VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and Mom’s Meals® are collaborating on a randomized prospective pilot study examining whether providing home-delivered medically tailored meals (MTMs) to Veterans with heart failure who are experiencing food or nutrition insecurity affects rehospitalizations and quality of life.
The pilot includes 150 Veterans who have recently been hospitalized for heart failure and screened positive for food and/or nutrition insecurity. Participants receiving the meal intervention receive two home-delivered meals per day for 12 weeks, providing an opportunity to examine the role nutrition support may play during a critical period following hospitalization. Using a stepped-wedge design, Veterans randomized to the control group will also receive home-delivered MTMs as “delayed study enrollment” 12 weeks later.
Data collected before and after 12-week MTM delivery for both groups include improvements in exercise study by a standardized 6 minute walk test, and quality of life improvement in symptoms of heart failure and overall mental outlook using the established metric survey called Kansas City Cardiovascular Quality (KCCQ) score.
Access to nutritious food is an important health issue for Veterans. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans are 7.4% more likely than non-Veterans to face food insecurity.[1] Food insecurity is also linked to health issues such as obesity and diabetes, highlighting the role nutrition can play in supporting Veterans’ health.
“For patients with heart failure, what happens outside the hospital can be just as important as the care they receive while they are there,” said Freny Vaghaiwalla Mody, M.D., director of the Heart Failure Program and Preventive Cardiology Program at VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. “Pharmacologic therapy -medicine- alone cannot obviate the catabolic state associated with heart failure that contributes to poor health outcomes. We want to better understand whether nutrition support can help Veterans not only stay healthier at home but also maintain their independence and quality of life.”
The pilot will evaluate several clinical and functional outcomes, including days out of the hospital, rehospitalizations for heart failure, other healthcare utilization, changes in clinical biomarkers, physical function and quality of life (QOL). Participants will also be followed after the 12-week meal intervention to assess whether any observed effects continue after meal delivery ends. The pilot to assess for reduced hospitalization is currently underway and is expected to conclude in 2028. Interim data analysis to assess changes in exercise capacity, biomarkers, QOL and nutrition surveys on initial 25 patients is currently underway.
“Food as medicine is about making nutrition an intentional part of caring for people with complex health needs,” said Catherine Macpherson, senior vice president and chief nutrition officer at Mom’s Meals. “By addressing access to nutritious meals alongside medical care, we have an opportunity to support the whole person and help people better manage their health at home.”
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About Mom's Meals
Mom’s Meals is a leading provider of comprehensive food as medicine solutions with published improved health outcomes that drive lasting change. This includes fully prepared, refrigerated, medically tailored home-delivered meals delivered to any address nationwide, shelf-stable meals, oral nutrition supplements, produce and pantry boxes, nutritional education, nutritional counseling, other forms of nutrition support and personalized engagement. These solutions are provided through Medicaid or Medicare Advantage health plan benefits or for direct purchase. At Mom’s Meals, our mission is to improve lives through better nutrition at home through our long-term care, condition management, post-discharge and nutrition insecurity programs. For more information, visit momsmeals.com.
[1] https://news.va.gov/142733/find-access-stop-food-insecurity-your-community/
