Food Insecurity in Patients with High Hospital Utilization.

Having access to adequate and appropriate food is a major population health issue. This study investigated food insecurity in patients with high rates of inpatient hospitalization ("super-utilizers"). Forty adults with ≥3 hospital inpatient admissions within a 12-month period were interviewed in an urban hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between March 2015 and May 2015. Inpatient admission history was obtained from hospital billing data. The majority had ≥5 hospitalizations in the past 12 months and ≥6 chronic conditions. Using the USDA definition of food insecurity, 30% (95% CI, 17% to 47%) were food insecure and 25% (95% CI, 13% to 41%) were marginally food secure. Forty percent responded that, in the past 30 days, they worried that their food would run out; 35% that their food would not last; 17.5% that they did not eat for a full day; and 10% that they were hungry but did not eat some or all of the time. Additionally, 75% were unable to shop for food on their own and 58% were unable to prepare their own food. More than half reported using food pantries or other community food resources. The impact of unmet food needs on hospital super-utilization warrants further investigation. Interventions that educate and connect patients with unmet food needs to community resources can help engage patients in their own health and well-being. Communication with patients about whether they have enough nutritionally appropriate food for their health conditions is an important starting point.

Pre-ordering lunch at work. Results of the what to eat for lunch study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate an intervention that combined mindful eating and online pre-ordering to promote healthier lunch purchases at work. The study took place at an urban hospital with 26 employees who were overweight or obese. The design included a contemporaneous comparison with delayed-treatment control and a three-phase prospective study. A minimum 4-week baseline period preceded a 4-week full-intervention, in which participants received mindful eating training, pre-ordered their lunches, and received price discounts toward lunch purchases. In a 4-week reduced intervention phase, participants pre-ordered lunches without price discounts. Participant lunch purchases were tracked electronically at the point of purchase. The primary outcome measures were the amounts of kilocalories and fat grams in purchased lunches. In contemporaneous comparisons, the treatment group purchased lunches with an average of 144.6 fewer kilocalories (p = 0.01) and 8.9 fewer grams of fat (p = 0.005) compared to controls. In multivariable longitudinal analyses, participants decreased the average number of calories in their meals by 114.6 kcal per lunch and the average grams of fat by 5.4 per lunch during the partial-intervention compared to the baseline (p < 0.001). At the end of the study, a moderate increase was observed in participants' overall mindful eating behaviors as compared to the beginning of the study (p < 0.001). The majority of participants (92%) said they would use the pre-ordering system if offered in the future. Combined mindful eating training and online pre-ordering appears a feasible and useful worksite intervention to improve food choices by employees.

Impact of a Rewards-Based Incentive Program on Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Purchases.

Objectives. We assessed the impact of a rewards-based incentive program on fruit and vegetable purchases by low-income families. Methods. We conducted a 4-phase prospective cohort study with randomized intervention and wait-listed control groups in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in December 2010 through October 2011. The intervention provided a rebate of 50% of the dollar amount spent on fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables, reduced to 25% during a tapering phase, then eliminated. Primary outcome measures were number of servings of fruit and of vegetables purchased per week. Results. Households assigned to the intervention purchased an average of 8 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5, 16.9) more servings of vegetables and 2.5 (95% CI = 0.3, 9.5) more servings of fruit per week than did control households. In longitudinal price-adjusted analyses, when the incentive was reduced and then discontinued, the amounts purchased were similar to baseline. Conclusions. Investigation of the financial costs and potential benefits of incentive programs to supermarkets, government agencies, and other stakeholders is needed to identify sustainable interventions.

Buying food on sale: a mixed methods study with shoppers at an urban supermarket, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2010-2012.

INTRODUCTION: The obesity epidemic has drawn attention to food marketing practices that may increase the likelihood of caloric overconsumption and weight gain. We explored the associations of discounted prices on supermarket purchases of selected high-calorie foods (HCF) and more healthful, low-calorie foods (LCF) by a demographic group at high risk of obesity. METHODS: Our mixed methods design used electronic supermarket purchase data from 82 low-income (primarily African American female) shoppers for households with children and qualitative data from focus groups with demographically similar shoppers. RESULTS: In analyses of 6,493 food purchase transactions over 65 weeks, the odds of buying foods on sale versus at full price were higher for grain-based snacks, sweet snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages (odds ratios: 6.6, 5.9, and 2.6, respectively; all P < .001) but not for savory snacks. The odds of buying foods on sale versus full price were not higher for any of any of the LCF (P ≥ .07). Without controlling for quantities purchased, we found that spending increased as percentage saved from the full price increased for all HCF and for fruits and vegetables (P ≤ .002). Focus group participants emphasized the lure of sale items and took advantage of sales to stock up. CONCLUSION: Strategies that shift supermarket sales promotions from price reductions for HCF to price reductions for LCF might help prevent obesity by decreasing purchases of HCF.

The use of financial incentives to increase fresh fruit and vegetable purchases in lower-income households: results of a pilot study.

Identifying effective strategies to promote healthier eating in underserved populations is a public health priority. In this pilot study, we examined the use of financial incentives to increase fresh fruit and vegetable purchases in low-income households (N=29). Participants received pre-paid coupons to buy fresh produce at the study store during the intervention period. Purchases were compared among the three study phases (baseline, intervention, and follow-up). A financial incentive provided by study coupons increased the average weekly purchase of fresh fruit but was less successful with fresh vegetables. These findings underscore the need for specific targeting of vegetable selection and preparation to exploit this strategy more fully.

Fresh fruit and vegetable purchases in an urban supermarket by low-income households.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictors of fresh fruit and vegetable purchases in a low-income population and identify subgroups in which interventions to increase such purchases might prove useful. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 209 shopping transactions from 30 households. Individual and household characteristics obtained from primary shopper. Data collected covered April 1-June 30, 2010. Primary outcome was number of servings of fresh produce purchased per week. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Controlling for household size, the average number of servings of fresh produce per week was higher in families with more children (P = .008) and in families with a wider age range of children (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Households with more children purchased more fresh produce. Purchase data combined with shopper household characteristics helped to distinguish relatively high from low purchasers of fresh produce among low-income families.

Using rewards-based incentives to increase purchase of fruit and vegetables in lower-income households: design and start-up of a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To report the design and baseline results of a rewards-based incentive to promote purchase of fruit and vegetables by lower-income households. DESIGN: A four-phase randomized trial with wait-listed controls. In a pilot study, despite inadequate study coupon use, purchases of fresh fruit (but not vegetables) increased, but with little maintenance. In the present study, credits on the study store gift card replace paper coupons and a tapering phase is added. The primary outcome is the number of servings of fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables purchased per week. SETTING: A large full-service supermarket located in a predominantly minority community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. SUBJECTS: Fifty-eight households, with at least one child living in the home. RESULTS: During the baseline period, households purchased an average of 3·7 servings of fresh vegetables and an average of less than 1 serving of frozen vegetables per week. Households purchased an average of 1·9 servings of fresh fruit per week, with little to no frozen fruit purchases. Overall, the range of fresh and frozen produce purchased during this pre-intervention period was limited. CONCLUSIONS: At baseline, produce purchases were small and of limited variety. The study will contribute to understanding the impact of financial incentives on increasing the purchases of healthier foods by lower-income populations.

Treatment preferences and advance care planning at end of life: the role of ethnicity and spiritual coping in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have reported ethnic differences in approaches to end of life, the role of spiritual beliefs is less well understood. PURPOSE: This study investigated differences between African American and White patients with cancer in their use of spirituality to cope with their cancer and examined the role of spiritual coping in preferences at end-of-life. METHODS: The authors analyzed data from interviews with 68 African American and White patients with an advanced stage of lung or colon cancer between December 1999 and June 2001. RESULTS: Similar high percentages of African American and White patients reported being "moderately to very spiritual" and "moderately to very religious." African American patients were more likely to report using spirituality to cope with their cancer as compared to their White counterparts (p = .002). Patients who reported belief in divine intervention were less likely to have a living will (p = .007). Belief in divine intervention, turning to higher power for strength, support and guidance, and using spirituality to cope with cancer were associated with preference for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and hospitalization in a near-death scenario. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that patients with cancer who used spiritual coping to a greater extent were less likely to have a living will and more likely to desire life-sustaining measures. If efforts aimed at improving end-of-life care are to be successful, they must take into account the complex interplay of ethnicity and spirituality as they shape patients' views and preferences around end of life.

Family caregiver satisfaction with care at end of life: report from the cultural variations study (CVAS).

The objective of this study was to examine differences in family caregiver satisfaction with care at end of life based on site of death, in an observational study involving advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers. The study was based on follow-up interviews with 28 family caregivers of 28 patients who died during a two-year prospective study involving 68 patients and 68 family caregivers. Telephone interviews addressed the circumstances of the patients 'death, their satisfaction with the care provided to the patient, and their satisfaction with how well they were attended to by health providers. There were no associations between site of death (died at home vs. did not die at home) and family caregiver satisfaction with the overall care provided to the patient. However family caregivers of patients who died at home responded that they thought the patient was more at peace (with respect to spiritual and religious matters) than did family caregivers of patients who did not die at home (p = 0.003). Family caregivers of patients who died at home appeared to feel less satisfied with the attention paid to their own wishes regarding the patient's care (p = 0. 13), less satisfied with the emotional support provided to them by healthcare personnel taking care of the patient (p = 0. 08), and less satisfied with communication from health providers (p = 0. 11). Findings indicate that although dying at home appears to provide a more peaceful death for the patient, it may also distance family caregivers from health professionals and leave them feeling less supported during the patient's last days of life.

Community perspectives on advance care planning: report from the Community Ethics Program.

The objectives of the Community Ethics Program are to increase community awareness about advance care planning to address patient preferences concerning future care, and to improve hospital-community collaboration around care at end of life in diverse communities. As part of this educational program, community forums and focus groups were held with African-American, Korean-American, and Latino communities in Philadelphia between 2000 and 2001. In this paper, we discuss concerns related to end of life and advance care planning specific to each community, as well as themes that cut across communities. Increasing our understanding of community views and perspectives on potential barriers to advance care planning, particularly through a hospital-community partnership, is an important step toward enhancing the quality of end of life care for all patients.

What's end of life got to do with it? Research ethics with populations at life's end.

PURPOSE: This study addressed key concerns that gave rise to the question of whether special guidelines were needed to monitor research at the end of life. DESIGN AND METHODS: Summary of established ethical and legal guidelines that govern the conduct of research with human subjects, with discussion of issues relevant to populations at life's end. Discussion of whether special guidelines are indicated focuses on four questions concerning: (a). time periods; (b). methods and approaches; (c). informed consent; and (d). obligations of researchers. RESULTS: Although research involving patients at end of life does present important ethical and moral challenges to researchers and should be scrutinized carefully by institutional review boards (IRBs), special guidelines are not required. IMPLICATIONS: Closer examination of the dimensions discussed will enhance the research endeavor and model the qualities for which end-of-life research should become known.