Lessons From a Community-Designed Meal Program for Heart Failure

The ambitious new trial by Eberly et al reports positive changes in health care utilization and clinical outcomes among patients with heart failure (HF) in Navajo Nation receiving a medically tailored meal program. Three months after starting an 8-week treatment that provided 2 meals per day prepared with Indigenous foods, the proportion of patients with any all-cause hospitalization or emergency department visit was significantly lower among those in the treatment arm compared with controls (40.6% vs 57.0%), with a 71% reduction in HF-specific hospitalizations. Beneficial changes in secondary outcomes included improvements in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire scores, food security, dietary intake, financial strain, weight, and blood pressure.