(P24-035-23) Formative Intervention Using Community-Based Participatory Research Methods for Medically-Tailored Food Kits for Hispanic/Latinx Patients With Hypertension

Objectives: Strategies for managing hypertension (HTN) do not consider barriers, including low SES and or availability of nutrient-dense foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables (F/V). Individuals may lack culturally relevant recipes or confidence when familiarity of accessible F/V is low. A gap in the literature exists regarding acceptability of nutrition interventions for Hispanic/Latinx communities. The primary aim of this project is to determine culturally-appropriate F/V that meet the DASH diet recommendations through a medically-tailored food kit for immigrant Hispanic/Latinx individuals with HTN.

Methods: Utilizing community-based participatory research, conceptualization of F/V for a culturally-appropriate, medically-tailored food kit was conducted via interviews and surveys collecting socio demographics and F/V preferences from community health clinic patients self-identifying as Hispanic/Latinx to inform the formative intervention via development of food kits. This intervention utilized 15 individual interviews to gather feedback and input on the acceptability of the contents in the food kits. Themes were assessed via Framework Matrix Analysis and consensus building resulted in thematic outputs.

Results: Four main themes emerged from interviewing 12 women and 3 men of a mean age of 54.8±8.8. Food insecurity was reported in 50% of the sample. Our results show participants prefer all fresh F/V (83% said no canned or frozen), use staple items (rice, beans, onions) to compliment F/V, experience barriers to accessing or using F/V such as time (n=5), financial (n=9), and transportation (n=4) constraints. Varying degrees of health literacy were present; knowledge of cooking/preparation of F/V was high, however, portion sizes of F/V and quantities recommended for health were unclear. All participants indicated the food kit curated with all high-preference F/V from the conceptualization is appropriate for their culture.

Conclusions: More attention should be paid to the voices of communities to develop culturally-appropriate nutrition interventions that meet dietary recommendations for Hispanic/Latinx individuals facing high rates of chronic diseases and food insecurity to effectively manage HTN through a DASH diet.

Funding Sources: Funded by St. Catherine University's GHR grant & the University of Minnesota-C2DREAM Young Investigator Grant