BMC Nutrition (Nov 2024)

Health outcomes reported by healthcare providers and clients of a community-based medically tailored meal program

  • Jessica M. Sautter,
  • Jule Anne Henstenburg,
  • Adrian Glass Crafford,
  • Ian Rowe-Nicholls,
  • Victor S. Diaz,
  • Kaitlyn Ann Bartholomew,
  • Julia S. Evans,
  • Maria R. Johnson,
  • Jeffrey Zhou,
  • Deeksha Ajeya

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-024-00955-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract Background Medically tailored meal (MTM) programs provide home-delivered meals to people living with serious illness and poor nutritional status. Client outcome studies have found evidence of decreased healthcare utilization and cost savings associated with MTM program participation, and inconclusive evidence of change in health measures. The purpose of this study was to use a novel observational framework to describe the client profile and change in health outcomes using routinely collected health and program data from a community-based MTM program at MANNA (Philadelphia, PA). Methods Clients reported their self-rated health and experiences of food insecurity and malnutrition. Healthcare providers reported clients’ body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and hemoglobin A1C. These health outcomes, measured at program intake and 3–6 months later, were linked with administrative data for 1,959 clients who completed at least two months of MTM services in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Results Clients exhibited substantial heterogeneity in demographics and health status at intake. Self-reported malnutrition risk decreased significantly over program duration (p < .001). Nearly one-third of clients with poor health reported improvement over time. Over 60% of clients with obesity experienced stable BMI. Clients with hypertension experienced significant improvements in systolic blood pressure (p < .001). Clients with diabetes and available data (n = 45) demonstrated significant reduction in hemoglobin A1C (p = .005). Conclusion We found evidence that participation in MANNA’s MTM program was associated with favorable health outcomes for clients with serious illness and nutritional risk. Community-based organizations can maximize the completeness of their data by focusing on routinely collected internal data like validated health screeners and surveys.

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