Anderson Christopher E, Yepez Catherine E, Whaley Shannon E
Division of Research and Evaluation, Public Health Foundation Enterprises WIC Program, a program of Heluna Health, City of Industry, CA, USA.
Division of Research and Evaluation, Public Health Foundation Enterprises WIC Program, a program of Heluna Health, City of Industry, CA, USA.
J Acad Nutr Diet. 2025 Sep;125(9):1287-1298.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2025.05.009. Epub 2025 May 17.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutrition assistance to pregnant and postpartum women in low-income households and their children up to age 5 years. Flexible services (in-person and remote) have been provided since 2020.
The objectives of this study were to describe WIC service utilization patterns (in-person, telephone, video conference, interactive texting, online individual education, online group education) and assess associations of service utilization with WIC benefit redemption and continued participation.
A cross-sectional study with administrative data for follow-up.
Study data include survey and administrative data from households with a WIC-participating child aged 1 to 4 years who responded to the 2023 California Statewide WIC Survey between March and August 2023. Individuals with missing WIC administrative or survey data were excluded (n = 2341 unweighted; n = 2322 weighted for redemption; n = 1868 weighted for recertification).
The average percentage of WIC-issued foods redeemed over the 12 months preceding survey completion (WIC food benefit redemption) and successful recertification within 2 months after the end of the child's certification period (continued WIC participation) were determined with WIC administrative data.
Associations of service utilization with benefit redemption and continued participation were assessed with generalized estimating equation linear and logistic regression models, respectively.
Participants who used any in-person or fully remote services had similar levels of mean benefit redemption (53.2% and 53.3%, respectively) and continued participation (83.7% and 81.2%, respectively). In the full sample, online individual education was associated with 2.2% higher redemption (95% CI, 0.1%-4.4%). Among those receiving no in-person WIC services, online individual education and online group education were associated with 2.7% (95% CI, 0.1%-5.4%) and 4.2% (95% CI, 0.6%-7.8%) higher benefit redemption; interactive texting was associated with 36% higher odds of continued participation (95% CI, 1%-83%).
In-person and fully remote WIC services were associated with similar levels of benefit redemption and continued participation. Online individual education and interactive texting may be important for redemption and continued participation for some WIC-participating households. Continued WIC investment in technology and staff training for these flexible services may contribute to positive outcomes, particularly for families without in-person service use.
妇女、婴儿和儿童特殊补充营养计划（WIC）为低收入家庭的孕妇和产后妇女及其5岁以下儿童提供营养援助。自2020年以来一直提供灵活的服务（面对面和远程）。
本研究的目的是描述WIC服务利用模式（面对面、电话、视频会议、交互式短信、在线个人教育、在线团体教育），并评估服务利用与WIC福利兑换和持续参与之间的关联。
一项带有行政数据用于随访的横断面研究。
研究数据包括2023年3月至8月间对2023年加利福尼亚州全州WIC调查做出回应的有1至4岁WIC参与儿童家庭的调查和行政数据。排除WIC行政或调查数据缺失的个体（未加权n = 2341；用于兑换加权n = 2322；用于重新认证加权n = 1868）。
使用WIC行政数据确定在调查完成前12个月内WIC发放食品的平均兑换百分比（WIC食品福利兑换）以及儿童认证期结束后2个月内成功重新认证（WIC持续参与）情况。
分别使用广义估计方程线性和逻辑回归模型评估服务利用与福利兑换和持续参与之间的关联。
使用任何面对面或完全远程服务的参与者的平均福利兑换水平（分别为53.2%和53.3%）和持续参与水平（分别为83.7%和81.2%）相似。在全样本中，在线个人教育与兑换率高2.2%相关（95%CI，0.1%-4.4%）。在未接受任何面对面WIC服务的人群中，在线个人教育和在线团体教育与福利兑换率分别高2.7%（95%CI，0.1%-5.4%）和4.2%（95%CI，0.6%-7.8%）相关；交互式短信与持续参与几率高36%相关（95%CI，1%-83%）。
面对面和完全远程的WIC服务与相似水平的福利兑换和持续参与相关。在线个人教育和交互式短信对于一些参与WIC的家庭的兑换和持续参与可能很重要。WIC继续在这些灵活服务的技术和员工培训方面进行投资可能有助于取得积极成果，特别是对于未使用面对面服务的家庭。
