AHA Scientific Sessions

 

American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions

November 15–18, Chicago, Illinois

Attendee: Senior Research Scientist Dr. Eric Calloway 

Overview: Hosted by AHA, this annual conference highlights the latest innovations for scientists, clinicians, researchers and other health care professionals interested in all aspects of cardiovascular disease. This year’s conference included a focus on nutrition and Food is Medicine approaches. Dr. Calloway presented findings from one of CNHI’s AHA-funded projects that investigated redemption rates among produce prescription (PPR) programs.  

Presentation:  

  • Linking Programmatic and Contextual Factors with Improved Food is Medicine (FIM) Redemption and Engagement: A Mixed Methods Study 

  • PPR programs typically involve hospital-community partnerships where patients who are food insecure and have diet-related chronic conditions are provided with fruits and vegetables. However, the program models vary widely and sometimes participants do not redeem their full “prescription” of fruits and vegetables. CNHI collected qualitative and quantitative data on 75 PPR programs across the country to understand how and where they operate to identify key features that promote higher redemption rates. Results include factors, such as offering auxiliary services, providing participant navigation, ensuring program fit and considering social contextual factors may play an important role in a program’s redemption rates. 

Kate Dougherty