Refining and expanding a culinary nutrition intervention for cancer patients and caregivers (recipe)

The National Cancer Institute, part of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, awarded the University of Arizona $275,518 on September 1, 2026, under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393) to refine and expand a culinary nutrition intervention for prostate cancer patients and caregivers.

The funded project adapts and pilot-tests a dyadic intervention called Cooking Healthy – Engaging Families (CHEF), designed to improve dietary quality by increasing fruit and vegetable intake among Hispanic prostate cancer survivors and their informal caregivers. The work builds on an evidence-based program, Cocinar Por Su Salud!, previously developed for Hispanic breast cancer survivors. The intervention addresses the unique challenges Hispanic men with prostate cancer face, including low dietary quality and health-related quality-of-life concerns, while recognizing caregivers' critical role in meal preparation and health support.

The project comprises two aims. The first adapts the existing 12-week intervention through a Virtual Community Engagement Studio, a qualitative process involving survivors, caregivers, and healthcare providers to identify actionable modifications for dyadic and remote delivery. The second evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted intervention via a pilot randomized controlled trial enrolling 20 Hispanic prostate cancer survivors and their identified caregivers.

Work is performed in Arizona and runs through August 31, 2029. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

Abstract

Approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, a disease that significantly impacts the health and well-being of men. Hispanic men with prostate cancer face unique disease-related challenges, including low dietary quality, health-related quality of life, and high comorbidity burden. Informal caregivers, often family members, play a crucial role in supporting survivors including with meal preparation, yet their involvement in health interventions remains limited. Dietary modification has been shown to improve cancer- related health outcomes and reduce cancer risk. Dietary behaviors are often shared with the dyad, in part due to shared environments and routines. Given the interdependence between survivors and caregivers, this proposal seeks to adapt and pilot-test a dyadic culinary nutrition intervention, cooking healthy - engaging families (chef), aimed at improving dietary quality (through moving fruit and vegetable intake) for both the survivor and caregiver. This research builds on the successful evidence-based theoretically informed ¡cocinar POR SU salud! Program, previously designed for hispanic breast cancer survivors which successfully increased daily fruit and vegetable intake. Our first aim is to adapt the existing 12-week intervention through virtual community engagement studio (v-CES), a qualitative process involving stakeholders such as survivors, caregivers, and healthcare providers that uses rapid analysis to identify actionable changes. This will inform relevant modifications for dyadic and remote delivery while ensuring relevance of the intervention is maintained. After adaptation, our second aim is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted intervention via a pilot randomized controlled trial involving 20 hispanic prostate cancer survivors and their identified caregivers enrolled to participate together as dyads (n=40 total participants). Participants will be randomized 1:1 to receive either the 12-week chef adapted dyadic culinary nutrition intervention or education control with a 12-week follow-up period. We will evaluate recruitment, retention, adherence, and assessment completion to determine the intervention's viability. We will measure the change in fruit and vegetable intake as an indicator of dietary quality using 24-hour dietary recalls alongside carotenoid biomarkers (collected via dried blood spots). After intervention completion, we will refine the intervention with participant feedback from the intervention and stakeholder feedback, collected through a second v-CES. This will permit the evaluation of intervention effect and sustainability of outcomes to inform future research. This study is relevant to public health because the number of prostate cancer survivors and consequently, caregivers, continues to grow, yet there are no evidence- based culinary nutrition programs that aim to improve dietary quality and health for both. The study represents a critical step toward a larger efficacy and implementation planning trial to address improved long-term health and well-being for men with prostate cancer and their caregivers.