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 to identify WIC participants ages 6 months to 4 years who overconsume sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juice, and create a data linkage to allow WIC staff to access the EHR of WIC-enrolled children; (2) Use semi-structured interviews with WIC parents, WIC staff and pediatricians to identify a shared messaging strategy for beverage choice compatible with guidelines and current WIC packages; and (3) Pilot test the health system intervention + WIC communication strategy in a small randomized trial among 30 WIC-enrolled families.
Start Date: April 2021
ID #: 283-4134
Principal Investigator: Kristina Henderson Lewis, MD, MPH, SM
Organization: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Funding Round: SSB4
Focus Areas: Beverages, Early Childhood
Resource Type: Grant Summary
State: North Carolina
Age Groups: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5)
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Related Research
July 2026
“It’s just not worth it anymore”: A Mixed Methods Study Examining the Impact of Reinstating Reimbursement Tiers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
This study aimed to assess impacts of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reinstatement of tiered reimbursements among family child care home (FCCH) providers, sponsors, and families in California. Irrespective of tier, surveyed providers reported that the reinstated, tiered reimbursements were insufficient (92.4%), resulting in reduced food variety (39.1%) and quality (14.8%), and MoreJuly 2026
Forecasting WIC Funding Needs: Supporting Families, Strengthening Access
In partnership with Westat and with support from Healthy Eating Research, the National WIC Association (NWA) developed a new forecasting model to project funding needs of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for Fiscal Year 2027. Report This report describes the model development, including methodology, as well as analysis conducted MoreMay 2026