Food for cancer health: the impact of a culturally tailored food voucher intervention on food insecurity and quality of life among Latino/a/e/x patients with cancer.

PURPOSE: Food assistance interventions that are culturally tailored, minimize stigma, and promote self-efficacy are needed to promote uptake among low-income, racial, and ethnic minoritized people with cancer. We developed a culturally tailored food voucher intervention and tested its associations with food insecurity (primary outcome) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), financial toxicity, and cancer treatment adherence (exploratory outcomes). METHODS: Between July 2023 and August 2023, we recruited low-income, racial, and ethnic minoritized adults > 18 years of age with cancer receiving treatment who screened positive for food insecurity using the 2-item Hunger Vital Sign in a community oncology clinic. All consented participants received $40 monthly gift cards redeemable at preferred, local retailers for 6 months along with usual care comprised of trained community health workers who screened for and assisted with addressing health-related social needs. We conducted validated surveys at baseline (time of enrollment) and 6-month follow-up (post-intervention) to assess patient-reported outcomes and assessed adherence to cancer treatment through chart review. We compared pre- and post-intervention food insecurity using McNemar's tests and mean HRQOL and financial toxicity using paired t-tests. RESULT: Of 30 people eligible, all (100%) participated; 27 (90%) identified as Latino/a/e/x; 24 (80%) spoke Spanish as their preferred language; and 16 (53%) had stage 3 or 4 cancer. At 6-month follow-up, as compared to baseline, food insecurity decreased from 100% to 16.7% (95% CI 0.48-0.84, p < 0.001); HRQOL improved (mean score ± standard deviation 71.9 ± 16.1 (p = 0.025) versus 78.9 ± 10.2); and 100% adhered to recommended treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This culturally tailored food voucher intervention may be one approach to improve food insecurity and clinical outcomes among low-income Latino/a/e/x patients with cancer.