Feasibility of an ADAPTive intervention to improve food security and maternal-child health (ADAPT-MCH): Protocol for a pilot sequential multiple assignment randomized trial

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity affects up to 30 % of pregnancies and is associated with worse maternal and infant health. Healthcare systems are implementing interventions to assist patients with food insecurity, but rather than providing a single intervention, adaptively providing interventions could be a more effective strategy. The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of adaptively providing interventions to assist pregnant patients who report being food-insecure. 

METHODS/DESIGN: We will conduct a pilot sequential multiple assignment randomized trial at obstetrics clinics from one health system. Adults (N = 60) who are pregnant and food-insecure will be randomized at their initial prenatal visit to one of two first-stage interventions for 3 months: 1) electronic health record (EHR) referral to WIC or 2) EHR-referral to WIC + care navigation. Participants who do not have ≥2-point improvement in food insecurity after 3 months will be re-randomized to one of two second-stage interventions for an additional 3 months: weekly delivery of 1) produce or 2) medically-tailored meals. In Aim 1, we will determine the feasibility of recruitment, and in Aim 2, we will evaluate the feasibility of re-randomization, retention, and data collection. In Aim 3, we will advance our understanding of how, why, and under what circumstances participants achieved improvements through semi-structured interviews. 

CONCLUSIONS: This will be the first study to test an adaptive intervention to assist pregnant patients with food insecurity and will inform a future fully-powered trial. Given the growing interest among health systems, an efficacious, adaptive food insecurity intervention could be broadly disseminated. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06942598) on April 23, 2025.