Traditional Navajo meal program reduces hospitalizations in heart failure trial

A medically tailored meal program featuring traditional Navajo foods reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits among Navajo Nation patients with heart failure, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. The findings, published July 27 in JAMA Internal Medicine, came from a randomized clinical trial that enrolled 206 adults receiving care at two Indian Health Service facilities in the Navajo Nation. 

Participants who received traditional meals prepared with foods including mutton, beans, squash and corn had a lower risk of hospitalization or emergency department visits than those who received standard dietary advice, according to the institute. Researchers also reported improvements in quality of life, food insecurity, blood pressure and physical activity. The institute said additional studies are needed to evaluate the program's long-term impact and its potential adaptation in other Indigenous communities.