Clinical trial NCT06852885: Evaluation of a Rwanda Hospital Feeding Program on Nutrition, Recovery, Costs of Care and Health Related Quality of Life
Official title: Evaluation of a Food Access Program on Inpatient Nutrition, Recovery, Cost of Care, and Health Related Quality of Life in Selected Public Hospitals in Rwanda
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Nutrition
Keywords: Nutrition
hospitals, public
malnutrition
sub-Saharan Africa
food intake
Lead sponsor: Solid'Africa
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-28
Enrollment: 794
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 5
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: The purpose of this interventional study was to evaluate outcomes for Solid'Africa's Gemura feeding program in four selected public hospitals comparing results between patients receiving and patients not receiving the feeding program. The study measured the effects of the program on patients nutritional status, recovery during hospitalization, patient health related-quality of life, patient satisfaction, and patient costs of care. Participants were asked: (1) to eat meals provided three times a day if they were in the intervention group; (2) to participate in an intake and discharge survey; and (3) to participate in a daily food intake survey.

Detailed description: A multi-center, quasi-experimental study using difference-in-differences controlled comparison to test the outcomes of Solid'Africa's Gemura feeding intervention in four selected public hospitals (two in intervention group and other two in control group) from urban and peri-urban areas targeting socioeconomically vulnerable inpatients. This study has a primary outcome which is nutritional status as measured by body mass index (BMI), and secondary outcomes which include recovery during hospitalization, patient health-related quality of life (HRQOL), patient satisfaction, and patient costs of care.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Hospital inpatients
* Vulnerable socioeconomic status according to social worker assessment
* Most inpatient categories
* Voluntary, self-feeding ability
* Able to stand on scale, with help if needed

Exclusion Criteria:

* Hospital outpatients
* Patients not determined socioeconomically vulnerable by social worker
* Pregnant women hospitalized for delivery
* Patients undergoing special treatment for malnutrition
* Patients receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition treatment
* Patients receiving any kind of artificial feeding support
* Patients unable to stand on scale to measure weight

Primary outcomes:
measure: Nutritional status
timeFrame: Baseline and final day of patient stay, on average day 5
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Length of Stay
timeFrame: Baseline and final day of patient stay, on average day 5
measure: Treatment outcome
timeFrame: Final day of patient stay, on average day 5
measure: Costs of treatment
timeFrame: Final day of patient stay, on average day 5
measure: Patient satisfaction
timeFrame: Final day of patient stay, on average day 5
measure: Health-related quality of life
timeFrame: Final day of patient stay, on average day 5
Other outcomes:
measure: Food intake
timeFrame: Daily until final day of patient stay, about every 24 hours for 5 days on average
Locations:
city: Butare
country: Rwanda
facility: Centre Hopitalier Universitaire de Butare
city: Kigali
country: Rwanda
facility: Centre Hopitalier Universitaire de Kigali
city: Kigali
country: Rwanda
facility: Masaka Hospital
city: Nyamata
country: Rwanda
facility: Nyamata Hospital
Study officials:
name: Stefanie Weiland, MSc MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: