Start Date: November 2024

ID #: 82563

Principal Investigator: Susan Gross, PhD

Organization: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Funding Round: HER Round 14

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The need for WIC food delivery solutions has been recognized as a national policy priority to ensure equitable access to WIC benefits. WIC food ordering and delivery has the potential to significantly WIC benefit redemption and health equity on the Navajo Nation, but infrastructure and other contextual factors must be considered in order to implement a successful delivery system. This project aims to: 1) Conduct a secondary analysis of Navajo Nation WIC data to characterize the landscape of WIC food acquisition; 2) Gather qualitative data through interviews with WIC participants and staff, food store owners, and delivery workers to guide the planning of a WIC food ordering and delivery system; and 3) Test the feasibility of ordering and delivery in one Navajo Nation community. Key partners across the Navajo Nation will participate in formative research, and 30 households served by the Fort Defiance WIC office will participate in the food delivery pilot. Primary outcomes include acceptability, operability, perceived sustainability, preliminary efficacy of the ordering and delivery pilot, as well as changes in WIC benefit redemption among pilot participants.

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