Hands-on Cooking in Medical Schools: Diffusion of a Prevention Education Innovation

Educating physicians early and often on how to have conversations with patients about diet to prevent and treat chronic disease is imperative, yet under realized. Some innovative medical schools have begun implementing hands-on cooking (HOC) programs to fill this gap, but how these programs are promoted is unknown. This study assessed the prevalence and innovation characteristics of HOC programs offered to medical students in the USA. Content analysis of webpages was conducted using a Diffusion of Innovation (e.g., relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) framework. Themes of relative advantage included increasing students’ confidence, improvements in medical and interprofessional education, and translating into a benefit to patients through improved care. Compatibility codes showed only a quarter of webpages referred to the program as “evidence-based.” Complexity codes showed most (86%) webpages clearly described the course. About half the webpages described the program as an elective, suggesting trialability of this innovation. Many (43%) of the programs referenced use of a standardized “culinary medicine” curriculum, contributing to the observability of this innovation. Within the sample of schools, 35% provided HOC programs for their students. These findings suggest HOC programs have a strong foothold in healthcare education and provide a framework from which future studies might examine what effects innovative, successful HOC programs have on curriculum development, student experience, and, ultimately, patient outcomes.