Expectations from a Home Cooking Program: Qualitative Analyses of Perceptions from Participants in “Action” and “Contemplation” Stages of Change, before Entering a Bi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial

Rani Polak*, Adi Finkelstein, Maggi A. Budd, Brianna E. Gray, Hanni Robinson, Julie K. Silver, Mark D. Faries, Amir Tirosh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Home cooking is an emerging strategy to improve nutrition; however, the literature lacks reports about patient expectations from culinary interventions. Personalized medicine utilizes knowledge about a person’s genes; yet, behavioral factors, such as participant “readiness” to make a change, may also impact treatment preferences and outcomes. The purpose is to explore the expectations of participants in different stages of change from a home cooking intervention. Participants were recruited to a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of a home cooking intervention on weight. Stage of change assessed by a validated University of Rhode Island Change Assessment scale and expectations through an open-ended questionnaire. Sixteen (21%) participants were in the action stage of change, and 59 (79%) were in the contemplation stage. Participants from both groups shared similar expectations to achieve healthy eating and lifestyle goals and to adopt sustainable change. However, action group expectations also included expanding existing culinary knowledge and change of habits; the contemplation group expectations also included acquiring culinary knowledge, improving self-regulatory skills, and obtaining guidance and support. While action group participants were looking to expand existing knowledge and techniques, contemplation group participants were focusing on acquiring culinary knowledge and skills. This can potentially contribute to developing effective, personalized nutrition interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2082
JournalNutrients
Volume15
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2023

Keywords

  • home cooking
  • lifestyle medicine
  • personalized medicine
  • stages of change

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