Diet, Eating, and Lifestyle Improvement for Valued Employees and Their Relatives

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Food is widely understood as a cornerstone of health, however multiple barriers stand between well-intentioned, well-informed consumers and the adoption of healthier dietary practices. This mixed-methods randomized controlled trial (RCT) will measure the impact of offering a Community Sustained Agriculture (CSA) share as an employee benefit on household food environments (diets), eating behaviors, and lifestyles.

Detailed Description
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Aim: We will test a strategy to increase frequency of cooking meals at home and consumption of healthful, fresh foods by providing study participants with a CSA membership. Study design: This is a mixed method randomized controlled trial, with survey, home-food audit, and interview components. Hypothesis: The intervention group who received a CSA membership as an employee benefit will prepare more meals at home and consume more healthful, fresh foods compared to the control group (no CSA participation). Using both qualitative and quantitative assessments, outcomes will be measured using 3 primary measures: Home food audits at baseline and at week 8 of the intervention. A random selection of participants will have home-food audits completed by members of the research team - those not randomly selected will complete the home-food audit themselves. Self-administered surveys, including food frequency questionnaires, at baseline, week 8, and week 16. Randomly selected participants will be asked to participate in qualitative interviews at the close of the 16-week intervention period.

Official Title
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DEAL Trial: Diet, Eating, and Lifestyle Improvement for Valued Employees and Their Relatives

Conditions
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Diet Habit, Obesity, Food Habits

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: CSA membership


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Individuals who are non-faculty employees at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Pennsylvania Health System. Individuals who score below the median (50th percentile) on dinners prepared at home on screening survey. Exclusion Criteria: Individuals who are under the age of 18. Individuals who are already have a CSA membership.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention (CSA membership)<br>Employees will gain CSA membership - they will receive bi-weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables to a central location near their place of employment. | Other: CSA membership<br>* Bi-weekly fresh food delivery<br>|
| No Intervention: Control (no CSA membership)<br>Usual care, usual employee benefits. Employees do not gain CSA membership. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Quantity of meals prepared and consumed at home. |  | 16 Weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self-reported satisfaction with employee benefits |  | 16 Weeks | 
| Time spent planning meals |  | 16 Weeks | 
| Time spent preparing meals |  | 16 Weeks | 
| Perceived stress regarding food shopping, meal planning, and meal preparation | Perceived stress regarding food shopping, meal planning, and meal preparation, assessed during follow-up qualitative interviews | 16 Weeks | 
| Perceived stress regarding food shopping, meal planning, and meal preparation | Perceived stress regarding food shopping, meal planning, and meal preparation, measured comparing baseline and follow-up surveys using likert scale questions | 16 Weeks | 
| Knowledge and self-efficacy regarding healthy food preparation | Knowledge and self-efficacy regarding healthy food preparation, assessed during follow-up qualitative interviews | 16 Weeks | 
| Knowledge and self-efficacy regarding healthy food preparation | Knowledge and self-efficacy regarding healthy food preparation, measured comparing baseline and follow-up surveys using likert scale questions | 16 Weeks |