NCT06401694

Evaluating an Enhanced Home-delivered Meal Program on Older Adults' Health and Well-being

Evaluating the Impact and Sustainability of Enhanced Home-delivered Meal Program Services on Older Adults' Health and Well-being

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,640 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Connecticut · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island (MOWRI), in partnership with the University of Connecticut (UConn), will implement and evaluate an enhanced version of its Home-Delivered Meals Program (HDMP). The project goal is to implement and test the effectiveness of an enhanced Home-Delivered Meals (HDM) service delivery approach. The enhanced approach includes community health worker (CHW) interactions and supplemental healthy grocery bags to address diet quality, food and nutrition security, loneliness, and health-related quality of life for older adults. MOWRI participants at the highest nutritional risk will be randomized to receive standard or enhanced services in order to test the effect of the intervention on health-related outcomes. Anticipated outcomes for individuals receiving enhanced services are improvements in measures of diet quality, food and nutrition security, loneliness, and health-related quality of life compared with those receiving standard HDM services.

Detailed description

The purpose of the research study is to understand the effectiveness of an enhanced Home-Delivered Meals Program (HDMP) on the health-quality of life for older adults. Specifically, the investigators will study the effectiveness of an enhanced HDMP service delivery approach that includes community health worker interactions and supplemental healthy grocery bags to address diet quality, food and nutrition security, loneliness, and health-related quality of life, compared to HDMP only. The research will take place among individuals receiving meals from Meals on Wheels Rhode Island (MOWRI). This is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial with the following objectives: 1) to develop a protocol for CHW engagement (assessment, intervention, and follow-up) with participants; 2) to implement the enhanced home delivered meals (HDM) intervention to MOWRI clients at the highest nutritional risk; 3) to evaluate the impact of the enhanced program on diet quality, food and nutrition security, loneliness, and HRQOL in a randomized study; 4) to evaluate program sustainability measures and implement process improvements to increase sustainability; 5) to disseminate program resources that will allow the program to replicate to other HDM programs; and 6) to share evaluation results with key community, policy, and academic partners. Up to 1640 participants who are individuals receiving meals from Meals on Wheels Rhode Island (MOWRI) and are at a high nutritional risk. The outcome measures are diet quality (primary outcome), food security, nutrition security, subjective isolation / loneliness, health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Conditions

• Diet, Healthy
• Food Insecurity
• Loneliness
• Quality of Life

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Home-delivered meals	Delivery of prepared meals compliant with Older Americans Act nutrition programs guidelines
OTHER	Wellness check and socialization visit	At-home delivery with opportunity for driver observation and interaction
BEHAVIORAL	Community Health Worker calls	Calls from a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) to assess needs, identify gaps in care and resources, and then support health and resource coordination
OTHER	Supplemental grocery bag	Monthly delivery of a grocery bag containing a variety of nutritionally balanced foods and educational materials

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-06-20
• Primary completion: 2027-09-30
• Completion: 2028-04-30
• First posted: 2024-05-07
• Last updated: 2025-12-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States