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"I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 07 16; 19(14)IJ

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for fruits and vegetables increased by roughly USD 25/month/person. We sought to understand WIC participant perceptions of this change and barriers and facilitators to using the CVB. We conducted 10 virtual focus groups (5 rural, 5 urban/suburban) with WIC participants (n = 55) in North Carolina in March 2022. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed. We open-coded the content and used thematic analysis to uncover consistencies within and between sampled groups. Participants expressed favorable perceptions of the CVB increase and stated the pre-pandemic CVB amount was insufficient. Barriers to using the increased CVB were identifying WIC-approved fruits and vegetables in stores and insufficient supply of fruits and vegetables. Barriers were more pronounced in rural groups. Facilitators of CVB use were existing household preferences for fruits and vegetables and the variety of products that can be purchased with CVB relative to other components of the WIC food package. Participants felt the CVB increase allowed their families to eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. The CVB increase may improve fruit and vegetable intake, particularly if made permanent, but barriers to CVB and WIC benefit use may limit the potential impact.

Links

PMC Free PDF

Authors+Show Affiliations

Duffy EW
Carolina Population Center, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Vest DA
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Davis CR
Carolina Population Center, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Hall MG
Carolina Population Center, Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
De Marco M
Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Ng SW
Carolina Population Center, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Taillie LS
Carolina Population Center, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.

MeSH

COVID-19ChildFemaleFood AssistanceFruitHumansInfantPandemicsVegetables

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

35886526

Citation

Duffy, Emily W., et al. ""I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 14, 2022.
Duffy EW, Vest DA, Davis CR, et al. "I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14).
Duffy, E. W., Vest, D. A., Davis, C. R., Hall, M. G., De Marco, M., Ng, S. W., & Taillie, L. S. (2022). "I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148671
Duffy EW, et al. "I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 07 16;19(14) PubMed PMID: 35886526.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - "I Think That's the Most Beneficial Change That WIC Has Made in a Really Long Time": Perceptions and Awareness of an Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit. AU - Duffy,Emily W, AU - Vest,Daniele A, AU - Davis,Cassandra R, AU - Hall,Marissa G, AU - De Marco,Molly, AU - Ng,Shu Wen, AU - Taillie,Lindsey Smith, Y1 - 2022/07/16/ PY - 2022/06/17/received PY - 2022/07/12/revised PY - 2022/07/14/accepted PY - 2022/7/27/entrez PY - 2022/7/28/pubmed PY - 2022/7/29/medline KW - COVID-19 KW - cash value benefit KW - childhood KW - fruit KW - vegetable JF - International journal of environmental research and public health JO - Int J Environ Res Public Health VL - 19 IS - 14 N2 - During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Cash Value Benefit (CVB) for fruits and vegetables increased by roughly USD 25/month/person. We sought to understand WIC participant perceptions of this change and barriers and facilitators to using the CVB. We conducted 10 virtual focus groups (5 rural, 5 urban/suburban) with WIC participants (n = 55) in North Carolina in March 2022. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed. We open-coded the content and used thematic analysis to uncover consistencies within and between sampled groups. Participants expressed favorable perceptions of the CVB increase and stated the pre-pandemic CVB amount was insufficient. Barriers to using the increased CVB were identifying WIC-approved fruits and vegetables in stores and insufficient supply of fruits and vegetables. Barriers were more pronounced in rural groups. Facilitators of CVB use were existing household preferences for fruits and vegetables and the variety of products that can be purchased with CVB relative to other components of the WIC food package. Participants felt the CVB increase allowed their families to eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. The CVB increase may improve fruit and vegetable intake, particularly if made permanent, but barriers to CVB and WIC benefit use may limit the potential impact. SN - 1660-4601 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35886526/"I_Think_That's_the_Most_Beneficial_Change_That_WIC_Has_Made_in_a_Really_Long_Time":_Perceptions_and_Awareness_of_an_Increase_in_the_WIC_Cash_Value_Benefit_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -