Weber Summer J, Dawson Daniela, Greene Haley, Hull Pamela C
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
Leighton School of Nursing, Marian University, Nashville, TN, United States.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Nov 19;6(11):e12261. doi: 10.2196/12261.
Since 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.
This review aimed to analyze the main features of publicly available mobile phone apps for WIC participants.
Keyword 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.
A 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.
WIC 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.
自1972年以来，妇女、婴儿和儿童特别补充营养计划（WIC）已被证明能改善美国参与计划的低收入妇女和儿童的健康状况。尽管WIC带来了积极的营养成果，但该计划需要更新工具以惠及子孙后代。改善联邦营养计划中的技术对于确保营养资源可供低收入家庭获取和使用至关重要。
本综述旨在分析面向WIC参与者的公开可用手机应用程序的主要特征。
在2017年12月至2018年6月期间，在应用商店中针对两种最常用的手机操作系统进行关键词搜索。如果应用程序与WIC相关则予以纳入，如果目标用户不是WIC参与者则予以排除。根据类型和功能对应用程序功能进行审查和分类。检查应用商店中的用户评论，包括评分和用户评论的分类。
共有17款应用程序符合选择标准。大多数应用程序（n = 12）包含仅WIC参与者才能通过验证访问的功能。应用程序功能分为以下几类：（1）购物管理（例如，查找和兑换食品福利），（2）诊所预约管理（例如，预约提醒和日程安排），（3）信息资源（例如，食谱、一般食品清单以及关于如何使用WIC的提示、指向其他资源的链接），（4）WIC要求的营养教育模块，以及（5）其他用户输入。积极的用户评论表明，具有购物管理功能的应用程序非常有用。
WIC应用程序越来越普遍，尤其是在已实施WIC电子福利转账的州。随着从业者、软件开发人员和健康研究人员寻求改进和扩展该计划中的技术，本综述为文献和实践做出了新贡献。
