Brain Injuries
Conditions
Keywords
brain injury, Medical Nutrition Therapy, Registered Dietitian, diet quality, Healthy Eating Index
Brief summary
Brain injury is a leading cause of disability in the United States. When survivors of brain injury recover from the initial injury and return home to live in the community, they often face chronic health conditions that warrant nutrition therapy, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and overweight and obesity. Typically, these individuals do not receive nutrition counseling. Thus, the purpose of this clinical trial is to compare changes in diet quality between community-dwelling individuals with a history of brain injury who receive three individualized nutrition therapy sessions versus handouts only. Our research question is: Can nutrition counseling improve dietary intake among this population? Participants will complete a survey, participate in three days of dietary recalls via Zoom or telephone, and receive either three individualized nutrition counseling sessions with a Registered Dietitian or standard of care (handouts). Researchers will compare the diets of the recipients of the nutrition counseling to a control group who receives nutrition handouts to see if nutrition sessions with a Registered Dietitian improve dietary intake.
Detailed description
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of providing nutrition therapy on diet among a cohort of community-dwelling individuals with a history of brain injury. In this pre/post study, 134 participants with brain injury will be recruited and randomized to the control or intervention group. All participants will complete a standard set of nutrition-related questionnaires to assess weight status, co-morbid conditions, food security, stressors, stress-related eating, eating behaviors, and diet quality. The control group will receive a packet of nutrition education materials. The intervention group will receive the packet and one-on-one nutrition counseling with a Registered Dietitian. Follow-up data collection will include repeating the dietary recalls and questionnaires. This will allow for an evaluation of the impact of nutrition therapy on diet quality among community-dwelling individuals with brain injury. Aim: Evaluate the effectiveness of providing nutrition therapy on diet quality and stress-related eating among a cohort of community-dwelling individuals with brain injury • Ho: Individuals who receive three nutrition therapy sessions with a Registered Dietitian will have greater increases in Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores than those who receive only handouts (current practice).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMedical Nutrition Therapy
One-on-one nutrition assessment, education, and counseling with a Registered Dietitian.
Sponsors
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
The outcomes assessor will be blinded to the group assignment of participants.
Intervention model description
Randomized controlled trial with an intervention group and a control group.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* At least 18 years of age * History of brain injury * Live in Alabama * Live at home in the community * Have internet access to join Zoom sessions
Exclusion criteria
* Under 18 years of age * No history of brain injury * Lives outside of Alabama * Currently in a hospital, rehabilitation facility, group home, or other location other than 'home' * Pregnant or breastfeeding * Not able/willing to participate based on the Decision-Making Capacity Assessment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Diet Quality | Baseline and approximately 6 weeks later | Diet quality is measured using the Healthy Eating Index Score, which ranges from 0-100. Higher scores indicate better diet quality. The score will be calculated at baseline and approximately 6 weeks later, and these timepoints will be used to calculate the change in diet quality over the study duration. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactJoy W Douglas, PhD
Backup ContactLinda L Knol, PhD
Outcome results
None listed