5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Rutgers University will partner with the Meals on Wheels America (MOWA) and affiliated agencies in five states to conduct a study designed to improve food safety nutrition and emergency preparedness among homebound elderly recipients of home delivered meals (HDM). This population is at increased risk for food borne diseases, as a result of unique physiological and behavioral factors, and is particularly vulnerable to any disruptions in the food system because of their lack of mobility. A multi-method research approach will be used with a target sample of 1,000 MOWA homebound elderly clients. Methods include the use of a novel UPC scanning technology that quickly and comprehensively catalogues all of the food in the clients' homes, a home food safety audit, and a face-to-face interview. The goal of the study is to provide an improved understanding of the unique food safety threats to this at-risk population, suggest easy, cost-effective ways of reducing known food safety risk factors, and provide clear guidelines about the amount and types of food most needed by this population in emergency situations. Dissemination of research findings and recommendations will be done through a partnership with EDEN and MOWA, both of which have national constituencies poised to act on the recommendations.
The Laboratory Study will be conducted at PBRC and will include participants (N=25) from a wide array of social and economic groups will be recruited and trained on the use of the FoodImage app. Participants use the app to measure food waste (including foods with inedible parts) created during a simulated meal preparation setting, a simulated meal consumption setting with plate waste, and a simulated cabinet and refrigerator clean-out of spoiled and out-of-date foods, where the number of items and the amounts of waste for each task is randomly assigned across participants and blinded from the research staff evaluating images and coding data. These participants will denote the normal discard destination (I.e., garbage, sink/disposal, feed to animal, compost) for each item as if the waste had occurred in their own home.
Participants will be asked to use the app to capture data on food purchases, food waste that occurs during food preparation, food waste that is present after eating, and food waste from cabinet and refrigerator/freezer clean-outs. During collection of much of the food waste data, participants will record in the app if food waste will be disposed of via composting, disposal, fed to pets, or garbage/landfill. They will also indicate if the food was spoiled, past the expiration date, etc. This will occur for 4-8 days. Participants should perform the prep and eat occasions 4-8 days. The shopping and toss occasions should be completed for at least 7 days.
The goal of this research study is to compare two enhancements to well-child visits at Geisinger designed to promote family-centered counseling for the prevention of obesity in a high-risk population of rural, lower income, preschool-aged children. Compared to the standard well-child visit, enhancements will offer advantages to obesity prevention, parent involvement in counseling, lifestyle behaviors, and food resource management.
Farming for Life aims to determine the health impacts of providing weekly "prescriptions" of fresh organic vegetables to adults living with or at risk of type 2 diabetes. Over 4 years, up to 400 adults diagnosed with or at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes will be engaged for 3 months each, and receive weekly doses of locally-grown organic vegetable prescriptions. The end-points for comparison will be changes in blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, glycemic control \[defined as Time in Range (TIR) (70-140mg/dl)\] using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and HbA1c levels (a measure of long-term blood glucose level control) after 3 months compared to baseline measurements. Additional assessments will be made on the impact of the organic vegetable prescriptions on food security. At an optional Visit 13, offered 6 months after Visit 1, an additional health screening will be conducted. Prevalence and risk of type 2 diabetes in the US is disproportionately high among low income and minority groups and is exasperated by high levels of food insecurity. The investigators hypothesize that improving access to fresh organic vegetables will result in measurable health outcomes for adults with type 2 diabetes and those at risk of developing the condition. This represents a promising and potentially cost-effective strategy for improving diabetes outcomes at a population level, particularly among low income, minority populations with type 2 diabetes.