Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The ProMedica Maternal Health Produce Prescription Program aims to increase positive maternal health outcomes by providing a $100 monthly Produce Rx stipend for up to 12 months to patients engaged in ProMedica's OB services in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Eligible mothers screen for food insecurity during OB appointments, are 18 years or older, are eligible for SNAP or utilizing a state healthcare plan, and are between 12 and 20 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment. Prescriptions are redeemed at participating local retail locations to increase healthy food access, promote empowered shopper autonomy, and decrease adverse health risks/outcomes during pregnancy and the immediate postnatal period. Program goals include:Improve pre-and postnatal health outcomes for 150 at-risk expecting mothers through increased F&V consumptionExpand healthy food access to culturally relevant retail optionsIncrease access to and utilization of pregnancy-specific nutritional and breastfeeding counselingDemonstrate a return on investment from improved health outcomes, decreased healthcare utilization, and PPR effectiveness
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The ProMedica Maternal Health Produce Prescription Program goals and related outcomes are the following:GOAL #1: Improve pre-and postnatal health outcomes for at-risk pregnant mothers through increased fruit and vegetable consumptionBy providing a monthly produce prescription, ProMedica hypothesizes that program participants will increase fruit and vegetable consumption, which will lead to positive pre-and postnatal health outcomes.GOAL #2: Expand healthy food access to culturally relevant retail optionsBy providing a retail-agnostic debit card for participants to access the monthly produce prescription, participants will be able to shop for F&V at grocery stores most convenient to their lifestyle choices and geographic proximity. About Fresh's retail network includes national grocery chains (i.e. Kroger and Walmart), local stores (i.e. Market on the Green), and smaller markets (i.e. Veggie's Mobile Market). These multi-layered retail options provide reliable access to produce, even if one location is temporarily unavailable.GOAL #3: Increase access to and utilization of pregnancy-specific nutritional and breastfeeding counselingBy referring enrollees to additional healthy food support programs (i.e., WIC), program participants will receive robust wraparound services during the maternal health journey, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes. Participants will also receive access to maternal health nutritional counseling and breastfeeding support services at ProMedica, in addition to educational print materials for affordable shopping techniques and relevant recipes.GOAL #4: Demonstrate a return on investment from improved health outcomes, decreased healthcare utilization, and PPR effectivenessBy conducting a robust impact evaluation analysis, including a case-control comparison, ProMedica will be able to uncover return on investment/cost avoidance insights generated fromthe improved maternal health outcomes after engaging in an efficient produce prescription program.
Project Methods
All ProMedica maternal health patients are asked to participate in social needs screening at their obstetric appointments. Responses are recorded into the electronic medical record (EMR). A Research Assistant (RA) will review the screening data and identify potential participants. When minimal eligibility criteria are verified (positive food insecurity screen), the RA will telephonically contact the eligible participant to provide a program overview, verify eligibility, obtain consent to participate, obtain authorization to disclose information, and complete enrollment. Food-insecure patients will verify eligibility based on the following criteria:12-20 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment. Gestational age is determinedat the time of the initial visit.Information will be verified verbally and checked against the patient's medical record.Enrolled in Medicaid insurance or eligible/enrolled in the SNAP benefits program. Patients will verify current insurance status and current eligibility or enrollment in the SNAP program. SNAP eligibility will be determined using proof of an EBT card or the completion of the state-specific SNAP pre-screener questionnaire delivered verbally by our Research Assistant.Willingness to participate in the program. ProMedica will require consent to participate in our program to collect the needed pre-, mid-, and post-evaluation data to conduct an impact analysis and provide a robust programmatic evaluation.The RA will collect the patient's household, age, income, and contact information, as well asbaseline data for the required participant-level core metrics and additional self-reported health data (i.e., food insecurity, eating habits, pregnancy health, etc.). Program data will be recorded using a unique patient identifier within an MS Excel spreadsheet. The majority of the project data will be collected in a digital format. Non-digital data, including patient consents, paper survey tools, information release and authorizations, and any field notes, will be converted by the RA into a digital format.Patients who meet eligibility requirements will be directly enrolled in the Fresh Connect Produce Prescription Technology platform by the RA to begin receiving produce prescription benefits.Patients will receive a $100 monthly allocation for 12 months alongside robust cardmember support. Education referrals to local WIC offices, free nutritional counseling, and breastfeeding support will be ongoing as requested by the participant. Print educational materials will be disseminated to program participants by the RA at the time of enrollment.The RA will conduct a mid-way telephonic survey collection for all program participants after their 28-week OB appointment. After 12 months of enrollment, the RA will perform a third outreach call to the patient to collect post-program data including core metric, maternal health, infant health, breastfeeding activities, and other self-reported metrics. The RA will attempt to reach the patient once per day at various times for up to ten days to best obtain the post-program data.There is no deception associated with this study. Neither the RA nor the participants will be blinded to their study group. Participants have access to their own data (e.g., survey responses, clinical laboratory values, anthropometric measures) at any time they request.