AAEM Resident and Student Association Podcast · American Academy of Emergency Medicine / RSA

EMpower: Food Security with Dr. Victor Cisneros

February 16, 2023·33 min·3 clips

Dr. Cisneros shares that nearly 50% of UC students are food insecure, a hidden crisis in higher education.

This episode focuses on food insecurity as a critical social determinant of health within emergency medicine. Hosts Mary Nanyan and Anantha Singharajah interview Dr. Victor Cisneros, a social emergency medicine expert and GME Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Eisenhower Health. Dr. Cisneros explains his personal connection to the issue, stemming from his background as an immigrant who faced similar challenges. He cites a statistic that one in four children in affluent Orange County, California, were food insecure during his studies. Dr. Cisneros shares that nearly 50% of University of California students have reported being food insecure, a point co-host Anantha corroborates with a personal story about struggling with meal plans at UCLA. He defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough quality food for an active, healthy life, often intertwined with poverty and unemployment. A "food desert" is described as a geographical area lacking access to quality, affordable healthy food, leading residents to rely on fast food. Dr. Cisneros advocates for screening in emergency departments using validated tools like the "Hunger Vital Sign," which consists of two questions about food running out. He discusses projects to repurpose hospital cafeteria waste and partner with community culinary programs to create medically tailored meals for conditions like diabetes or CHF. The conversation notes that 80% of deaths from coronary artery disease may be preventable through diet and lifestyle changes, linking food insecurity to chronic disease management. A surprising insight is the proposal for physicians to symbolically "prescribe" food by directing patients to community resources using a prescription pad. The hosts and guest critique the limited focus on nutrition in standard medical school curricula, suggesting dual degree programs or fellowships for deeper study. Dr. Cisneros emphasizes that addressing food insecurity requires understanding local community partners, such as food banks or innovative projects like "Frankie's Food Truck" in the Coachella Valley. The tone is educational and conversational, blending personal anecdotes with public health data and practical clinical advice. It is a supportive dialogue between trainees and a mentor, focused on actionable solutions. This episode is ideal for medical students, residents, and physicians interested in public health, social emergency medicine, or community-based interventions. Listeners seeking a purely clinical or procedural emergency medicine discussion might find it less directly applicable.

As heard by us

A steady look at social emergency medicine, nutrition, and the training choices that make it practical.

This episode centers social emergency medicine, with Dr. Victor Cisneros' immigrant background and MPH path giving it a clear teaching angle. It moves from his upbringing and medical training into the case for giving social determinants of health and nutrition more room in…

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Why you'd press play

You want a clear, resident-level take on social EM, nutrition, and food insecurity from someone who lives the work.

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