Designing the Food and Lifestyle Information Program (FLIP) culinary nutrition intervention for adults with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability

People with intellectual disability have diverse needs and experience higher rates of diet-related chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes compared to people without disability. However, they are infrequently included in development and implementation of interventions to address diet-related chronic disease. The present study describes the process to plan, develop and refine the Food and Lifestyle Information Program (FLIP) culinary nutrition intervention for adults with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability.

The project was initiated by a disability service provider and was guided by the Cook-Ed™ model and inclusive research principles. Initially the disability service provider and academic research team members co-designed pre-program consultation and pilot studies, and draft program resources. Pre-program consultation explored paid disability support worker (n = 10) perceptions of cooking and food skills, nutrition priorities and optimal program format, which guided further program drafting. Program resources and pilot study design were further developed and refined with co-researchers with lived experience of intellectual disability who attended a pre-pilot and then pilot study sessions as remunerated co-facilitators.

Key characteristics of the FLIP intervention arising from pre-program consultation included providing cooking task instruction in small steps, enabling participant choice in program activities, promoting an inclusive and social atmosphere, and providing paper-based resources.

FLIP intervention co-design was enabled through ongoing input from the disability service provider and people with lived experience of intellectual disability. Evaluation of FLIP feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness to improve diet-related health is underway.