Association of post-discharge meal delivery with hospital readmissions among food-insecure older adults
- Journal
- Journal of hospital medicine (Q1)
- Published
- 19 September 2026
- Study design
- Prospective / inception cohort
- Evidence level
- Level 2, Moderate (CEBM 2b)
- Authors
- Eugenia McPeek Hinz, Abby F Hoffman, Michael Pignone, Tara Kinard, Bradi B Granger, Camille Grant Valentine, et al.
- PMID
- 42762124
- DOI
- 10.1002/jhm.70455
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Internal Medicine (paper of the day, 22 September 2026): Post‑discharge meals reduce readmissions in food‑insecure elders
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Older adults with food insecurity have higher readmission risk, but evidence on the impact of post-discharge meal delivery remains limited. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults aged ≥60 discharged home from a single academic health system between September 2022 and April 2024 at risk of food insecurity or malnutrition. Patients were referred to a state-funded Meals on Wheels hospital discharge pilot program providing 2 weeks of home-delivered meals (primary exposure). Outcomes of 14-, 21-, and 30-day unplanned readmissions were assessed using GEE models with a 3-day landmark to exclude early events. Secondary analysis examined categories of time to first meal delivery (≤9 days, 10-14 days, ≥15 days, unknown) compared with no meal delivery. RESULTS: Of 621 unique referrals, 380 referrals (368 patients) met inclusion criteria (mean age 72.4 years, 40.8% male, 62.9% received meals). Meal recipients had lower odds of 14-day (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.14-0.69) and 21-day readmission (aOR 0.47; 95% CI 0.23-0.95), with attenuation at 30 days (aOR 0.82; 95% CI 0.44-1.53). Earlier meal delivery (≤9 days) was associated with lower 14-day readmissions (aOR 0.23; 95% CI 0.06-0.81) with attenuation at 21 (aOR 0.37; 95% CI 0.13-1.03) and at 30 days (aOR 0.67; 95% CI 0.29-1.67) compared with No Meals (wide CIs). CONCLUSION: Among food-insecure older adults discharged home, meal receipt, particularly earlier meal delivery, was associated with lower short-term readmissions, with attenuation by 30 days. These findings support the need for prospective evaluation of scalable, low-cost home-delivered meal intervention to reduce readmissions in high-risk, food-insecure adults.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.