Virtual Weight Management Shared Medical Visit

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Culinary medicine has emerged which provides the practical application of nutrition education through experiential learning. Studies have shown that patients with metabolic syndrome who underwent a series of classes that featured nutrition recommendations and cooking classes had weight loss, and improved cardiac health and blood sugar management. Given the increasing focus on providing remote experiences to minimize contact and risk of infection with Sars-COV2, this pilot study at Boston Medical Center (BMC) will integrate a physician consultation, interactive didactic presentations, nutritious cooking and mind- body exercises. Patients with obesity and metabolic syndrome can attend a virtual shared medical visit series co-taught by a registered dietician and chef and an endocrinologist and weight management specialist. Data will be collected in the form of surveys, phone interviews, chart review, and home monitoring to test both the feasibility of running such an intervention virtually and to explore whether attending this one month program with weekly remote classes/visits improves vitals including weight and blood blood pressure and other small habit changes in patients.

Official Title
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A Virtual Weight Management Shared Medical Appointment: a Feasibility Study

Conditions
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Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Virtual shared medical visit
* Behavioral: Nutritional classes


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: English speaking BMI => 30 Must have documented measured blood pressure, weight, height in the 12 months prior to the intervention Enrolled in Boston Medical Center's (BMC's) Food Pantry Program Exclusion Criteria: Patients with advanced dementia or uncontrolled psychiatric disease Uncontrolled medical illness including severe hypertension, recent acute coronary syndrome, active malignancy or other condition that would make the subject unable to complete the study procedures

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 21 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Virtual shared teaching kitchen program<br>Participants will participate in virtual shared medical appointments that utilize the teaching kitchen | Behavioral: Virtual shared medical visit<br>* a shared medical visit done by zoom in a group, 1.5 hours<br>Behavioral: Nutritional classes<br>* A cooking class done by the teaching kitchen demonstrating cooking skills<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Recruitment rates | Recruitment rates will be calculated by taking the number of participants enrolled over the number eligible to participate in the program | 1 month | 
| Retention of participants | Attendance at each of the sessions will be documented to assess retention of participants. | 1 month | 
| Facilitators for program participation | An investigator created questionnaire will be used to collect information about facilitators for program participation | 1 month | 
| Barriers to program participation | An investigator created questionnaire will be used to collect information about barriers to program participation | 1 month | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in knowledge of healthy foods | An investigator created questionnaire will be used to collect information about knowledge of healthy foods | baseline, 1 month | 
| Change in nutritional food intake behaviours | An investigator created questionnaire will be used to collect information about nutritional food intake behaviours | baseline, 1 month | 
| Change in blood pressure | Participants will check blood pressure at home with home blood pressure cuff and record the systolic and diastolic results on home diary | baseline, 1 month | 
| Change in fasting blood glucose level | Participants diagnosed with diabetes will use a home glucometer to measure fasting blood glucose levels | baseline, 1 month | 
| Change in body mass index [BMI] | Participants will weigh themselves at home and record their weight in a study diary. The BMI will be calculated using the formula BMI= kg/m2 where kg is a person's weight in kilograms and m2 is a person's height in meters squared. | baseline, 1 month | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Culinary medicine, Teaching kitchens, Virtual shared medical appointments (SMA), Mind body exercises, Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)