Food Insecurity Experiences in Liver Disease (FIELD) pilot

This is a pilot study to collect food insecurity data on patients with cirrhosis during routine hepatology care to answer the following research question: What are the characteristics of patients with cirrhosis who experience food insecurity? We will identify patients as having cirrhosis using EMR ICD-10 diagnoses with upcoming clinic visits scheduled. The student’s responsibility will be to consent eligible patients to participate in the study at the time of their clinic appointment. Patients who agree to participate will then be handed a survey by the student. The survey includes a screen for food insecurity using the hunger vital sign, a validated 2-item food insecurity screening instrument as well as 2 additional questions on comfort with following a diet specific to liver disease, and other barriers to accessing food. Upon completion of the survey, students will offer $5 gift cards to thank patients for  their participation. Students will assist in managing collecting food insecurity data results in partnership with the study team. This may include data entry into a REDCaps data base. The study team will link newly collected food insecurity data to EMR data from the Research Informatics Core (RIC), we will analyze the association of food insecurity to important liver outcomes, such as hospitalizations, ED visits, markers of advanced liver disease (ascites, encephalopathy, varices, portal hypertension), and biomarkers (MELD 3.0 score, creatinine, liver enzymes, coagulation markers, CBC).