Alignment of California WIC Participant Preferences With Proposed WIC Food Package Recommendations

Au, Lauren E.; Ritchie, Lorrene D.; Tsai, Marisa; Randel-Schreiber, Hallie R.; Martinez, Catherine; Gradziel, Patricia; Sabatier, Susan; Whaley, Shannon E.

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2020.09.014

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In our study sample, Spanish-speaking Hispanic individuals tended to be more satisfied with WIC and WIC nutrition education delivery compared to the other, majority English-speaking respondents. This is consistent with previous WIC studies where Spanish speakers in California were determined to be more satisfied with nutrition classes [ 22 ] and food package options [ 31 ]. Notably, we did not include respondents who were unable to speak English or Spanish.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Racial and Ethnic Comparisons in Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in California

et al. 2023

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Understanding satisfaction of nutrition education and other services provided in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is needed to ensure the program is responsive to the needs of diverse populations. This study examined the variation of WIC participants’ perceptions and satisfaction with WIC nutrition education and services by race, ethnicity, and language preference. Phone surveys were conducted in 2019 with California WIC families with children aged 1–4 years. While most participants (86%) preferred one-on-one nutrition education, online/mobile apps were also favored (69%). The majority (89%) found nutrition education equally important to receiving the WIC food package. Racial/ethnic groups differed in which WIC service they primarily valued as 20% of non-Hispanic White people rated the food package as more important than nutrition education compared to 5% of Spanish- and 6% of English-speaking Hispanic people, respectively. More Spanish (91%) and English-speaking Hispanic people (87%) than non-Hispanic white (79%) or Black people (74%) changed a behavior because of something they learned at WIC (p < 0.001). Spanish-speaking Hispanic people (90%) had the highest satisfaction with WIC nutrition education. Preferential differences among participants suggest that providing flexible options may improve program satisfaction and emphasizes the need for future studies to examine WIC services by race and ethnicity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Racial and Ethnic Comparisons in Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in California

et al. 2023

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“…The Cash Value Benefit (CVB) is a component of the food package for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) that can be used for fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables without added sugar, salt, or fat. Prior to the pandemic, the CVB was USD 9–11/month/person, an amount that many WIC participants and nutrition experts deemed insufficient [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. In June 2021, the USDA temporarily increased the CVB to USD 35/month/person, initially for four months.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Think That’s the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time”: Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit

Duffy

Vest

Davis

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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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 urban/suburban) with WIC participants (n = 55) in North Carolina in March 2022. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed. We open-coded the content and used thematic analysis to uncover consistencies within and between sampled groups. Participants expressed favorable perceptions of the CVB increase and stated the pre-pandemic CVB amount was insufficient. Barriers to using the increased CVB were identifying WIC-approved fruits and vegetables in stores and insufficient supply of fruits and vegetables. Barriers were more pronounced in rural groups. Facilitators of CVB use were existing household preferences for fruits and vegetables and the variety of products that can be purchased with CVB relative to other components of the WIC food package. Participants felt the CVB increase allowed their families to eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. The CVB increase may improve fruit and vegetable intake, particularly if made permanent, but barriers to CVB and WIC benefit use may limit the potential impact.

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“…The similarity of the association between redemption and failure to recertify across race/ ethnicity-language preference strata in the present study suggests that differences in redemption (non-Hispanic Black participants redeeming a smaller percent of WIC food benefits, Spanish-speaking Hispanic participants redeeming a higher percent of WIC food benefits) may contribute to race/ethnicity patterns in participation (14) . Further research is needed to understand factors contributing to observed differences in the distribution of redemption by race/ethnicity-language preference (22)(23)(24) , which may include availability of culturally appropriate substitutions within the WIC food packages (21,25) and structural barriers to WIC benefit redemption including access to WIC-participating vendors with desired WIC foods (26)(27)(28)(29) , and whether individual-and vendor-level interventions to increase redemption can reduce disparities in WIC retention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower redemption of monthly Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children benefits associated with higher risk of program discontinuation

Anderson,

Yepez,

Whaley

2023

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To determine whether Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food benefit redemption is associated with discontinuing WIC participation, failure to recertify, overall and by race/ethnicity-language preference and participant category. Design: Retrospective cohort study, using multivariable modified Poisson regression to determine risk ratios (RR) and 95 % CI for associations between household-level food benefit redemption (interval-scaled benefit redemption percent, averaged across WIC benefit subcategories, for the final 3, 6 and 12 months of certification) and failure to recertify in WIC, overall and within strata of race/ethnicity-language preference and participant category. Setting: WIC administrative data collected November 2019–July 2021 in Southern California. Participants: WIC-participating children ages 0–3 years at initial certification from November 2019 to May 2020 (n 41 263). Results: In all time periods, and for all subgroups, every 10 % lower food benefit redemption was associated with increased risk of failure to recertify. Among households without missing food benefit data, failure to recertify risk peaked at 505 % higher (RR = 6·05, 95 % CI (5·63, 6·51)) in households with average 12-month redemption <10 % compared with households with ≥70 % redemption. Conclusions: Lower WIC benefit redemption was associated with higher risk of failing to recertify among participants. Focused nutrition education around benefit redemption may improve WIC retention and child health through incremental increases in food benefit redemption.

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Alignment of California WIC Participant Preferences With Proposed WIC Food Package Recommendations

Cited by 9 publications

References 12 publications

Racial and Ethnic Comparisons in Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in California

Racial and Ethnic Comparisons in Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in California

“I Think That’s the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time”: Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit

Lower redemption of monthly Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children benefits associated with higher risk of program discontinuation

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