Overview
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.
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).
Eligibility
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