The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if an intervention to provide food support to families who are part of government or self-pay insurances will provide benefits. The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Determine the effect of implementing an in-hospital food support intervention for low-income parents on reutilization and family-centered outcomes. * Among families with baseline food insecurity, determine the effectiveness of a post-discharge food support intervention and as-needed social work referral on reutilization and family-centered outcomes.
Researchers will compare the in-hospital food support intervention and will be rolled out to sequential hospital units. In addition, the post-discharge food support intervention will be compared to standard discharge.
Some participants will:
* Receive in-hospital meal cards or standard care during hospitalization * Receive post-discharge food support intervention or standard discharge * Complete a 14-day post discharge follow-up survey
Patients must be currently admitted to a hospital unit where the study is active
All families of patients less than 21 years of age with Medicaid insurance or uninsured will be eligible
Patients admitted for end-of-life care, patients who will be discharged to a location other than home, patients who live independently, and patients in county custody.
Factorial
In-hospital food support intervention
Other interventionThe in-hospital food support intervention will provide two meals for up to two parents per day.
Post-discharge food support intervention
Other interventionThe post-discharge intervention will provide families with grocery gift cards and frozen meals at the time of discharge.
30-day urgent reutilization
Validated measure of unplanned readmission/ED/urgent care use via electronic health record (EHR)
Hunger during hospitalization
USDA Six-Item Short Form of the Food Security Survey Module, adapted to measure hunger in hospital. Families with lower scores are less likely to experience food insecurity. The family's level of food insecurity increases with the score. * Raw score 0-1-High food security * Raw score 2-4-Low food security * Raw score 5-6-Very low food security
Post-discharge hunger and food insecurity
USDA Six-Item Short Form of the Food Security Survey Module. Families with lower scores are less likely to experience food insecurity. The family's level of food insecurity increases with the score. * Raw score 0-1-High food security * Raw score 2-4-Low food security * Raw score 5-6-Very low food security
30-day unplanned readmission
Validated measure of unplanned readmission
30-day Emergency department utilization
Emergency department utilization
Understanding of discharge instructions Confidence in care at home
Pediatric Transition Experience Measure (P-TEM)-Transition Preparation Domain
Return to normal routine
Family designed measure that assesses a family's return to normal routines
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Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
Lead sponsor
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Collaborator
