Can a food and friendship program slow kidney disease?

NCT ID NCT05970341

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026

Summary

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are testing a 6-month community program for low-income adults with early chronic kidney disease. Participants receive kidney-friendly recipes, educational materials, and regular check-ins from a health partner. The trial compares this program with educational materials and usual care alone, measuring changes in kidney damage, blood sugar, blood pressure, mood, and diet quality.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
a 6-month community-based nutrition and health-partner support program
What this could lead to
If it works, this could give clinics a low-cost, community-based way to slow early kidney disease and lower heart risk through diet and support.
What could go wrong
The program may not change kidney or heart markers more than usual care, and results in low-income primary care patients may not apply to other groups. Diet and lifestyle programs often show small effects that fade without ongoing support.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 330 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Dec 2023

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult (18 years of age or older) * Primary care visit at either one of the three partner clinics from Harris Health \[Smith Clinic, Harris Health Outpatient Center (located on the LBJ campus), or Martin Luther King Jr. Health Center (MLK)\] and a primary care patient within Harris Health System * Have had at least 1 visit in the past 18 months with prior history in the clinic (i.e., not first visit) * Diagnosis of CKD (Stage 2, 3a, and 3b) as defined by estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 and \<90 mL/min/1.73 m2 OR CDK 1 or undiagnosed with urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio ≥ 30 mg/g * Within the past 12 months, the most current serum K+ ≤ 4.6 mEq/L * English or Spanish speaking * Ability to participate in the program at least 6 months * Ability to clean, prepare, refrigerate/freeze food products that are given to them * Have access to receive SMS text messages * Location of preferred produce bag delivery within an available delivery zone Exclusion Criteria: * CKD 4, ESRD or on dialysis. * Taking certain medications chronically (more than twice a week for 90 days) that may interfere with K+ metabolism (such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as self-reported during enrollment screening * Taking mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists * Taking Warfarin * Diagnosis of any specific kidney conditions (such as polycystic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, Lupus associated with Nephritis, Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV)) that would contraindicate study participation as determined by physician * Medical history of organ transplant that would contraindicate study participation as determined by physician * Received immunotherapy for primary or secondary kidney disease within 6 months prior to enrolment * Diagnostic of heart failure conditions Class IV in the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification * Had myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) within 12 weeks prior to enrolment * Had coronary revascularization (PCI, CABG) or valvular repair within 12 weeks prior to enrolment * On active hospice care as self-reported during enrollment screening * Diagnosis of active malignancy requiring treatment that would contraindicate study participation as determined by physician * Has decompensated cirrhosis as determined by physician * Cognitive impairment that would contraindicate study participation as self-reported during enrollment screening

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Harris Health System's Martin Luther King Jr. Health Center

    Houston, Texas, 77047, United States

  • Harris Health System's Outpatient Center

    Houston, Texas, 77026, United States

  • Harris Health System's Smith Clinic

    Houston, Texas, 77054, United States

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