Rodriguez Espinosa Patricia, Martinez Mulet Yessica, Chen Wei-Ting, Radtke Marcela D, Xiao Lan, Rosas Lisa G
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.
Office of Community Engagement, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.
Curr Dev Nutr. 2025 May 2;9(6):107455. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107455. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease disproportionately affect Latina females. Food is medicine (FIM) is increasingly recognized for its role in addressing the dual challenge of food insecurity and diet-related chronic diseases. However, there is minimal evidence to guide FIM practice for Latina females.
This study aims to engage Latina females and community partners to test the acceptability, implementation feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of medically supportive groceries.
In partnership with a Federally Qualified Health Center and community partners, Latina females at risk of diet-related chronic disease who screened positive for food insecurity ( = 25) received 8 weekly home deliveries of medically supportive groceries. Participants completed semistructured interviews, as well as surveys, at baseline and 8-wk follow-up. Interview transcripts were coded using inductive thematic analysis. Changes in food security and dietary intake were assessed using a pair sample -test and McNemar's χ test.
Females had a mean age of 52 y (34-73 y old), with 84% indicating a household income below the federal poverty line, and 77% had children at home. Participants were recruited within 4 wk and achieved a 100% success rate in delivering food. Interview themes included cultural acceptability and satisfaction, individual and household benefits of participation, facilitators for optimal use, and barriers. At follow-up, 59% reported food insecurity compared with 92% at baseline ( = 0.016). Participants reported comparable levels of daily fruit and vegetable intake at baseline and follow-up ( = 0.7).
Findings demonstrated that medically supportive groceries are feasible and acceptable for Latina females with diet-related chronic diseases and support comprehensive FIM interventions in diverse populations.
粮食不安全和与饮食相关的慢性病对拉丁裔女性的影响尤为严重。食物即药物（FIM）在应对粮食不安全和与饮食相关的慢性病这一双重挑战中所起的作用日益得到认可。然而，几乎没有证据可指导针对拉丁裔女性的FIM实践。
本研究旨在让拉丁裔女性和社区合作伙伴参与进来，以测试医疗支持性食品杂货的可接受性、实施可行性和初步效果。
与一家联邦合格健康中心及社区合作伙伴合作，对粮食不安全筛查呈阳性且有患与饮食相关慢性病风险的拉丁裔女性（n = 25）每周进行8次家庭医疗支持性食品杂货配送。参与者在基线和8周随访时完成半结构化访谈以及调查。访谈记录采用归纳主题分析法进行编码。使用配对样本t检验和麦克尼马尔χ²检验评估粮食安全和饮食摄入量的变化。
女性的平均年龄为52岁（34 - 73岁），84%表示家庭收入低于联邦贫困线，77%家中有孩子。参与者在4周内招募完成，食品配送成功率达到100%。访谈主题包括文化可接受性和满意度、参与的个人和家庭益处、最佳使用的促进因素以及障碍。在随访时，59%的人报告存在粮食不安全，而在基线时这一比例为92%（P = 0.016）。参与者报告在基线和随访时每日水果和蔬菜摄入量相当（P = 0.7）。
研究结果表明，医疗支持性食品杂货对于患有与饮食相关慢性病的拉丁裔女性是可行且可接受的，并支持在不同人群中开展全面的FIM干预措施。
