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Community and Public Health Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P20-008-24) Partnering With Vegan Restaurants to Deliver Nutrition Programs: Adapting Through Recruitment Setbacks

Monday, July 1, 2024
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM CT
Location: Poster Board 504
Disclosure(s):
John Bernhart, PhD, MPH, CHES: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Vegan restaurants are potential partners in health education. Previously, the two-year Nutritious Eating with Soul (NEW Soul) study was tested in a shortened, virtual, 3-month trial in a partnership with one vegan soul food restaurant. The current study uses the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and describes restaurant recruitment (i.e., CFIR inner setting) for dissemination and implementation of the 3-month NEW Soul study.

Methods: In 2022, 2 restaurants were recruited to deliver the program; 3 cohorts per restaurant. First, the team discussed known restaurants and conducted searches online for African American owned vegan restaurants in SC, NC, and GA. Second, the team used restaurant websites, social media, and online reviews to prioritize restaurants to contact. Third, prioritized restaurants were contacted via email and phone call to gauge interest. Fourth, the restaurants were visited in-person to taste food items and meet with owners to review expectations and confirm intention to join the study.

Results: Seventeen restaurants were identified; 4 in SC, 7 in NC, and 6 in GA. One restaurant in SC and one in NC agreed to partner with the study. In 2023, with recruitment nearly complete and implementation plans ready for the first cohort, the SC restaurant partner could no longer participate. With participants already recruited, another African American owned catering business agreed to host the program. During this time, the owners of the NC restaurant were contacted. The owners informed the study team their restaurant closed permanently. Therefore, a GA restaurant from the list of 17 identified previously was contacted, visited, and confirmed to join the study.

Conclusions: The first two cohorts have met recruitment goals (n=38 per cohort, currently at N=91) and were successfully implemented. Partnering with restaurants can present hurdles in disseminating and implementing community-based programs. Community-centered implementation requires flexibility to handle changes. Future researchers may wish to over-recruit restaurants to account for unexpected changes.

Funding Sources: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute