Chokshi Binny, Zven Sidney, Burris Rachel, Wido Meaghan, Hisle-Gorman Elizabeth
Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Mil Med. 2024 Nov 5;189(11-12):e2506-e2514. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usae192.
One in four U.S. service members endorses food insecurity. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an invaluable, underutilized resource that can increase access to nutritious food for families with children under 5 years of age. Our research sought to evaluate military family perceptions and engagement with the WIC program.
We conducted a mixed-method study, recruiting from a convenience sample of military families who applied for financial assistance for child care. An 18-question survey and follow-up focus groups assessed participant demographics and experiences with WIC. We utilized descriptive statistics ordinal logistic regression analyses for quantitative data analysis. For qualitative data, descriptive content analysis with constant comparison and inductive and deductive coding of interviews identified emerging themes. This study was approved by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board.
Among the 399 survey respondents, 25% were currently enrolled in WIC and 39% had been previously enrolled. Service members and their partners learned about WIC from a variety of sources, and there was no significant association between the branch of service or rank and WIC enrollment. There were 40 total participants in 10 completed focus groups. Six themes emerged: (1) Military-specific factors create unique circumstances related to WIC engagement; (2) the WIC program facilitates access to formula supplementation and nutritious foods for military families; (3) lack of program awareness and misinformation are top barriers to WIC engagement in military families; (4) stigma impacts WIC program enrollment and engagement; (5) logistics of enrollment can impact WIC engagement among military families; and (6) the military can support WIC enrollment and engagement through standardization, education, and leadership commitment.
Our findings suggest that unique circumstances related to military family life create a profound need for programs addressing food support, such as WIC. Interventions to improve WIC enrollment among military families need to be rooted in broad outreach efforts, not targeted at specific ranks, branches, or ages. Specific recommendations include increasing information dissemination, universally screening military families for WIC, decreasing logistical burdens, and involving military leadership.
四分之一的美国军人表示存在粮食不安全问题。妇女、婴儿和儿童补充营养计划（WIC）是一项宝贵但未得到充分利用的资源，它可以增加5岁以下儿童家庭获得营养食品的机会。我们的研究旨在评估军人家庭对WIC计划的看法和参与情况。
我们进行了一项混合方法研究，从申请儿童保育经济援助的军人家庭便利样本中招募参与者。一项包含18个问题的调查和后续焦点小组评估了参与者的人口统计学特征以及他们参与WIC的经历。我们对定量数据分析采用描述性统计和有序逻辑回归分析。对于定性数据，通过持续比较的描述性内容分析以及对访谈进行归纳和演绎编码来确定新出现的主题。本研究获得了美国军医大学机构审查委员会的批准。
在399名调查受访者中，25%目前参加了WIC，39%曾参加过。军人及其配偶从多种渠道了解到WIC，军种或军衔与WIC参与情况之间没有显著关联。在10个完成的焦点小组中共有40名参与者。出现了六个主题：（1）特定于军队的因素造成了与参与WIC相关的独特情况；（2）WIC计划为军人家庭获取配方奶粉补充剂和营养食品提供了便利；（3）缺乏计划意识和错误信息是军人家庭参与WIC的首要障碍；（4）耻辱感影响WIC计划的参与和登记；（5）登记流程会影响军人家庭对WIC的参与；（6）军队可以通过标准化、教育和领导层的承诺来支持WIC的参与和登记。
我们的研究结果表明，与军人家庭生活相关的独特情况使得对诸如WIC这类解决粮食支持问题的计划产生了迫切需求。提高军人家庭参与WIC的干预措施需要基于广泛的宣传努力，而不是针对特定的军衔、军种或年龄。具体建议包括增加信息传播、对军人家庭进行普遍的WIC筛查；减轻后勤负担以及让军队领导层参与进来。
