TABLE 1.

Examples of research areas for advancing Food is Medicine

•Interventional, health quality, implementation, and behavioral science studies on the efficacy and healthcare economics of Food is Medicine services

•Use of existing data sets, common data elements, or metrics for meta-analyses and systematic reviews about Food is Medicine health and social outcomes

•The combination of Food is Medicine services with other healthcare services (e.g., navigation, community health workers, case management, etc.) to affect health outcomes

•Effects of Food is Medicine interventions on intervention communities, such as local agriculture

•Key strategies for community engagement and outreach, including local community input from people with lived experience or organizations that provide direct Food is Medicine or related services

•Training needs for healthcare providers (e.g., community health workers, registered dieticians, nutritionists, dentists, pharmacists, physicians, nursing practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and staff of federally and community-funded food and meal programs)

•Braiding of federal, healthcare, philanthropic, and other funding to support implementation and research of Food is Medicine programs

•Evaluation metrics to accurately measure the effects of Food is Medicine interventions

•Characteristics of individual and community preferences regarding Food is Medicine interventions

•Community engagement in a variety of settings to better understand and implement cultural preferences and overcome barriers

•Reimbursement and cost analyses to assess the evidences and outcomes of effective strategies