Diet Quality Pilot Intervention in LA Safety Net

Description

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a culturally tailored nutrition education intervention designed to improve diet quality and reduce nutrition-related cardiometabolic disease risk among low-income adults participating in the Los Angeles County Food Rx Fresh Produce Distribution Program. Participants are adults aged 18 years and older who experience food insecurity and receive services through Food Rx produce distribution sites. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does participation in the Diet Quality Matters intervention reduce food neophobia (reluctance to try unfamiliar foods)? Does participation improve overall dietary quality as measured by validated diet quality assessment tools? Does participation improve food resource management skills, nutrition-related self-efficacy, and food security? Does participation lead to improvements in cardiometabolic risk indicators, including body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure? Is the intervention acceptable, feasible, and culturally relevant to participants and program staff? Participants will: Complete baseline surveys assessing food neophobia, diet quality, food security, food resource management skills, and self-efficacy. Attend three monthly nutrition education sessions that include: Guided group motivational interviewing discussions. Live culturally tailored cooking demonstrations. Taste-testing of featured foods. Group discussions about adapting recipes to participants' cultural and household preferences. Undergo height, weight, and blood pressure measurements. Complete follow-up surveys approximately 3 months after the final intervention session. Participate in optional feedback interviews regarding their experiences with the program.

Interventions

• Diet Quality Matters (DQM) Nutrition Education and Culinary Skills Program (Behavioral)
  Diet Quality Matters (DQM) is a culturally tailored behavioral nutrition education intervention designed to improve diet quality and reduce cardiometabolic disease risk among food-insecure adults participating in the Los Angeles County Food Rx Program. Adapted from the evidence-based Cooking Matters curriculum, DQM combines motivational interviewing, nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, taste testing, and culturally relevant group discussions to increase consumption of diverse minimally processed plant foods and reduce food neophobia. Participants attend three monthly in-person group sessions, each lasting approximately 60 minutes and delivered during Food Rx produce distribution events. Sessions include guided motivational interviewing (15 minutes), a live recipe demonstration and taste testing (30 minutes), and a discussion on adapting healthy eating practices to participants' cultural and household preferences (15 minutes).

Eligibility criteria

Conditions

Locations

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Public Health — Los Angeles, California, United States
• Curtis R. Tucker Health Center — Los Angeles, California, United States