Stakeholder Advisory Panel

This project referred to as "Deliver-EE", is a research study by Meals on Wheels America and the Brown University School of Public Health, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The Principal Investigator is Kali S. Thomas, PhD, MA and the lead for the Stakeholder Advisory Panels is Jill Harrison, PhD. 

This study will randomly assign 2,300 older adults on waiting lists at ten Meals on Wheels programs in Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina, and South Carolina into two groups who will receive: (a) daily delivery of ready-to-eat meals, five days a week or (b) a shipment of 10 frozen meals, every two weeks. The Research Team will examine participants’ Medicare claims to understand if differences in healthcare utilization occur between the two groups within six months after they start receiving meals. Researchers will also ask participants questions prior to receiving meals, and again at three months, to understand how meals impact their ability to obtain food, their feelings of loneliness, and their overall health. 

Role of Our Stakeholder Panels

Members of our Stakeholder Advisory Panels (SAPs) will share their unique perspective with us to help us improve the research study as it is happening in the field, during analysis, and when the results are ready to be shared. 

Examples of how our SAPs contribute:

• Partnering with researchers at Brown University to develop the research questions

• Sharing their thoughts about how meal delivery impacts clients, family, and staff

• Reviewing survey and interview questions before they are administered to study participants

• Developing research summaries to share with practitioners and the public