286 - Efficacy of a 5210 Prescription Program with Fresh Connect in a Pediatric Residency Clinic

Publication Number: 286.4727

susan Ayoubi, Department of Pediatrics, CAMC Women & Children's Hospital, Charleston, WV, United States; Jamie Jeffrey, HealthyKids at CAMC Weight Loss Center & KEYS 4 HealthyKids, Charleston, WV, United States; Sommer Beane, KEYS 4 HealthyKids, Charleston, WV, United States; Stephanie Thompson, Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, WV, United States; Lisa Calderwood, Charleston Area Medical Center Institute for Academic Medicine, Charleston, WV, United States; Megan Goodwin, Charleston Area Medical Center Women and Children's Hospital, CHARLESTON, WV, United States

Background: Obesity in children continues to be a significant public health crisis. West Virginia leads the country with 24.8% of children aged 10-17 having a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile for age and sex (%ile), as reported by the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health. The Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity recommends starting assessment in the medical home. The “5210 Rx” program with a produce prescription, Fresh Connect, was implemented to treat childhood obesity. Fresh Connect provides a restricted use debit card for fresh fruit and vegetables. This program was evaluated in a pediatric residency teaching clinic to measure its impact on childhood obesity management.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 5210 Rx program with Fresh Connect in a pediatric residency teaching clinic.

Design/Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of patients aged 2-18 with a BMI >85%ile who participated in the 5210 Rx program with Fresh Connect. Patients at the pediatric residency clinic were enrolled from Aug-Oct 2022 for a farmer’s market pilot and Jan 2023 – July 2023 for a 6-month program that expanded to local grocery stores. Patients received $50 monthly loaded onto a Fresh Connect debit card. Data analyzed included BMI%ile and Fresh Connect utilization rates.

Results: Of the 39 children enrolled in the 6-month 5210 Rx program with Fresh Connect, mean age was 10.1±4 years, and 69% were female. During the previous 3-month farmer’s market pilot, the total utilization rate was 9% with a mean net spending of $19.11. Children averaged 1 shopping trip, spending $8.07 per trip. Conversely, in the 6-month grocery store program, children had a utilization rate of 56% and an average net spending of $166.56. Additionally, 69% of participants utilized Fresh Connect debit card for more than one month. On average, they made 10 shopping trips, spending $13.37 per trip. Of the participants with post-intervention BMI measurements (82%), there was a mean 0.8% decrease in their BMI%ile (96.7±4.5% to 95.9±5.1% ), a statistically significant difference (p=0.03, paired t-test).

Conclusion(s): The results of the 6-month 5210 Rx program with Fresh Connect indicate increased availability of fruits and vegetables is a successful intervention for obesity treatment, shown by decreased BMI%ile. With its success in a pediatric residency clinic, this approach has strong potential for adoption in other primary care practices, aligning with the clinical practice guidelines.