hospital who reviews current food access status with families (including enrollment in federal nutrition programs) and provides them with printed and electronic resources of nearby food pantries and other food access resources available to them at time of discharge from the hospital.

Recruiting Locations

Brenner Children's Hospital
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157
Contact:
Leila DeWitt, DO, MA
336-713-3552
Leila.dewitt@advocatehealth.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Study Contact

Leila DeWitt, DO, MA
336.713.3552
Leila.dewitt@advocatehealth.org

Detailed Description

To address food insecurity among families who child has been hospitalized, study objectives are 1) to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of providing family meals and grocery store gift cards to address food insecurity among children discharged from the hospital, and 2) evaluate the potential impact of the interventions on household food insecurity, 30-day readmission rates, and primary care follow up. To accomplish these objectives, this pilot feasibility trial will be conducted at Atrium Health Levine Children's-Brenner Children's Hospital, an academic medical center that serves communities with high rates of food insecurity, in collaboration with our long-term partner Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. The will recruit families whose child was admitted to the hospital and screened positive for food insecurity. All families will be enrolled for a total of 4 weeks to evaluate the difference in food insecurity, family health measures, and hospital-based quality metrics (including readmission rates and primary care follow up).