A nutrition and lifestyle-focused shared medical appointment in a resource-challenged community setting: a mixed-methods study

Background In order to address disparities in preventable chronic diseases, we adapted a nutrition and lifestyle-focused shared medical appointment (SMA) program to be delivered in an underserved community setting. The objective was to evaluate a community-based nutrition and lifestyle-focused SMA as it relates to acceptability and health and behavior-related outcomes. Methods A mixed-methods study was performed to evaluate pre-post changes in wellness indices, biometrics, self-efficacy, and trust in medical researchers as part of a community-based SMA. To understand program acceptability including barriers and facilitators for implementation and scalability, we conducted two participant focus groups and five stakeholder interviews and used content analysis to determine major themes. Results Fifteen participants attended 10 weekly sessions. The majority were older adult, African American women. There were pre-post improvements in mean [SD] systolic (-10.5 [7.7] mmHg, p = 0.0001) and diastolic (-4.7 [6.7] mmHg, p = 0.17) blood pressures and weight (-5.7 [6.3] pounds, p = 0.003) at 3 months though these were not significant at 6 months. More individuals reported improvements in health status, daily fruit and vegetable intake, and sleep than at baseline. There were no significant pre-post changes in other wellness indices, self-efficacy, trust in medical researchers, hemoglobin A1c, insulin, or LDL cholesterol. Participants discussed positive health changes as a result of the SMA program, program preferences, and facilitators and barriers to continuing program recommendations in focus groups. SMA implementation was facilitated by clinical staff who adjusted content to a low health literacy group and partnership with a trusted community partner. Sustainability barriers include heavy personnel time and in-kind resources to deliver the program. Conclusions Nutrition and lifestyle-focused SMAs in a resource-challenged community setting may be an acceptable intervention for underserved patients.