Assessment of Food Skills in Caregivers of Children With Chronic Kidney Disease.

OBJECTIVES

Assessed change in food skills, food selection and planning, food preparation, and overall food skills, in caregivers of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) following a series of virtual cooking classes.

DESIGN AND

METHODS

Prepost design using the Food Skills Questionnaire.

SETTING

Chronic Kidney Care Clinic, CKD stage 3-5 (not on dialysis).

SUBJECTS: Caregivers of patients aged 1-20 with CKD stage 3-5 (not on dialysis) who attended the Chronic Kidney Care Clinic. Proficient in English, expressed interest in attending all 3 sessions, and had access to a reliable device such as a tablet, cell phone, or computer with a reliable internet connection.

INTERVENTION: Three virtual cook-along classes demonstrating kidney-friendly, kid-friendly, and budget-friendly recipes, held 2-3 weeks apart. Sessions included education around appropriate food selection and modifications for the CKD diet, basic cooking skills, and food safety.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Analysis of the Food Skills Questionnaire provided a score in each of the three domains; food selection and planning, food preparation, and food safety and storage as well as a total score. Preintervention and postintervention scores were compared using a paired t-test.

RESULTS

A statistically significant increase was observed in the score for the food safety and storage domain (mean difference [MD] in score +4.24, P value 0.02). An increase was observed in scores for domains, food selection and planning (MD +6.34, P value 0.07), 2), food preparation (MD +1.92, P value 0.35), and total score (MD +3.54, P value 0.08), but did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

Food safety and food storage skills significantly improved in caregivers of a child with CKD after attending virtual cooking classes. Virtual cooking classes have a potential to be an accessible, practical, and affordable approach to the nutritional management of pediatric CKD.