Stakeholder Advisory Panel

The Deliver-EE clinical trial is a collaborative effort between Brown University School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and Meals on Wheels America that is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The goal of the Deliver-EE clinical trial is to better understand the health and social benefits that homebound, older adults experience through Meals on Wheels programs. To do this, we compare the benefits of traditional home delivered meals to alternate methods of frozen meal delivery through the mail. 

This study randomly assigned 2,300 older adults on waiting lists at fourteen Meals on Wheels programs in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and California into two groups who receive: (a) daily delivery of 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. The full details of the clinical trial protocol have been published (Thomas et al, 2024). 

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 the research team 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