Study on Providing Food Assistance to Improve Nutrition and Outcomes for Patients Undergoing Transplant and Cellular Therapy

What this Trial Is About

Food insecurity, meaning not having consistent access to enough food due to limited resources, affects many American households and is worse among patients with serious medical conditions. This research aims to find out if giving patients bags of food during clinic visits can improve nutrition, lower costs, and lead to better outcomes for patients undergoing transplant and cellular therapy for blood cancers. The study focuses on patients who often move away from home and are at high risk for nutrition problems and other complications. Participants are randomly assigned to two groups one receives standard information about local food banks, and the other is given bags of shelf-stable food during clinic visits twice a week, along with educational materials like recipes and videos. This approach delivers food directly in the healthcare setting to reduce barriers such as extra trips and stigma. The study will run from 2025 to 2029 and compares these approaches to see if they improve patient health and reduce costs. During the study, patients will be monitored closely with assessments through day 100 and up to one year, including nutrition status, infections, graft-versus-host disease, relapse, survival, quality of life, financial stress, physical and mental function, dietary habits, social factors, and frailty. The research team will collect data from patient reports, clinical evaluations, and questionnaires to understand the impact of providing food assistance in this setting and support lasting healthcare-community partnerships.

Nutrition OUtReach In Systems of Healthcare