Prevention and Community Health, Washington State Department of Health, PO Box 47835, Olympia, WA 98504, Email:
Prevention and Community Health, Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2019 Jul 18;16:E91. doi: 10.5888/pcd16.180617.
We conducted a mixed-methods process and outcome evaluation for a statewide fruit and vegetable prescription program. The process evaluation assessed program implementation, identified opportunities for quality improvement, and provided recommendations for future programmatic activities. The outcome evaluation measured how the program affected purchases of fruits and vegetables among low-income patients and patient satisfaction with the program.
The Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) partnered with public and private health care systems, public health agencies, a community-based organization, and a supermarket chain to launch a fruit and vegetable prescription program in 2016. The prescription was a $10 voucher redeemable for fruits and vegetables at any one of 169 participating supermarkets. Prescriptions were distributed to eligible low-income patients in clinics and community settings.
WA DOH reviewed quarterly reports, meeting minutes and notes, telephone call logs, and email logs to solicit feedback on program implementation processes. We calculated overall prescription redemption rates on the basis of the number of prescriptions distributed by implementing partners and the number of prescriptions redeemed at participating supermarkets. We assessed patient satisfaction through a web-based survey. The study period was July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2018.
Best practices for implementation included using the prescription to improve patient engagement and retention and connect patients to additional services, and working in the community to enhance program support and uptake. Overall, $154,810 in fruit and vegetable prescriptions were redeemed during the study period (54.4% redemption rate). Most survey respondents (88.2%) reported eating more fruits and vegetables than previously as a result of the prescription.
Fruit and vegetable prescriptions are an effective way to increase affordability of healthy foods for low-income patients. These programs are scalable and translatable across various types of patient-provider encounters.
我们对一项全州范围内的水果和蔬菜处方计划进行了混合方法的过程和结果评估。该过程评估评估了计划的实施情况，确定了质量改进的机会，并为未来的计划活动提供了建议。结果评估衡量了该计划如何影响低收入患者购买水果和蔬菜的情况以及患者对该计划的满意度。
华盛顿州卫生部门（WA DOH）与公共和私人医疗保健系统、公共卫生机构、一个社区组织和一家连锁超市合作，于 2016 年推出了一项水果和蔬菜处方计划。该处方是一张 10 美元的优惠券，可在 169 家参与超市中的任何一家兑换水果和蔬菜。处方分发给符合条件的低收入患者在诊所和社区环境中。
WA DOH 审查了季度报告、会议记录和笔记、电话通话记录和电子邮件记录，以征求对计划实施过程的反馈。我们根据实施合作伙伴分发的处方数量和在参与超市兑换的处方数量计算了总体处方兑换率。我们通过网络调查评估了患者满意度。研究期间为 2016 年 7 月 1 日至 2018 年 6 月 30 日。
实施的最佳实践包括使用处方来提高患者的参与度和保留率，并将患者与其他服务联系起来，以及在社区中工作，以增强对计划的支持和采用。在研究期间，共兑换了 154810 张水果和蔬菜处方（兑换率为 54.4%）。大多数调查受访者（88.2%）表示，由于处方的原因，他们现在比以前吃更多的水果和蔬菜。
水果和蔬菜处方是增加低收入患者购买健康食品的可负担性的有效方法。这些计划具有可扩展性，可以在各种类型的医患接触中转化。
