Department of General and Community Pediatrics, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Nutrients. 2022 May 10;14(10):2006. doi: 10.3390/nu14102006.
Produce prescription programs aim to improve food insecurity (FI) and nutrition but their effectiveness is unclear. We conducted a pilot study to demonstrate the feasibility and explore the potential impact of a family-based, home-delivery produce prescription and nutrition education program. We measured enrollment, satisfaction, participation, and retention as measure of feasibility. Adult participants answered pre-post self-report questionnaires assessing FI, child and adult fruit and vegetable intake, and culinary literacy and self-efficacy. To understand participants' lived experiences, qualitative interviews were conducted at the 6-month time point. Twenty-five families were enrolled. Feasibility measures indicate participants were generally satisfied with the program but there were important barriers to participation. Qualitative data revealed themes around reduced food hardship, healthy eating, budget flexibility, and family bonding. Fruit and vegetable consumption increased in a small subgroup of children, but post-intervention intake remained below recommended levels, particularly for vegetables. FI scores were not significantly different post-intervention, but qualitative findings indicated improved access and reliability of food. This is the first intervention of its kind to be evaluated for feasibility and our results suggest the intervention is well-received and supportive. However, further study, with a larger sample size, is needed to understand factors influencing participation and assess effectiveness.
制定处方程序旨在改善粮食不安全（FI）和营养状况，但它们的效果尚不清楚。我们进行了一项试点研究，以展示基于家庭的、送货上门的农产品处方和营养教育计划的可行性，并探讨其潜在影响。我们通过衡量参与度、满意度、参与度和保留率来衡量可行性。成年参与者回答了预-后自我报告问卷，评估了 FI、儿童和成人的水果和蔬菜摄入量，以及烹饪知识和自我效能感。为了了解参与者的生活体验，我们在 6 个月时进行了定性访谈。共有 25 个家庭参与。可行性措施表明，参与者对该计划总体上感到满意，但参与存在重要障碍。定性数据揭示了减少粮食困难、健康饮食、预算灵活性和家庭联系等主题。一小部分儿童的水果和蔬菜摄入量有所增加，但干预后的摄入量仍低于推荐水平，特别是蔬菜。干预后 FI 评分没有显著差异，但定性结果表明食物的可及性和可靠性有所提高。这是同类干预措施中首次进行可行性评估，我们的研究结果表明该干预措施受到欢迎和支持。然而，需要进一步的研究，样本量更大，以了解影响参与的因素并评估其效果。
