The effect of the WIC program on food security status of pregnant, first-time participants

The literature upon household food security in the United States has grown substantially in new years, at least partially to be paid to the availability since 1995 of a standardized instrument for assessing this phenomenon in the population (Hamilton et al., 1997) The commons security status of participants in the viands Stamp Program (Gundersen & Oliveira, 2001; Perez-Escamilla et al., 2000) the Expanded viands and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) (Greer & Poling, 2001) and welfare programs (Borjas, 2001; Capps, Ku & Fix, 2002; Winship & Jenck 2001) has been investigated. There have been alone a few studies on the influence of the consequence of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants, and Children (WIC) upon food security status. A Florida close attention found that participation in WIC and the number of different income sources were the sum of two units factors most highly associated with more weekly family nutriment servings and improved food security (Taren, Clark, Chernesky, & Quirk, 1990) A large improvement in diet quality, and therefore indirectly nutriment security, was demonstrated in an analysis of data from the 1989-91 Continuing scan of Food Intakes by Individuals (1989-91 CSFII) that examined the relationship between WIC participation and dietary intake. Participation in the WIC Program by dint of at least one family member was shown to raise the aggregate household Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score through 23.45 points in a sample of 1438 WIC participants, compared with households that did not participate in the WIC Program (Basiotis, Kramer-LeBlanc, & Kennedy 1998)

The underlying premise of WIC is that depressed income predisposes individuals to poor nutritional status and poor health consequences during critical periods of increase and development. The program is not designed as a safety gin to guard against food insecurity or craving for food but rather as a targeted intervention to defend the most vulnerable members of the population--namely, pregnant women with increased nutritional urgencys as well as infants and children--from the issues of these phenomena. Although income eligibility is place at 185 percent of the Federal indigence level, most participants live in households with incomes at or below the necessity line. The WIC population also includes a high proportion of ethnic minorities--subgroups fix to have the highest rates of fare insecurity nationally (Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2002) In 2001 the WIC Program serv about 73 million participants each month (USDA, 2001) and provided cash grants totaling $41 billion to 88 State agencies (USDA, 2000)

In the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) 1996 report evaluating WIC nutrition risk criteria, it was refer toed for the first time that subsistence insecurity be used as a risk criterion for program eligibility. A posterior report (Institute of Medicine, 2002) evaluating dietary assessment in the WIC Program recognized the significance of cheer insecurity as a potential contributor to nutritional risk and the likely benefit from participation in the WIC Program. However, the report did not proffer specific recommendations about food insecurity because of lack of sufficient evidence upon which to select a cutoff point to identify those greatest in quantity likely to benefit.

In addition to referrals for social services, the WIC Program presents participants a supplemental food package tailored to participants' nutritional extremitys The food package for pregnant clients has a value of nearly $70 for month and contains foods that are suitable for consumption by means of all family members. Items include juice, cereal, ovums milk and cheese, and a choice of beans or peanut butter The package for the postpartum period is similar on the contrary has smaller quantities of these items and is worth about $60 This package may also include canned tuna and novel carrots for women who pitch upon to breastfeed or infant formula for women who pick not to breastfeed.

The object of this study was to ascertain the baseline pabulum security status of pregnant, first-time WIC participants and to identify any changes in provisions security status over the course of their pregnancy. We also wanted to determine whether particular aspects of the WIC Program were associated with changes in viands security status of participants above time and, if so, what those characteristics might be.

Methods

Participant Recruitment and Data Collection

Women were recruited while enrolling for services at single outed centers in the Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE) WIC Program catchment area in sees Angeles (CA) between March and September 1999 Eligibility criteria for participants included (1) no prior enrollment in the WIC Program, (2) 16 or fewer weeks of pregnancy, (3) self-identification as Hispanic or African-American, (4) ability to speak either English or Spanish, and (5) being at least 18 years of age. The application of mind was restricted to Hispanic and African-American women because, based upon national data, these groups have the highest prevalences of household aliment insecurity.