Findings from Wake Forest University School of Medicine Broadens Understanding of Managed Care (Impacts of a Produce Prescription Program on Food Security, Diet Quality, and Psychosocial Health of Adults with Medicaid and Chronic Health …): Managed Care

2026 APR 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Education Daily Report -- Investigators publish new report on Managed Care. According to news reporting out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Food insecurity (FI) is a driver of chronic disease. Produce prescription (PRx) interventions pair access to produce with education, but evidence among Medicaid-insured adults remains limited.”

Funders for this research include National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Bureau of Health Workforce, Wake Forest University.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, “Evaluate the impact of PRx on FI, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and psychosocial and clinical outcomes among adults with chronic conditions. Prospective, non-randomized cohort study with a matched comparison group. A total of 125 Medicaid-insured, food-insecure adults with chronic metabolic conditions were enrolled in the intervention cohort and 92 matched to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-only cohort. Weekly home-delivered produce, registered dietitian-led coaching, and education over 12 months. FI (USDA 10-item Food Security Survey Module), FV intake (National Cancer Institute screener), depression (PHQ-9), loneliness (UCLA 3-item), fatigue (FACIT-F), healthcare utilization and costs, and blood pressure (BP). For the comparison cohort, some measures were obtained for 6 months of follow-up. At 6 months, based on between-group differences, PRx was associated with greater improvements in FV intake (difference in change: + 0.3 vs. + 0.03 cups/day, p = 0.002) and greater reductions in loneliness (difference in change: -0.6 points, p = 0.022). Between-group differences for FI (-8.2 percentage points, p = 0.26) and moderate-to-severe depression (-10.8 percentage points, p = 0.07) favored PRx but were not statistically significant. At 12 months, no significant between-group differences in healthcare utilization and costs were observed. Among the 105 (84%) intervention participants who completed 12-month follow-up, between the pre- and post-intervention periods, FI declined by 17.1% (p = 0.003), FV intake increased by 0.4 cups/day (p < 0.001), fatigue improved by 3.1 points (p = 0.019), and among participants with elevated baseline BP (n = 73), systolic BP decreased by 8.6 mmHg (p = 0.003). In this study, PRx was associated with improved diet quality and loneliness compared with a SNAP-only comparison.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Within-group analyses demonstrated improvements across dietary, psychosocial, and BP outcomes, supporting further evaluation using randomized or comparative designs.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Impacts of a Produce Prescription Program on Food Security, Diet Quality, and Psychosocial Health of Adults with Medicaid and Chronic Health Conditions: A 12-Month Longitudinal Evaluation. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2026. Journal of General Internal Medicine can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Journal of General Internal Medicine - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1525-1497)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Rachel Zimmer, Dept. of Implementation Science, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, United States. Additional authors for this research include Lindsey Abdelfattah, Diane Shenberger, Charlotte Crotts, Sarah Birken and Amresh Hanchate.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-026-10390-x. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of General Internal Medicine is: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

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