The authors examines whether there was an association between chronic psychosocial stress and low-birth weight neonates among low-income women. researchers found that many psychosocial stressors were associated with a low-birth weight delivery, including food insecurity, a child with a chronic illness, a crowded home environment, and unemployment.
The researchers analyzed the perceptions of low-income pregnant women about breastfeeding, including the benefits of breastfeeding, maternal concerns, support, and anticipated challenges of combining breastfeeding and work. The results showed that low-income women anticipated substantial barriers to breastfeeding when they planned to combine breastfeeding and work or school.
Coordination between WIC and Medicaid has been an important component to ensuring that WIC clients have access to primary care services. This study examines how increased use of managed care in the Medicaid program had affected WIC Program coordination efforts. According to the study sample, 72% of state Medicaid agencies reported that Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) were required to inform their members about WIC. About 43% of state WIC agencies sampled in the study had a formal agreement with a state Medicaid agency, generally revolving around data sharing, referrals, and provision of special metabolic infant formulas. The agreements often lacked specific details on how services should be coordinated, however. Some local WIC agencies and MCOs had implemented innovative approaches to coordination. These approaches included collocating Medicaid staff at WIC clinics, to help clients with enrollment; sharing information to promote targeted outreach efforts; helping clients identify providers and resources; and receiving funds from MCOs to cover WIC clients; transportation costs to attend WIC appointments.
Researchers investigated factors that affect food choices and health beliefs among low-income women. They found that the women were concerned about diabetes, hypertension, and overweight/obesity. In addition, most also believed that their health status had genetic or metabolic origins. They also perceived healthy foods as unaffordable.
The authors investigated the impact of the WIC Program on the eating behaviors of preschool children in southeastern Idaho. researchers found that after 6 months on WIC, the mean overall Healthy Eating Index score and subscores for vegetables, fruits, and meats increased significantly.
The researchers examines cost-containment practices in six states, including interviews with the various stakeholders and analysis of WIC administrative data. The authors reached three major conclusions: (1) Cost-containment practices reduced average food package costs by 0.2% to 21.4%, depending on practices implemented and local conditions; (2) the cost-containment practices had few adverse outcomes for WIC participants; and (3) administrative costs of the practices were low, averaging about 1.5% of food package savings.
The objective of this study was to identify the unintended consequences of the WIC formula rebate on the proportion of mothers who breastfed their babies. The results showed that the high and increasing cost of the formula might perpetuate the idea that WICs formula packages are of greater value than the breastfeeding packages that WIC offers.
An official list of approved WIC foods from the Illinois Dept. of Human Services – Bureau of Family Nutrition.
The report details the potential effects of reductoins in WIC funding for the program and participants (2017-2018).
The study implemented a farmers market near a WIC clinic for 24 weeks with 12 WIC armers and increased redemption from 51.3% - 62.9% in a North Carolina County,
