Screening for and Responding to Food Insecurity Among Infusion Patients
Food insecurity impacts 1 in 8 people in the United States and 1 in 4 people receiving cancer treatment. Food insecurity is associated with poor dietary quality, adverse health conditions (e.g., Type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity, hypertension), and worse cancer treatment outcomes. To effectively address food insecurity among people with cancer, screening and effective response programs are needed.
The Food to Overcome Disparities (FOOD) program screens breast cancer patients for food insecurity and refers people who screen positive to 11 clinic pantries across New York City. In addition to clinic referrals, researchers have found the addition of monthly grocery vouchers or home grocery delivery to be even more effective at improving treatment completion rates than pantry access alone. Another innovative food security strategy, nutritious no-prep, ready-to-eat meals may also be helpful for patients given that no-prep meals reduce the time and physical demand of food preparation.
Nutritious no-prep, ready-to-eat meals have been positively associated with improvements in healthy eating index (HEI) scores, fewer instances of hypoglycemia, and improved quality of life among people with food insecurity that have diabetes, but has yet to be tested among patients with cancer. People receiving cancer treatment, such as infusion services, often report fatigue and other barriers to food preparation, which make no-prep, ready-to-eat meals another potential solution to cancer-specific challenges to healthy eating.
In the present study the investigators will test which evidence-based strategies are most effective and well-liked by patients and will inform the development of a comprehensive food security response program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Conditions:
🦠 Cancer
🦠 Diet, Healthy
🦠 Nutrition, Healthy
🗓️ Study Start (Actual)
8 January 2024
🗓️ Primary Completion (Estimated)
31 December 2024
✅ Study Completion (Estimated)
31 December 2024
👥 Enrollment (Estimated)
45
🔬 Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
📊 Phase
NA
Locations:
📍
Dallas, Texas, United States
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- * Patient at the Simmons cancer center
- * Adults 18 years or older
- * Ability to understand and willingness to provide informed consent
- * Screens positive for food and/or nutrition insecurity
- * No allergies or digestive diseases that could put participant at-risk of harm from consuming study foods (e.g., celiacs disease, dairy allergy, wheat allergy)
Exclusion Criteria:
- * Not a patient at the Simmons cancer center
- * Under 18 years of age
- * Unable to provide informed consent
- * Not wanting to participate
- * Does not screen positive for food and/or nutrition insecurity
- * Allergies or digestive diseases that could put participants at-risk of harm from consuming study foods (e.g., celiacs disease, dairy allergy, wheat allergy).
Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years to N/A (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
Sexes Eligible for Study: ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported
results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before
being posted on the public website.
Study Registration Dates
- First Submitted
18 May 2023
- First Submitted that Met QC Criteria
1 June 2023
- First Posted
5 June 2023
Study Record Updates
- Last Update Submitted that Met QC Criteria
22 January 2024
- Last Update Posted
24 January 2024
- Last Verified
January 2024