Feasibility of Broadly Inclusive Culinary Medicine Shared Medical Visits: Pairing Culinary Instruction with Tailored Medical Advice

Abstract

An unhealthful diet is a leading risk factor for death and chronic disease globally. Culinary medicine interventions build cooking confidence and improve nutrition related behavior and are aimed to lessen the burden of chronic disease. This article describes the implementation and feasibility of a broadly inclusive hands-on culinary medicine shared medical appointment program for patients with chronic disease at a university outpatient clinic utilizing standard billing practices.

Methods: The authors developed and implemented a hands-on culinary medicine program to teach culinary skills to patients through a series of three shared medical appointments. Adult patients were eligible to participate if they had at least one chronic medical condition influenced by dietary intervention. Appointments included hands-on food preparation experiences for each patient, nutrition education, tailored chronic disease medical care, mindful eating practices, and goal setting targeting long-term behavior change. Primary outcomes included attendance rates and program costs.

Results: From March 2022 to July 2023, 109 patients participated in at least one appointment in the program and 66 (60.6%) patients completed the program. Patients attended an average of 2.5 (SD = 0.7) appointments and there was a total of 268 patient encounters. The most prevalent chronic disease among participants was obesity affecting 66 patients. The average cost for food was $57 per session equaling less than $5 per serving.

Conclusions: Culinary medicine taught through shared medical appointments is feasible in an outpatient setting with low start-up costs and with broad inclusion criteria and offers practical guidance to improve dietary behaviors for patients with chronic disease.