A Mixed-Methods Approach to Evaluate a Social Media Nutrition Education Program Integrated With Home Food Delivery for Low-Income Pregnant Women

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and potential effects of a nutrition intervention in a private Facebook group and integrated with food delivery for urban low-income pregnant women. Design One-group pretest-posttest intervention design. Setting A private Facebook group was utilized to implement nutrition lessons along with home food delivery of cooking ingredients. Sample Twenty-six pregnant women enrolled in the study. Intervention Six weekly nutrition lessons with cooking videos and food delivery were implemented. Measures A mixed methods approach was used. Outcomes of the intervention were measured with Family Meal Questions, Food Behavior Checklist, and Perceptions of Meal Planning and Cooking Scale. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were also conducted. Analysis Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests were performed. Interview data were analyzed using thematic codes. Results Sweetened beverage intake decreased (Δ = −0.5; P = 0.035); using food labels when food shopping increased (Δ = 0.7; P = 0.046); and overall eating habits improved (Δ = 1.6; P = 0.015). Perceptions of “meal planning” and “shopping and cooking” significantly improved (both Δ = 0.5; P < 0.05). Self-reported general health rating significantly improved (Δ = 0.7; P = 0.045). Participants provided positive feedback on the cooking demonstrations, social media format, and dietary behavior changes. Conclusion Implementing nutrition lessons on a private Facebook group was feasible. Further studies are needed to confirm its impact on dietary behaviors and health outcomes among urban low-income pregnant women.