Date of Graduation
Fall 12-13-2024
Document Access
Project/Capstone - Global access
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
College/School
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Program
MSN project
First Advisor
Dr. Robert Patterson
Abstract
Diet and lifestyle changes have been proven to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension, and a key dietary approach aligned with this recommendation is the DASH diet, which includes consuming fruits and vegetables. Food insecurity, defined as lacking enough safe, nutritious food to maintain an active and healthy life, is a growing crisis in the United States, affecting 13.5% of U.S. households in 2023. This is especially significant for those whose chronic disease management depends on the accessibility of healthy food. An urban community clinic implemented a Food Security Program to decrease food insecurity and reduce hypertension among their adult medicine patient population. However, enrollment numbers did not meet the requirement to maintain funding from the local charitable foundation that sponsored the program. This QI project aimed to increase the percentage of eligible adult medicine clinic patients enrolled in the Food Security Program by 25% to 11 per month, based on the mean enrollment for the program's first four months of nine patients, from May 2024 to August 2024. The primary intervention was a comprehensive educational flyer about the Food Security Program to be distributed to patients upon rooming and before conducting the food insecurity screening. Upon completion of the two-week intervention period, enrollments had increased by 220% to 11 enrollments bimonthly, and four out of the 50 flyers were given to patients. The data demonstrated that the intervention was not the cause of the increase in enrollments. However, several factors that negatively and positively contribute to the Food Security Program enrollments were discovered during various stages of the QI project, suggesting that future QI projects may achieve sustainable change by utilizing this study.
Recommended Citation
Villalta, Christine S., "Improving Food Security to Decrease Hypertension at an Urban Community Clinic" (2024). Master's Projects and Capstones. 1827.
https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/1827
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Human and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Medical Nutrition Commons, Other Nursing Commons, Other Nutrition Commons, Other Public Health Commons, Preventive Medicine Commons, Primary Care Commons, Public Health and Community Nursing Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons
