Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

Department

Medicine

First Advisor

Benjamin Doolittle

Second Advisor

Jeffrey R. Gruen

Abstract

Culinary medicine is a growing field dedicated to combining culinary skills and evidenced-based practices to promote health. While it has proven to be efficacious in improving biometrics for chronic diseases in adults, potential remains for its application in pediatric populations. This pilot study creates and evaluates a one-time community-based culinary medicine intervention for a mixed-age pediatric group. The intervention included a didactic lecture and five interactive stations for 20 research participants and 22 non-research participants at a community site. The intervention was evaluated for knowledge, attitudinal, and behavioral impact using pre-post surveys. Given the importance of food access in the well-being of children, an assessment of food access was also performed. Using the Hunger Vital Sign (HVS), 71.4 % of children met criteria for food insecurity (n = 14), and 78.6% had caregivers who reported utilizing assistance for food and finances including Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, free/reduced school meals, and food pantries. Paired t-test analyses found a statistically significant increase in knowledge (15%, p = 0.026) and attitudes (5%, p = 0.032) in comparing pre-post survey data, but not a statistically significant behavioral change. The preliminary success of this intervention suggests that a family-centered, community-based culinary medicine intervention has the potential to impact nutritional knowledge and attitudes for children and families, especially in populations with particularly vulnerable children experiencing limited access to food.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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