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Aging and Chronic Disease (Poster Session)

(P18-050-24) Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing “Food is Medicine” for the Management of People Living With Type-2 Diabetes in Three Chinese Provinces: A Qualitative Study

Monday, July 1, 2024
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM CT
Location: Poster Board 452

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Yuze Xin, Graduate Student

    Master Candidate
    Harbin Medical University, School of Public Health
    Haerbin, China (People's Republic)

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SP

    Shuangjie Peng

    Harbin Medical University, School of Public Health, Heilongjiang, China (People's Republic)

  • XY

    Xuejun Yin

    Peking Union Medical College, School of Population Medicine and Public Health, China (People's Republic)

  • JS

    Jingxue Sun

    Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Endocrinology Department, China (People's Republic)

  • YW

    Yanmeizhi Wu

    Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Endocrinology Department, China (People's Republic)

  • KL

    Kristy K. Law, BNutrDiet, GDipIntlHealth (she/her/hers)

    PhD Student
    The George Institute for Global Health
    Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia

  • JW

    Jason H. Wu, PhD

    Program Head
    The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney
    Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

  • HQ

    Hong Qiao

    Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Endocrinology Department, China (People's Republic)

  • MT

    Maoyi Tian

    Harbin Medical University, School of Public Health, China (People's Republic)

Disclosure(s):
Yuze Xin, Graduate Student: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Kristy K. Law, BNutrDiet, GDipIntlHealth: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: To identify the barriers and facilitators to implementing “Food is Medicine” intervention for the management of people living with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) in three Chinese provinces.

Methods: This is a qualitative study conducted in three purposively selected provinces of China: Heilongjiang, Hubei and Ningxia, representing various socio-economic status and prevalence of T2DM. Adults with T2DM and their family members were invited to participate in the focus-group interviews, while personal in-depth interviews were carried out with endocrinologists, primary health care providers and clinical nutritionists. Behavior change wheel framework was used to inform interview guides and data analysis.

Results: There were a total of 97 interviewees (61.9% are females) participated in the study from May to November 2023, with an average age of 51.8 years (SD: 11.2). Participants were concerned about the prices of buying tailored meals. There were potential challenges to adhere to the tailored meals for a long period of time if the variety of the food is limited. In addition, the difficulties to deliver fresh food to remote areas and the lack of knowledge in healthy diet among the people living with T2DM and their family members were also identified as major barriers. In contrast, clinicians’ confidence in the effectiveness of tailored meals, the opportunities to collaborate with community canteens on producing tailored meals and the connivence to prepare food for diabetic patients were the main facilitators.

Conclusions: There are presently substantial barriers to implementing “Food is Medicine” to manage people living with T2DM, but there are also clear opportunities to co-develop “Food is Medicine” interventions together with patients and health care providers, and further to test its effectiveness and implementation outcomes.

Funding Sources: Harbin Medical University Leading Disciplinary Talent Program