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Implementing a Produce Prescription Program at Three Federally Qualified Health Centers to Help Patients Manage their Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Qualitative Assessment of Clinic Staff Experiences
Ayala, V.; Caldwell, J.I.; Darwish-Elsherbiny, F.; Shah, D.; Kuo, T. Implementing a Produce Prescription Program at Three Federally Qualified Health Centers to Help Patients Manage Their Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Qualitative Assessment of Clinic Staff Experiences in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Diabetology2023, 4, 282-293.
Ayala, V.; Caldwell, J.I.; Darwish-Elsherbiny, F.; Shah, D.; Kuo, T. Implementing a Produce Prescription Program at Three Federally Qualified Health Centers to Help Patients Manage Their Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Qualitative Assessment of Clinic Staff Experiences in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Diabetology 2023, 4, 282-293.
Ayala, V.; Caldwell, J.I.; Darwish-Elsherbiny, F.; Shah, D.; Kuo, T. Implementing a Produce Prescription Program at Three Federally Qualified Health Centers to Help Patients Manage Their Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Qualitative Assessment of Clinic Staff Experiences in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Diabetology2023, 4, 282-293.
Ayala, V.; Caldwell, J.I.; Darwish-Elsherbiny, F.; Shah, D.; Kuo, T. Implementing a Produce Prescription Program at Three Federally Qualified Health Centers to Help Patients Manage Their Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Qualitative Assessment of Clinic Staff Experiences in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Diabetology 2023, 4, 282-293.
Abstract
Through a partnership with three Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), the local health department in Los Angeles County implemented a produce prescription program (PPR) to increase fresh fruit and vegetable purchases among patients with diabetes or prediabetes. The PPR, which began in 2020, provided eligible patients with a $40 voucher every month for 6 months to promote the purchase of fresh produce at large chain grocery stores. This qualitative assessment describes staff experiences with the PPR, documenting the facilitators and barriers they encountered while implementing the program. Fifteen clinic staff (i.e., PPR implementers) were interviewed for this assessment. Thematic analysis and coding were conducted using the ATLAS.ti software; the coding was carried out by two separate coders. Interviewees discussed the importance of having preexisting partnerships and programs to support the PPR at their clinic site. Hidden costs related to implementing the program included a large and unexpected amount of staff time devoted to enrolling patients into the program. Collecting quality data and having limited expertise to rigorously evaluate the program were other challenges. Because patients often share their food with their family, the monthly $40 incentive was generally not enough to support their needs; interviewees suggested giving a higher inventive amount to those with a larger household. Future PPR efforts and similar food incentive programs should consider these and other facilitators and barriers to implementation and sustainability, especially when making adjustments to these programs to improve services and access to food resources.
Keywords
Produce prescription program; program implementation; food as medicine; fruit and vegetable consumption; healthcare setting; public health; diabetes; prediabetes.
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
