Prescription for Health
After attending an innovative conference in entitled, “Farms, Food, & Health”, Dr. Seguin was inspired and determined to bring back a produce rx program to her community. In 2017, she implemented the first produce prescription program in Upper Michigan (U.P.) with patients in her FQHC-primary care practice. Her patients flourished and this experience taught her how food could be a conduit for connection and a catalyst for health. With support from the Portage Health Foundation and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan, she received a Physician Investigator research award which allowed her to evaluate outcomes of the program as well as involve a medical student in the research. She presented findings from the pilot program at various conferences and was involved in a U.P.-wide “Food is Medicine” learning network.
The research from her pilot program was published in the Journal of Health Promotion Practice in 2022. You can find the manuscript here.
You can also listen to an interview with Dr. Seguin and co-author Carly Joseph as they discuss the success of the produce prescription pilot. They unpack the interconnectedness of the systems that enable folks to make healthy decisions, challenge us to use an assets-based approach, and encourage additional research on the role of loneliness.
“Exploring a Produce Prescription Program in Michigan w/ Carly Joseph and Dr. Michelle Seguin” with the Health Promotion Practice (HPP) Podcast, August 2022.