The United States has an ongoing maternal and infant health crisis, characterized by stark disparities. The WIC program could equitably improve health outcomes, but it is underutilized. Identifying strategies for healthcare systems to efficiently connect pregnant patients with WIC is a public health and policy priority. This study will use the electronic health record (EHR) More

Within an academic health system in the United States that already performs electronic health record-based sugary drink screening, we conducted a pilot randomized trial of a technology-driven family beverage choice intervention. The goal of the intervention was to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and fruit juice (FJ) consumption in 60 parent–child dyads, in which children were More

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally-regulated feeding program that reimburses early care and education (ECE) programs for providing nutritious meals to low-income children. Participation in CACFP is voluntary and varies widely across states. This study assessed barriers and facilitators of center-based ECE program participation in CACFP and identified potential strategies More

This study used multiple methods (interviews, survey) to assess the experiences of stakeholders, sponsors, and center-based early care and education (ECE) program directors pertaining to child nutrition and the provision of child-care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected across four states. Thematic analyses of interviews and descriptive methods were used to analyze the data More

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for fruits and vegetables increased by roughly USD 25/month/person. We sought to understand WIC participant perceptions of this change and barriers and facilitators to using the CVB. We conducted 10 virtual focus groups (5 rural, 5 More

During the COVID 19 Pandemic, low-income families were hit hard with food insecurity issues, among other problems that had risen from the pandemic. In June 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was passed as a temporary law to increase the Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for families participating in WIC. The increase went from $9-$11 per More

This study aimed to examine the impact of pictorial warnings on parents’ purchases of sugary drinks for their children in a naturalistic store laboratory. Parents of children ages 2 to 12 (n = 325, 25% identifying as Black, 20% Hispanic) completed a shopping task in a naturalistic store laboratory in North Carolina. Participants were randomly More

Using COVID-relief funds, UDSA temporarily expanded the WIC FV cash value benefit (CVB) from $9-11 to ~$35/month/person for seven months, June – December 2021. The objective of this study is to use focus groups with a diverse group of WIC participants in North Carolina to examine barriers and facilitators to utilizing the temporarily expanded CVB, More

This study seeks to partner with the local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to pair an electronic health record (EHR)-based sugar-sweetened beverage screener with a technology-based intervention in order to improve intervention reach and uptake in nutritionally at-risk infants and young children. Specific aims include: (1) Enhance EHR data infrastructure More

This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of using health system data to examine the geographic distribution of sugar‐sweetened beverage intake and evaluate neighborhood characteristics associated with intake. Researchers extracted electronic health record data from a sugar‐sweetened beverage and 100% fruit juice screener used for children ages 1 to 17 years in eight pediatric practices in North More