(P30-057-24) A Personalized Screen-and-Refer Approach for Community Health Workers to Address Food and Nutrition Security and Diet: The PAAND Study Protocol

Objectives: PAAND is a personalized screen-and-refer method for addressing food and nutrition security (FNS) by Community Health Workers (CHWs) in marginalized communities (Columbus, OH). Our goal is to increase FNS among individuals residing in low-income areas and improve health outcomes. Standard Care for addressing food insecurity (FI) by CHWs is to: screen for FI; evaluate one dimension of FI (accessibility); and refer clients to food/nutrition resources based on personal knowledge. We will develop and conduct a feasibility trial of PAAND which augments Standard Care by: screening for both food and nutrition security; administering a resource needs survey that collects data on all dimensions of FI (accessibility, availability, acceptability, adequacy, agency); and identify local resources via an electronic geo-mapping system.

Methods: The first phase involves designing the PAAND intervention. This will occur in collaboration with a group of diverse key stakeholders. The second phase involves testing the feasibility of PAAND. CHWs will conduct FNS screenings at local events. If an individual tests positive for FNS, they will complete the PAAND resource needs survey. Within 1-2 weeks, CHWs will contact clients and provide referrals and recommendations. We will then interview clients to learn their perceptions of PAAND and assess the perspectives of CHWs in the implementation of PAAND.

Results: We will perform 45 interviews with clients recruited from 3 community events, and 3-4 focus groups of 30 CHWs. Data collection will occur over an 8 month period. The client interview will focus on participant satisfaction with PAAND, follow through on referrals, perceived impact on FNS, and recommendations for improvement. The CHW focus groups will be dedicated to learning barriers and facilitators to intervention implementation. We will also track aspects of intervention functioning. Summary statistics will be calculated to describe the study sample (both Clients and CHWs) and assess feasibility outcomes. The analytic approach employed for the qualitative data will be directed content analysis.

Conclusions: PAAND enhances Standard Care through a personalized screen-and-refer method. We anticipate that this precision nutrition method will improve the diagnosis and ‘treatment’ of the growing public health problem of FI.

Funding Sources: The Ohio State University