Medically Tailored Meals for Kids (MTM-Kids)

August 26, 2026 updated by: UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Feasibility of Medically Tailored Meals for Pediatric Populations at Risk for Disparities in Serious Illness Outcomes Due to Inequities in Social Drivers of Health (MTM-Kids)

The purpose of this project is to learn whether an intervention that provides households with home-delivered healthy, frozen meals tailored to illness related conditions for 12 weeks during a child's treatment for serious illness is feasible and acceptable to the child and parent mainly responsible for the child's care.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Food insecurity (uncertainty about having enough food for the household) and nutrition insecurity (uncertainty about access and affordability of foods that promotes health and quality of life [QOL]) are clinically-relevant, actionable social drivers of health (SDOH) disparities for pediatric (age 0-17.9 years) populations. Food and nutrition insecurity are especially relevant in pediatric populations vulnerable to disparities in outcomes of serious illnesses (life-threatening illnesses with taxing symptoms, treatments, and caregiving requirements). Pediatric cancer is an example. Children living in poverty with associated adverse SDOH are less likely survive either highly treatable cancers, or high-risk cancers that require regimens with costly targeted immunotherapy to optimize prospects for survival.. Poor nutrition increases risk of infection and poorer treatment tolerance, QOL, daily functioning and treatment responsiveness. Food-related insecurities may partly account for links between household poverty and poorer outcomes, and for the accelerated biological aging observed in pediatric and young adult cancer survivors. Moreover, poor eating habits developed treatment can persist into survivorship to heighten risks for secondary cardio-vascular conditions and cancers. Research on serious illness-related cost-coping suggests that parents and other primary caregivers legally and financially responsible for meeting the child's medical and day-to-day needs (hereafter "parents") may stretch food dollars by purchasing low priced, processed food with poor nutritional value. These purchasing choices contribute to household nutrition insecurity. Processed foods are also easy to prepare and thus appeal to parents who juggle time demands of complex caregiving and usual social roles. Because of chemotherapy-induced alterations in taste, these foods also appeal to young patients who crave food high in sugar and/or sodium. Parents and siblings may go without food and other essentials (needed health or dental care, prescribed medications [insulin], health insurance) to conserve the household's monetary assets to meet the needs of the child who is ill; these decisions heighten parent and sibling vulnerabilities to poorer health and QOL. In pediatric cancer, one approach being studied to address outcome disparities driven by food-related insecurities is to provide the household with gift cards for an online grocery delivery platform. Card amount is determined by household size and minimal cost for the Thrifty Food Plan per United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). No nutritional guidance is provided and parental time demands may limit their capacity to prepare healthy meals. To address health disparities in households experiencing food-related insecurities in the context of serious pediatric illness, holistic models that embed equity in care delivery by integrating food and nutrition interventions with state-of-the-science clinical care to address adverse SDOH are needed. Medically tailor meals (MTM) offer a Food is Medicine approach to addressing health disparities in pediatric serious illness populations. MTM comprise home-delivered meals tailored to medical needs of individuals with at risk for health disparities and barriers to preparing healthy food. In studies of adults, MTM interventions were associated with better health outcomes and less health care spending. Here, the investigators propose Medically-Tailored Meals for Kids (MTM-Kids), an extension of the MTM concept to pediatric serious illness populations for whom SDOH inequities affect outcomes, using pediatric cancer as the proof of concept. MTM-Kids account for nutritional needs, chemotherapy-induced alterations in taste, and illness-related financial burden and time demands. The purpose of the investigation is to determine feasibility of the MTM-methods and intervention for a future efficacy trial to improve food and nutrition security for children at risk for poorer outcomes due to SDOH inequities. The investigators will work with Equiti Foods, a small social enterprise that makes tasty, healthy, and culturally conscious frozen meals with start-up funding from National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities. The primary research question is, "For households experiencing related insecurities, is providing healthy, frozen meals tailored to chemotherapy-induced alterations in taste feasible, appropriate and acceptable to children in active treatment for cancer and their parents?". After tailoring flavorings of the existing healthy, frozen means, the investigators will: 1. determine the feasibility, appropriateness, acceptability and accessibility of MTM-Kids; and 2. identify signals of change in food-related insecurities, cost coping, parental role demands and financial well-being. The investigation will be guided by the CONSORT extension for feasibility studies. Quantitative and qualitative feedback at multiple time points will enable rapid refinements of the MTM-Kids program and protocol for the future efficacy trial. The results will inform the potential for a future 2-group randomized efficacy trial with gift cards for an online grocery home delivery website as the likely comparator, and later cost effectiveness studies that advance our goal to extend healthcare financing models to include MTM in pediatric healthcare settings where seriously ill children receive care.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
32

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • North Carolina Basnight Cancer Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligible children (n=15) will:

  • be under the care of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
  • have completed at least one cycle of cancer chemotherapy that included an agent known to cause alterations in taste,
  • expect to undergo at least two more cycles,
  • be aged 12-17.9 years
  • communicate in English or Spanish.

Eligible adults (n=15) will:

  • be the primary parental caregiver of a study-eligible child,
  • be aged 18 years or older
  • communicate in English or Spanish.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • none if inclusion criteria are met

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Medically-tailored meals for children being treated for cancer with chemotherapy
The intervention will be 12-weeks induration, with weekly "doses" (meal deliveries) of up to 10 healthy, frozen meals per week for household use as needed, plus selected condiments for personalization.
Other: Medically tailored meals
The intervention will be 12-weeks in duration, with "doses" (meal deliveries) of up to 10 healthy, frozen meals per week for household use as needed, plus selected condiments for personalization
Other Names:
  • MTM-Kids

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Parent-reported feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and accessibility of MTM-Kids
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Each domain will be measured by 4-items developed by others and adapted for this study. Parents will be asked to read each item and indicate their response using 5-point scales anchored by 1=completely disagree and 5=completely aDomain scores will be calculated by summing item responses and dividing the sum by 4. Domain score range is 1-higher scores indicating better MTM program feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and accessibility.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Adolescent-reported acceptability and appropriateness of MTM-Kids
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Each of these two domains of feasibility will be measured using items developed and validated by others and adapted for this study. Each domain has 4-items. Adolescents will be asked to read each item and indicate their response using scales anchored by 1=completely disagree and 5=completely agree. Domain scores will be calculated by summing responses and dividing the sum by 4. Domain score range is 1-4, with higher scores indicating better acceptability appropriateness
Baseline and 12 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Parent-reported household food insecurity
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Measured by the 6-item Food Security Scale. Parents will be asked to indicate whether they experienced the condition during the past 3 month and, in some cases, how often. Scores will be estimated by counting the number of affirmative responses (yes, sometimes, or often); these scores can be categorized, such that 0-1=very low food insecurity, 2-4food insecurity, and 5-6=high food insecurity.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Parent-reported household nutrition insecurity
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Measured by the 4-item Nutrition Security Scale plus 2 items from the Healthfulness Choice Scale. Parents will be use a 5-point scale, anchored by 1=never and 5=always, plus a don't know/prefer not to answer option. Scores will estimated by counting the number of affirmative responses (sometimes, often, or always); these scores can be categorized such that 0-1=very low nutrition insecurity, 2-4= low nutrition insecurity, and 5-6=high nutrition insecurity
Baseline and 12 weeks
Parental role demands
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Measured with a set of Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement System v.2 (PROMIS v.2) items that ask about satisfaction with perceived social role performance. Parents will be asked to respond to the PROMIS items using a scale anchored by 1=not at all and 5=very much. Item responses will be summed and scored using the T-score metHigher scores indicate greater satisfaction with social role performance.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Parental financial coping behaviors
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Measured by 7 questions from the Financial Coping Behaviors Scale currently being asked in a study of financial distress during treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL; ACCL20N1CD). Parents participating in MTM-Kidonly be asked about financial coping strategies with implications for the health of the adolescent or another family member. Parents will be asked to use a 3-point response scale anchored by 0=never and 2=several times) to indicate how often they used each coping behavior in the prior month. Item responses will be summed for a total score that can range from 0-14. (higher scores indicate use of more types of financial coping behaviors)
Baseline and 12 weeks
Parental financial well-being
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Measured by the 8-item Personal Financial Well-being Scale (PFWS).The PFWS uses a 10-point response scale. Scores are calculated by summing item responses and dividing by 8. Scores can range from 1 to 10, with 1 indicating poorest wellbeing and 10 indicating highest financial wellbeing. The PFWS has undergone rigorous psychometric testing to establish validity of the latent construct, psychometric properties and norms.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Adolescent chemotherapy-induced alterations in taste
Time Frame: Baseline and up to 12 weeks
Measured by 13-items from the Chemotherapy-Induced Alterations in Taste Scale (CiTAS). Adolescents will be ask to use a 5-point scale to indicate how much the taste change bothered them this week. Scores will be calculated by summing item responses and dividing by 13 (lower scores indicate less alteration in taste).
Baseline and up to 12 weeks
Adolescent-reported other chemotherapy-related symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline and up to 12 weeks
Measured by the 15-item Symptom Screening in Pediatrics (SSPedi) tool. Adolescents will be asked to use a 5-point response scale anchored by 0 (not at all) and 4 (worst bother) to indicate how much each symptom bothered them today or yesterday Scores will be calculated by summing item responses. Scores can range from 0-60 (lower scores indicate less symptom severity)
Baseline and up to 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Sheila J. Santacroce, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 25, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 21, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 21, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 17, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 5, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 7, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • LCCC2427
  • R21NR021288 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Upon reasonable request

IPD Sharing Time Frame

After publication of primary paper and for 5 years thereafter

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Local Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved application for proposed secondary analyses

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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