From paper to plastic: Understanding the impact of eWIC on WIC recipient behavior

Hanks, Andrew S.; Gunther, Carolyn; Lillard, Dean R.; Scharff, Robert L.

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.12.002

Cited by 26 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Although EBT has been found to improve redemption and ease at checkout [15], it has not been associated with an increase in enrollment [16] and cannot alleviate all the problems associated with shopping for and choosing the correct WIC foods. Mobile phone apps for WIC, therefore, are becoming increasingly prevalent and necessary to assist participants with the WIC shopping experience [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Phone Apps for Low-Income Participants in a Public Health Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Review and Analysis of Features

Weber¹,

Dawson²,

Greene³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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BackgroundSince 1972, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has been proven to improve the health of participating low-income women and children in the United States. Despite positive nutritional outcomes associated with WIC, the program needs updated tools to help future generations. Improving technology in federal nutrition programs is crucial for keeping nutrition resources accessible and easy for low-income families to use.ObjectiveThis review aimed to analyze the main features of publicly available mobile phone apps for WIC participants.MethodsKeyword searches were performed in the app stores for the 2 most commonly used mobile phone operating systems between December 2017 and June 2018. Apps were included if they were relevant to WIC and excluded if the target users were not WIC participants. App features were reviewed and classified according to type and function. User reviews from the app stores were examined, including ratings and categorization of user review comments.ResultsA total of 17 apps met selection criteria. Most apps (n=12) contained features that required verified access available only to WIC participants. Apps features were classified into categories: (1) shopping management (eg, finding and redeeming food benefits), (2) clinic appointment management (eg, appointment reminders and scheduling), (3) informational resources (eg, recipes, general food list, tips about how to use WIC, links to other resources), (4) WIC-required nutrition education modules, and (5) other user input. Positive user reviews indicated that apps with shopping management features were very useful.ConclusionsWIC apps are becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in states that have implemented electronic benefits transfer for WIC. This review offers new contributions to the literature and practice, as practitioners, software developers, and health researchers seek to improve and expand technology in the program.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Phone Apps for Low-Income Participants in a Public Health Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Review and Analysis of Features

Weber¹,

Dawson²,

Greene³

et al. 2018

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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show abstract

“…One of the main purposes of EBT transition is to facilitate the benefit redemption experience. However, a recent state-level study suggests that EBT transition did not significantly change the redemption of produce or infant formula [ 18 ]. Although the EBT system itself may not exert a significant impact on every aspect of the WIC program, it provides a necessary base for further technological innovations to improve WIC operations and participant experience [ 20 , 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The implementation of the EBT system has been completed in most states; the deadline for all states to make the transition is October 1, 2020. Transition to EBT has been associated with a higher redemption of food benefits, reduced stigma at checkout, and improved overall retail experience [ 12 , 18 ]. More importantly, EBT allows integrating the electronic transaction system and other WIC administrative systems, which can provide an eWIC platform that makes it possible for redemption data mining and future technology innovations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association Between Usage of an App to Redeem Prescribed Food Benefits and Redemption Behaviors Among the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participants: Cross-Sectional Study

Zhang¹,

Zhang²,

Park³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one of the most important food assistance programs in the United States, serving 6.4 million low-income, eligible women, infants, and children under 5 years of age in 2019. In the program, participants are prescribed a list of food benefits, which can be redeemed in WIC-authorized stores. However, there are multiple behavioral barriers in the program and the stores that prevent participants from redeeming the benefits fully. Objective This study aims to examine the relationship between the use of a widely used mobile phone app, WICShopper, and the redemption of the prescribed food packages. Methods WIC administrative data were obtained from West Virginia for the period January 2019 to January 2020 and included 30,440 WIC households that had received food benefits in that period. The redemption rates of 18 WIC food benefits were compared between app users and nonapp users, that is, those who never used the app in the study period. The use behaviors were defined for the app users, including the number of active use benefit cycles, active benefit cycle rates, number of active use days in the cycle, and proportion rates of daytime use. Panel linear regressions were applied to examine how the redemption rates were related to these behaviors over time. Results App users consistently had higher average redemption rates than nonapp users; the difference ranged from 3.6% (4.8% relative) for infant formula to 14.3% (40.7% relative) for fish. After controlling for sociodemographics, the coefficients of app use were significantly positive for all benefit categories except for WIC-eligible nutritionals. More active cycles and active days in the cycle were significantly related to redemption rates for all categories, except for frozen juice (coefficient=−0.002, P=.09). Daytime app access was positively associated with redemption rates for most food benefits except only a few, such as infant formula (coefficient=−0.03, P<.001). Conclusions Use of the WIC app was significantly related to higher redemption rates across food benefits, although the association varied across benefit categories. More active days were positively related to benefit redemptions across food categories, and the app’s daytime use was positively associated with the redemption of most benefit categories. These findings suggest that the WIC app can be an important tool for the promotion of benefit redemption among WIC participants.

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“…However, we are aware of only two studies that have examined partial redemptions using EBT data. Hanks et al 26 examined redemption behavior pre- and post- EBT transition in Ohio based on loyalty-card data from a single grocery chain. They found evidence of increased WIC redemptions occurring two to four months after EBT transition, although a similar increase recorded in non-WIC food purchases during the same period casts doubt on that result, as do subsequent FNS data that compare average redemption costs in EBT vs. non-EBT states.…”

Section: Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

The Magnitude and Determinants of Partial Redemptions of Food Benefits in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

McLaughlin

Saitone

et al. 2021

Am J Health Promot

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Purpose: WIC provides food assistance to low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children ages 1- 4. A partial redemption (PR) occurs when a participant redeems only a portion of the prescribed benefit, thereby not obtaining the full nutritional benefit. We study the magnitude and determinants of PRs using electronic benefit transfer data. Design/Setting: Statistical analysis of all WIC transactions from Feb 2016 to Nov 2018. Subjects: Oklahoma WIC participants. Measures: The probability of a WIC household fully redeeming a food category. A random effects probit model is used to study determinants of PRs. Analysis: Estimate the marginal effects of key variables on households’ likelihood of full redemption: location—urban/rural, number of members in WIC, duration in the program, number of shopping trips, shopping venue, and prescribed foods. Results: Overall 18.5% of $ value of benefits are unredeemed, 29.3% excluding formula. Some foods have PRs > 40%. Only 17.3% of households fully redeem benefits in a given month. PRs increase with number of household members in WIC and duration of participation. PRs are lower for participants in rural locations, who shop more frequently, and who shop at WIC-specialized stores. Conclusions: Food packages with high PRs fail to impart prescribed benefits. Results pinpoint products and household characteristics associated with PRs, enabling targeted nutritional counseling and suggest food package choices need to be made with participant acceptance in mind.

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From paper to plastic: Understanding the impact of eWIC on WIC recipient behavior

Cited by 26 publications

References 21 publications

Mobile Phone Apps for Low-Income Participants in a Public Health Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Review and Analysis of Features

Mobile Phone Apps for Low-Income Participants in a Public Health Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Review and Analysis of Features

Association Between Usage of an App to Redeem Prescribed Food Benefits and Redemption Behaviors Among the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participants: Cross-Sectional Study

The Magnitude and Determinants of Partial Redemptions of Food Benefits in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

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