The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine
[IRB Study # 572754] Cooking for Health Optimization with Patients (CHOP)
Recruitment Script
Questions? Contact Dominique Monlezun, PhD(c), MPH ().
I. Adults (>17 years old)
Hi! My name is ______, and I am a study team member with The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (GCCM). I would like to chat with you about being part of a research study, Cooking for Health Optimization with Patients (CHOP), the world’s largest cohort study of its kind following nearly 20,000 medical professionals, trainees, community members, and patients over time to understand if hands-on cooking and nutrition education is associated with health and doctors’ abilities to partner with patients for better health.
There are 4 tracks to this study: [1] 10,000 medical professionals, [2] 6,000 community members, [3] 3,000 employees and their family members, and [4] 500 randomized controlled trial (RCT) patients with chronic conditions. Participants in the treatment group for tracks [2-4] will be offered hands-on cooking and nutrition classes to compare their diets and attitudes and competencies (DACs) in healthy eating and their health metrics with those who do not take the classes in the control groups. The control group for [2] will also receive either healthy food vouchers for 2 months or have nutrition education for their children before they enroll in the classes in order to compare if increased healthy food access or education compared to GCCM classes best prepares them to benefit from nutrition education. For tracks [2-3], anyone who wants to take the classes can, and in track [4], people have an equal 50% chance to be randomly initially placed either into the GCCM class group or the control group receiving medical nutrition therapy (MNT) with a registered dietician (RD). DAC surveys and health metrics for the last three tracks will be looked at in the beginning, middle, and end of the study for up to 3 years. For tracks [2-4], the items on the Authorization for Release of Information (ARI) (i.e. biometric screening data) are collected because such information is standard for nutrition education research by helping the team understand how nutrition education can affect your health, and since your health is monitored in such ARI items as in a clinic visit, we included those in the ARI.
Our team has show through 4 years of studies that the classes improve patients’ health and make doctors and future doctors better able to counsel patients on nutrition, but there is no guarantee it will help your particular health. There is minimal risk to participating in the classes because they involve cooking skills that are part of daily life.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also contact the person who leads the study, Dominique J. Monlezun, Ph.D.(c), M.P.H. (, 504-988-9108).
II. Children (7-17 years old)
Hi! My name is ______, and I am part of a team with The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (GCCM) that looks at what people eat and how they feel. I would like to talk to you about being part of a research study, Cooking for Health Optimization with Patients (CHOP), because your parents want to take cooking classes that teach how to eat good foods. If you also want to take the classes with them, you can. There is very small risk just being in the kitchen, but since this cooking can be a regular daily activity for people and we work hard to keep the kitchen safe, there is very little chance anything will happen to you. We cannot promise the classes will make you feel better, but they have been shown to help people before. I am happy to answer any questions you want to ask. I can also talk to the person who leads the study, Dominique J. Monlezun, Ph.D.(c), M.P.H. [, 504-988-9108], if you want to ask him anything.