Evaluating the impact of nutritious food
access on health outcomes and supporting social
health
OAKLAND,
Calif., Oct. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser
Permanente, the nation's largest integrated, nonprofit health care
provider, and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery
technology company in North
America, have announced a collaboration to study the impact
of convenient access to nutritious food on health outcomes. The
study will target Kaiser Permanente Northern California and
Southern California Medi-Cal members who have diet-related diseases
— such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, and other
conditions.
This work is part of Kaiser Permanente's comprehensive approach
to improving the health of its members and patients by addressing
the social health needs — such as secure housing, reliable
transportation, and access to nutritious food — that contribute to
overall well-being. In 2022, Kaiser Permanente connected more than
170,000 of its members with community-based resources to meet their
social needs, and is on track to serve 400,000 members in 2023.
Lack of proper nutrition is the number one driver of poor health
outcomes in the U.S., contributing to higher rates of diet-related
diseases. Barriers to food and nutrition access are not experienced
equally, with low-income and rural communities, and historically
marginalized racial and ethnic groups being most impacted by food
and nutrition insecurity.
Kaiser Permanente will provide participants with Instacart
Health Fresh Funds, grocery stipends that can be used to purchase
nutritious foods and pantry staples like fresh and frozen produce,
legumes, plant-based oils, and spices, from a curated virtual
storefront. Participants will have items delivered to their homes
via Instacart.
This is Kaiser Permanente's latest addition to its Food Is
Medicine portfolio, that includes building the evidence base for
food-based interventions to treat and prevent diet-related disease.
These efforts include support for medically tailored meals and
produce prescriptions, targeted to meet specific nutrition
needs.
The study will measure the effects of providing funds to
purchase nutritious groceries for Medi-Cal patients with
diet-related diseases. It will measure blood sugar levels as
compared to the usual standard of care, reported food and nutrition
security, diet-related disease quality of life, patient readiness
to change, and hospitalization or emergency department visits. The
results will provide further evidence on the impact of Food Is
Medicine on health and the health care industry.
The expansion of 1115 Medicaid waivers in states across the U.S.
provides an additional avenue to scale creative, effective health
interventions such as Food Is Medicine programs, and this research
will contribute to understanding innovative, scalable ways to
improve diet-related health of the most vulnerable populations.
"At Kaiser Permanente, we know that without access to nutritious
food, individuals are less likely to stay healthy, increasing the
likelihood of new and widening health disparities and health care
costs," said Anand Shah, MD, vice
president of social health at Kaiser Permanente. "This innovative
study is one of the many avenues that we're pursuing to improve the
health of our members and communities with diet-related
diseases."
In 2022, Kaiser Permanente joined national leaders in food and
nutrition at the historic White House Conference on Hunger,
Nutrition, and Health to discuss strategies to address the nation's
food and diet-related challenges. Coinciding with the event, Kaiser
Permanente announced a $50 million
Food Is Medicine commitment to strengthen food and nutrition
security programs while building evidence for the ways food can
treat and prevent certain health conditions. At the same time,
Instacart launched the company's Health initiative to leverage its
platform, partnerships, and products to increase nutrition
security, enable nutritious choices, and scale food as medicine
programs across the country.
"We're dedicated to addressing nutrition insecurity, and by
leveraging our technology, significant reach, and retail
partnerships, we can help families across the country get
nutritious foods delivered through Instacart," said Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president and general
manager of Instacart Health. "We know access can lead to better
health outcomes, and we're proud to partner with Kaiser Permanente
to demonstrate the positive impact that nutrition security and food
as medicine can have on a patient's overall health and
well-being."
"We know food and nutrition insecurity is felt by people in the
communities we serve, as well as for by millions of Americans
nationwide," said Pamela Schwartz,
MPH, executive director of food security at Kaiser Permanente.
"Identifying best practices to address these inequities is
essential to building healthier communities."
Instacart partners with more than 1,400 national, regional, and
local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery, and
pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart
Marketplace.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of
health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health
care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945,
Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable
health care services and to improve the health of our members and
the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.6 million members
in 8 states and the District of
Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their
total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group
physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and
caring medical teams are empowered and supported by
industry-leading technology advances and tools for health
promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and
world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is
dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education,
and the support of community health. For more information, go to
about.kp.org
For more information, contact:
Hilary Costa,
hilary.c.costa@kp.org
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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente