Behavior Change

Increasing Equity in an Infant’s First Food Environment: Loudoun County, VA Breastfeeding Success Stories

Loudoun County created this poster to highlight their local work with breastfeeding. This poster was presented at NWA’s Annual Conference in April 2017 and highlighted the many activities pursued during […]

Breastfeeding Outcomes in Washington State: Determining the Effect of Loving Support Peer Counseling Program and Characteristics of Participants at WIC

The peer support counseling intervention improved breastfeeding duation and initation in the two trial clinics in Washington State. "The likelihood that women enrolled in WIC would initiate BF at Public Health Seattle and King County Clinics increased by 3%, whereas those in Catholic Health Initatives Franciscan Medical Group clinics increased by 6.8%. Women receiving services in smaller PHSKC clinics (n < 60 women) were likely to breastfeed their infants at >1 week."

Timeliness of Receipt of Early Childhood Vaccinations Among Children of Immigrants – Minnesota 2016

"Participation in WIC during pregnancy was significantly associated with being up-to-date at 2, 6, and 36 months. Participation in WIC was associated with an increased likelihood of up-to-date vaccination status, and engaging eligible foreign-born families in programs such as WIC might provide an opportunity to increase on-time vaccination "

A Smartphone App for Families With Preschool-Aged Children in a Public Nutrition Program: Prototype Development and Beta-Testing

CHEW, a smartphone app provides shopping tools, including barcode scanners and calculators to maximize the WIC benefit redemption rate. Testing found that the app was successful with WIC mothers with moderate levels of app usage.

WIC Participants’ Perceived Behavioral Control, Attitudes Toward, and Factors Influencing Behavioral Intentions to Redeeming Cash-Value Vouchers at Certified Farmers Markets

Proportionately more Spanish speakers had greater perceived behavioral control for redeeming CV vouchers at CFM. Not enough variety of produce offered, not knowing what produce to buy, and unfavorable weather conditions were proportionately lower among English speakers than Spanish speakers. Proportionately more Spanish speakers identified availability of organic produce, other items for sale than just produce, and entertainment provided as a factor to redeem CV vouchers. Approximately 43% of English speakers identified unfavorable weather as a barrier to attend CFM.

Comparison of WIC Benefit Redemptions in Michigan Indicates Higher Utilization Among Arab American Families

About 12% of WIC families fully redeemed their benefits in March, 2012. Compared with non- Arab/non-Hispanic families, Arab American WIC families were significantly more likely to use all of their monthly WIC benefits, even after controlling for family characteristics.

Changes in Household Food Insecurity are Related to Changes in BMI and Diet Quality Among Michigan Head Start Preschoolers in a Sex-Specific Manner

In summary, we found that BMI and diet quality changes of Head Start preschool girls were correlated with short-term changes in household food insecurity.

The Relationship Between Food Insecurity, Produce Intake and Behaviors, Hemoglobin Levels, BMI, and Health Status Among Women Participating in the West Virginia WIC and WIC FMNP Programs

In the Mid-Ohio Valley Region of West Virginia, food insecure women in the West Virginia WIC program had a greater risk of depression, higher food pantry use, lower rates of reliable transportation to obtain food, and lower use of extra methods to obtain food such as hunting and fishing in comparison to their food secure counterparts in the WIC program. Women who did not participate in the West Virginia WIC FMNP program had lower produce intake related behaviors, including perceived control, enabling domain, and self-efficacy than those that did.

Hospitalization: Are We Missing an Opportunity to Identify Food Insecurity in Children?

Recently hospitalized low-income children and girls had significantly greater odds of living in food insecure households. Of potentially eligible hospitalized children, 26.9% had not received Women, Infants, and Children benefits and 31.0% had not received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in the past year.

Decreasing Disparities in Child Development Assessment: Identifying and Discussing Possible Delays in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Findings suggest that strengthening the existing referral processes and enhancing continuity of care between WIC and developmental providers may improve child outcomes and reduce disparities.