Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40715966›Full record

ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2026

Impact of Food Insecurity Resource Navigation for Primary Care Patients with Diabetes and Hypertension: A Matched Cohort Study.

Deeksha Gupta, Darin Thomas, Stella Self, Edward A Frongillo, Alain H Litwin, J Alex Ewing, Lynnette Ramos-Gonzalez, A Caroline Rudisill

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Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Deeksha GuptaDepartment of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA. guptad@email.sc.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-5120-7659
Darin ThomasAddiction Medicine Center, Prisma Health, 701 Grove Road, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA.
Stella SelfDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
Edward A FrongilloDepartment of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
Alain H LitwinAddiction Medicine Center, Prisma Health, 701 Grove Road, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA.
J Alex EwingData Support Core, Prisma Health, 605 Grove Road, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA.
Lynnette Ramos-GonzalezAccountable Communities, Prisma Health, 712 Grove Road, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA.
A Caroline RudisillDepartment of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFood insecurity contributes to poor health and increased healthcare costs among patients with chronic diseases. Resource navigators can facilitate community-based resource connections, addressing food insecurity, but the impact on healthcare costs and quality of life remains unclear.

objectiveTo examine whether food insecurity resource navigation improves clinical outcomes, healthcare charges, and quality of life for patients with diabetes and/or hypertension.

designMatched-control quasi-experimental study. PATIENTS: Patients underwent screening for food insecurity from July 12, 2021, to December 31, 2022, in South Carolina's largest health system. Eligible patients (18 + years, having food insecurity, and diabetes and/or hypertension) enrolled for resource navigation in three primary care practices. Of 7592 screened patients, 371 (4.89%) were eligible and 236 (3.11%) consented to participation. A propensity-score matched cohort was obtained from practices without the navigator program. Each group included 219 patients, 20 (9.13%) with diabetes, 110 (50.2%) with hypertension, and 89 (40.6%) both.

interventionResource navigator facilitated food-related community resource connections with 6-month follow-up. MAIN MEASURES: Difference-in-difference specifications were used to examine 6-month differences in clinical outcomes (BMI, blood pressure, HbA1c) and healthcare charges (primary, inpatient, emergency department) between patients with and without navigation support. Quality of life changes were assessed for navigator group patients. KEY

resultsAmong patients with any primary care charges, those in the navigator group had 54.5% (SE = 0.099; p = 0.000) greater increase in 6-month charges than controls. Navigator group patients also had improved quality of life (0.345 quality-adjusted life years gained; p = 0.014) over 6 months. Emergency department, inpatient charges, and clinical outcomes did not differ between groups.

conclusionsFood insecurity resource navigation was associated with increased primary care charges and improved quality of life in patients with chronic diseases, highlighting its value in improving patient care. Studies with larger cohorts and extended follow-ups may reveal substantial effects on other patient outcomes.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusFood InsecurityHypertensionPatient NavigationPrimary Health CareAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeSouth CarolinaChronic diseasesHealthcare chargesQuality of lifeResource navigatorSocial risk factors

Identifiers

PMID40715966
PMCPMC12960847

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.