Diet Quality Pilot Intervention in LA Safety Net

NCT07792564 | Recruiting

• 3 other identifiers: IRB-25-0966UL1TR001881P50MD017366
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a culturally tailored nutrition education intervention designed to improve diet quality and reduce nutrition-related cardiometabolic disease risk among low-income adults participating in the Los Angeles County Food Rx Fresh Produce Distribution Program. Participants are adults aged 18 years and older who experience food insecurity and receive services through Food Rx produce distribution sites. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does participation in the Diet Quality Matters intervention reduce food neophobia (reluctance to try unfamiliar foods)? Does participation improve overall dietary quality as measured by validated diet quality assessment tools? Does participation improve food resource management skills, nutrition-related self-efficacy, and food security? Does participation lead to improvements in cardiometabolic risk indicators, including body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure? Is the intervention acceptable, feasible, and culturally relevant to participants and program staff? Participants will: Complete baseline surveys assessing food neophobia, diet quality, food security, food resource management skills, and self-efficacy. Attend three monthly nutrition education sessions that include: Guided group motivational interviewing discussions. Live culturally tailored cooking demonstrations. Taste-testing of featured foods. Group discussions about adapting recipes to participants' cultural and household preferences. Undergo height, weight, and blood pressure measurements. Complete follow-up surveys approximately 3 months after the final intervention session. Participate in optional feedback interviews regarding their experiences with the program.

Conditions

NON APPLICABLE

Keywords

diet quality; nutrition; community-based research

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in Diet Quality - GDQQ GDR Score

  Change in overall diet quality as measured by the Global Dietary Quality Questionnaire (GDQQ)-Global Dietary Recommendations (GDR) Score. Range 0-18 with higher score indicating better diet quality. Calculated by GDR Score = NCD-Protect Score - NCD-Limit socre + 9

  Assessed at baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session

• Change in Diet Quality - MDS

  Change in overall diet quality as measured by the PREDIMED Mediterranean Diet Score. Range 0-9 with higher score indicating increased adherence to mediterranean diet.

  Assessed at baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session

• Change in NCD-Protect Score

  Change in consumption of food groups associated with protection against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be assessed using the NCD-Protect score derived from the Global Diet Quality Questionnaire (GDQQ). The score reflects consumption of health-promoting food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and other recommended foods represented in the GDQQ. Higher scores indicate greater consumption of NCD-protective foods and a more favorable dietary pattern with a range 0-9

  Assessed at baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session

• Change in NCD-Limit Score

  Change in consumption of food groups recommended for limitation for prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be assessed using the NCD-Limit score derived from the Global Diet Quality Questionnaire (GDQQ). The score reflects consumption of foods that dietary recommendations advise limiting, such as highly processed foods and foods high in added sugars, sodium, or unhealthy fats, as represented in the GDQQ. Lower scores indicate lower consumption of foods recommended for limitation and a more favorable dietary pattern with a range 0-9.

  Assessed at baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session

• Change in Food Neophobia

  Change in willingness to try new or unfamiliar foods as measured by the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). The Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) is a 10-item questionnaire to measure an individual's reluctance to eat unfamiliar or novel foods. It uses a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree), yielding total scores from 10 to 70, where higher scores show greater food neophobia

  Assessed at baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session.

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in Cardiometabolic Risk Indicators - BMI

  Baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session.

• Change in Cardiometabolic Risk Indicators - Grip Strength

  Baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session.

• Change in Cardiometabolic Risk Indicators - Systolic BP

  Baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session.

• Change in Cardiometabolic Risk Indicators - Diastolic BP

  Baseline, prior to study intervention, and again 30 days post last intervention session.

• Change in Food Security

  Baseline to 30 days post last intervention session.

Other Outcomes (4)

• Participant-Reported Acceptability of the Diet Quality Matters Intervention

  Assessed one time at the 30 day post-intervention follow-up assessment

• Participant-Reported Usefulness of the Diet Quality Matters Intervention

  Assessed one time at the 30 day post-intervention follow-up assessment

• Participant-Reported Cultural Relevance of the Intervention

  Assessed one time at the 30 day post-intervention follow-up assessment

Study Arms (1)

Single Arm Intervnetion

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a culturally tailored nutrition education intervention consisting of three monthly group sessions that include motivational interviewing, live cooking demonstrations, food tasting, and culturally adapted dietary discussions designed to improve diet quality and reduce nutrition-related cardiometabolic disease risk among Food Rx participants. Sessions are delivered during Food Rx produce distribution events over a 3-month period, followed by a 30 day follow-up assessment period.

Behavioral: Diet Quality Matters (DQM) Nutrition Education and Culinary Skills Program

Interventions

Diet Quality Matters (DQM) Nutrition Education and Culinary Skills Program BEHAVIORAL

Diet Quality Matters (DQM) is a culturally tailored behavioral nutrition education intervention designed to improve diet quality and reduce cardiometabolic disease risk among food-insecure adults participating in the Los Angeles County Food Rx Program. Adapted from the evidence-based Cooking Matters curriculum, DQM combines motivational interviewing, nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, taste testing, and culturally relevant group discussions to increase consumption of diverse minimally processed plant foods and reduce food neophobia. Participants attend three monthly in-person group sessions, each lasting approximately 60 minutes and delivered during Food Rx produce distribution events. Sessions include guided motivational interviewing (15 minutes), a live recipe demonstration and taste testing (30 minutes), and a discussion on adapting healthy eating practices to participants' cultural and household preferences (15 minutes).

Single Arm Intervnetion

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults aged 18 years or older.
• Current participant or recipient of services from a Food Rx produce distribution program.
• Able to provide informed consent.
• Able to communicate in English or Spanish.
• Willing and able to attend the nutrition education and recipe demonstration sessions.
• Previously agreed to be contacted for future research participation or recruited through approved community outreach activities.

You may not qualify if:

• Younger than 18 years of age.
• Pregnant.
• Unable to provide informed consent due to severe cognitive impairment or other conditions that would prevent meaningful participation in study activities.
• Unable to communicate in English or Spanish.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles: lead
• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD): collaborator
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Public Health

Los Angeles, California, 90059, United States

RECRUITING

Curtis R. Tucker Health Center

Los Angeles, California, 90301, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Nutrition Assessment

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Data Collection; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Epidemiologic Measurements; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Central Study Contacts

Frederick Ferguson, MD, MS

CONTACT

336-686-2355; fferguson@mednet.ucla.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor Family Medicine

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 24, 2026
• First Posted: August 28, 2026
• Study Start: May 21, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Last Updated: August 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

US (2)