Design, Implementation, and Feasibility of a Community Co-Led Culinary Medicine Shared Medical Appointment Model

Dietary interventions for disease prevention have been well studied, yet standard American diets often fall short. Limited culinary skills and nutritional literacy are key contributors. Shared medical appointments (SMAs) with culinary education offer one solution to enhance culinary and nutrition literacy. In our model, patients were recruited from the University of Texas Southwestern Culinary Medicine Clinic to participate in a culinary medicine-focused SMA program located in local church kitchens in Dallas, TX including 6 classes over 2 months. Classes, led by a physician and culinary dietitian, included goal-setting, culinary skill demonstration, and supervised cooking. Classes were billed as primary care visits through patients' insurance. Health records and patient reported data were collected to assess feasibility. Sixty patients from four cohorts of SMAs had a 75% average attendance. Patients were predominantly Black (55%) and female (87%). Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity were the most common referral diagnoses. Qualitative telephone interviews (n = 18) reveal that co-learning new skills with peers is an important contributor to patient engagement. In conclusion, culinary medicine-focused SMAs are a feasible approach to deliver culinary nutrition education, demonstrate high levels of engagement and retention, and lay the foundation for a financially sustainable model.