IN-PERSON WORKSHOP: Kitchen Lab - A Framework for Disease-Specific Culinary Medicine Program Implementation

HANDS-ON TEACHING KITCHEN SESSION

Workshop Description: In the current public health landscape, marginalized populations face escalating challenges driven by shifts in governmental resource allocation and evolving social drivers of health (SDoH). These factors have demonstrably widened health equity gaps in under-resourced communities. Within the Lifestyle Medicine (LM) discipline, it is established that targeted interventions can serve as a primary mechanism for mitigating these inequities. By integrating patient-centered LM practices with robust community partnerships, participants can significantly improve health-related quality of life and reduce the longitudinal risk of disease progression.

Drawing upon the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) frameworks, this workshop provides a structured methodology for attendees to develop and implement a customizable, evidence-based, culturally relevant "Food as Medicine" curriculum.

This three-hour intensive workshop transitions from theoretical discourse to practical application. Using a successful four-session interactive program ("Culinary Medicine for Sickle Cell Disease") as a case study, participants will analyze the administrative and clinical requirements for launching effective culinary education for complex chronic conditions.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) serves as an optimal disease model for this workshop due to its multi-systemic nature and complex pathophysiology. Similar to many chronic metabolic and autoimmune conditions, SCD is characterized by persistent inflammation and oxidative stress as well as hypermetabolism. By utilizing this complex model, the workshop enables participants to design comprehensive interventions that address the spectrum of nutritional deficiencies and physiological demands inherent in chronic illness.

The instructional design of this session is grounded in a synthesis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, and the four HEAL pillars.