FIM+DASH: A randomized Food Is Medicine trial to promote healthy eating and blood pressure control in hypertensive Black women with obesity - Hypertension and obesity are both major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of death in the United States (US). Obesity and hypertension can be prevented or controlled with diet, as evidenced in the DASH and ENCORE trials. However, a lack of community access to affordable, healthy foods contributes to poor diet quality. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play a significant role in healthcare delivery for those with hypertension and obesity, and are the bedrock of primary care in medically underserved communities where low access to healthy foods and high levels of chronic disease coexist. FQHCs can enhance access to healthy foods through strong, sustainable relationships between clinics and community-based organizations (CBOs) that are focused on tackling local food needs. The FIM+DASH intervention seeks to leverage FQHCs and CBOs to provide cooking classes, nutrition and HTN education, and home food delivery for adults with obesity and hypertension.1 This research will examine the effectiveness of a 12-week Food is Medicine intervention for individuals who have hypertension and obesity to promote healthy eating and blood pressure control, followed by a 12-week maintenance period. We will conduct the intervention in four urban communities near the University of Illinois FQHCs with well-documented obstacles to accessing healthy foods. We will1) Quantify the effect of the FIM+DASH intervention vs. usual care on blood pressure among individuals attending one of our FQHCs; 2) Evaluate the effect of FIM+DASH vs. usual care intervention on DASH diet adherence(diet quality), body weight and waist circumference, and 3) Identify factors associated with sustainability and scalability guided by the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance). If effective, FIM+DASH could serve as a model for a sustainable intervention that can be adopted by FQHCs to reduce HTN-related morbidity and mortality among high-risk communities in the US.
