Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico: an 8-week, Bilingual (English and Spanish) Nutritional Intervention in Adults Living in Doña Ana and Otero Counties

Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico

This clinical trial evaluates a nutritional intervention called Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico for improving diet quality and knowledge related to nutrition and cancer prevention among individuals living in the Southern region of New Mexico. New Mexico border communities have high rates of cancer and obesity, both exacerbated by poor diet quality. Traditional Mexican diets are high in fruit, vegetables, and fiber, but are intensive to prepare and not practical for many families living in New Mexico now. Vegetable oils, such as canola, safflower, and sunflower oils, are commonly used in cooking within the regional New Mexican community because they are inexpensive and readily available; however, they may not be as healthy as other options. Interventions focused on teaching proper cooking techniques and raising awareness about nutritious foods have shown positive behavior changes, including greater preference for healthier foods, increased confidence in food preparation and cooking a balanced meal, and higher vegetable variety and availability in the home. This study may help identify effective and culturally relevant real-world strategies to improve knowledge, skills, behaviors, and access to resources to improve nutrient intake, with the long-term goal of decreasing cancer risk and chronic disease risk in southern New Mexican communities.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Nutrition, Healthy; Dietary Carcinogenesis
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Other: Survey Administration; Other: Discussion; Other: Nutritional Intervention

Detailed Description

OUTLINE:

Participants attend Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico intervention sessions, consisting of 15-30 minutes of pre-work (watching an educational video and/or practicing a new culinary skill), 60 minutes of hands-on experiential cooking and culinary session in a teaching kitchen, and a 60 minute meal that includes group discussion of educational information, once a week (QW) for 6 weeks.

After completion of study intervention, participants are followed up at week 8 and 10.

The study originally closed to accrual in May 2025, with 33 participants enrolled. Following a modification to add a second cohort, the study reopened to accrual in October 2025.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jenny Whitten-Brannon; Phone Number: 206.667.5625; Email: jwhitten@fredhutch.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Mexico
    • Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States, 88003
      • Recruiting
      • New Mexico State University
      • Principal Investigator: Ivette Guzman, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18+ years of age
• Part I: Fluent in English (Otero and Doña Ana Counties); Part II: Fluent in English (Otero County) and fluent in Spanish (Doña Ana County)
• Able to understand and willing to sign a written informed consent in either English or in Spanish (Part II only: Doña Ana County only)
• Access to phone for study contacts
• Be willing and able to attend the 6 in-person classes
• Access to internet to complete study assessments and access study website
• Willingness to participate in all study activities
• Completion of all baseline data collection activities
• No prior clinical diagnosis of diabetes

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under 18 years of age, or over 70 years of age
• Not fluent in either Spanish or English (Part II only: Doña Ana County only)
• Unable to understand or unwilling to sign written informed consents in English or in Spanish (Part II only: Doña Ana County only)
• No access to phone
• Unwilling or unable to attend the 6 in person classes
• No access to internet
• Unwilling to participate in all study activities
• Unable to complete all run in activities
• Prior clinical diagnosis of diabetes

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Prevention (nutrition intervention); Participants attend Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico intervention sessions, consisting of 15-30 minutes of pre-work (watching an educational video and/or practicing a new culinary skill), 60 minutes of hands-on experiential cooking and culinary session in a teaching kitchen, and a 60 minute meal that includes group discussion of educational information, QW for 6 weeks.

Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Survey Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Discussion; Ancillary studies; Other Names: Discuss; Other: Nutritional Intervention; Receive Cooking for Your Health in Southern New Mexico intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Accrual rate	The intervention will be considered feasible if accrual goals are met within 6 months of trial activation. Will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Results will be assessed separately for Part I and Part II, as well as for both groups combined.	Within 6 months of trial activation
Engagement	The intervention will be considered feasible if >= 70% of participants attend >= 70% of sessions. Will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Results will be assessed separately for Part I and Part II, as well as for both groups combined.	Up to 8 weeks
Retention	The intervention will be considered feasible if >= 70% of participants complete the week 8 food frequency questionnaire. Will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Results will be assessed separately for Part I and Part II, as well as for both groups combined.	At week 8
Acceptability	The intervention will be considered feasible if >= 70% or more of participants state that the program and study processes were acceptable, appropriate, and feasible. Acceptability will assess: intervention pre-work and in-class work activities, as well as specific data collection methods. Will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Results will be assessed separately for Part I and Part II, as well as for both groups combined.	Up to 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI); New Mexico State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 12, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 20, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 20, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): September 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 21, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Neoplasms; Neoplastic Processes; Carcinogenesis
• Other Study ID Numbers: RG1124544; U54CA132381 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); NCI-2024-06525 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); 20558 (Other Identifier: Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No