This pilot funding supports an educational needs assessment and development of an intensive, experiential Mediterranean diet-focused culinary medicine course in Italy for U.S. healthcare professionals and residents in training. The course would provide CME’s and seeks to inspire and prepare participants to assist their patients with dietary advice, and to even take a step towards their own personal self-care.
Two Osher Centers collaborate, bringing their experiences teaching short-term travel study courses on integrative health abroad in Norway, New Zealand and Iceland (Vermont) and developing integrative nutrition course content and culinary medicine in primary care practice (UW). The needs assessment informs this new course, which may include integrating didactics with local farm visits, market tours, and hands-on cooking workshops. This groundwork is critical to develop the program and to pilot it for feasibility. Ultimately, we hope to create a culinary medicine travel course that is available to all Osher Collaborative Affiliates.
Project Leads: Emily Godfrey MD, MPH, Iman Majd MD, Debra Bell MD (University of Washington (UW))
Key Osher Partners: Karen Westervelt (Vermont)
Comments
Love this proposal and I (VT
Love this proposal and I (VT integrative/culinary/lifestyle medicine dietitian) would be thrilled to collaborate! Perhaps a valuable addition to this proposal is to consider expanding the dietary focus to include traditional dietary patterns and customs of the regions of interest (thinking Blue Zones). Additionally, a consideration to include recognition of the lifestyle factors that also contribute to the health, longevity, and sustanabilikty of the regions of interest (thinking lifestyle medicine).
Another comment popped into mind... although this project is considered for regions outside of the US, it may be valuable to consider a domestic version... shedding light on communities within the US that hold strength in health and community through food as medicine.
Emily Stone