Indian Health Service: Produce Prescription Pilot Program

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where individuals are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, that affect health and quality of life risks and outcomes. One of the SDOH that can contribute significantly to various health disparities and inequities is access to nutritious foods. If people or communities do not have nutrition security, they are less likely to have good nutrition, placing them at risk for health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity ( https://health.gov/​healthypeople/​priority-areas/​social-determinants-health). Studies have shown that people and communities of color, families with children, and people who live in remote areas, including Tribal communities, have a higher rate of diet-related chronic diseases ( https://www.usda.gov/​media/​press-releases/​2022/​03/​17/​usda-announces-actions-nutrition-security). For example, according to the 2022 Centers for Disease Control National Diabetes Statistics Report, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives (14.5 percent), followed by non-Hispanic Blacks (12.1 percent), people of Hispanic origin (11.8 percent), non-Hispanic Asians (9.5 percent) and non-Hispanic Whites (7.4 percent), compared to 8.7 percent of the United States (U.S.) population ( https://www.cdc.gov/​diabetes/​data/​statistics-report/​index.html).