In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized USDA to approve waivers, requested by WIC state agencies and Tribal Nations, which would ensure WIC benefit access for families already participating in the program, as well as newly eligible families. These waivers and flexibilities provided researchers a More
This brief provides the results of an analysis of WIC vendor selection and authorization criteria, and operations and management policies established by the 89 administrative agencies in the United States. This study is the first to compile and examine a database of WIC vendor selection and authorization criteria, and operations and management policies established by More
This study aimed to assess programmatic changes made by the Washington State WIC program to offer remote services and more flexible food options, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve focus groups with 52 WIC staff (10 state, 42 local) were conducted in Dec 2020 to Feb 2021, and interviews were conducted with 40 WIC 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
The purpose of this study is to evaluate a novel Electronic Health Record (EHR)-based WIC referral and care coordination program. Specifically, this program refers children to WIC and provides a secure data connection for communication between health care providers and WIC team members. The specific aims are to: 1) Better understand the WIC referral gap More
This study aimed to examine the relationship between WICShopper application (app) usage and full redemption of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food benefits in the West Virginia WIC program. With propensity score matching, the prevalence of full redemption at the household level was 7.2% for app users vs 4.7% for More
Access to WIC benefits typically requires an in-person visit to a WIC center, however this became a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic due to recommendations for social distancing to minimize and prevent the spread of the virus. As a result, in-person requirements were removed for all visits, except first time enrollment visits, and participants were More
Bottle-fed infants are at greater risk for overfeeding and rapid weight gain (RWG), so evidence-based strategies for promoting healthy bottle-feeding practices are needed. The aim of this study was to assess whether policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies for promoting responsive bottle-feeding practices within the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) More
The Click & Collect model is a three-step process for placing a WIC grocery order online, then picking it up and paying for it at the store. This model for online ordering could be an opportunity, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, to address certain challenges to WIC shopping and benefit redemption. A pilot study More
Some WIC state agencies are adopting WIC apps that participants can use to check their benefits, set reminders for their clinical appointments, or complete nutrition education. Although WIC apps have already been used by millions of WIC participants, the effectiveness of this significant innovation has never been systematically evaluated. It is unclear whether the participants More
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