Evaluating Telehealth Solutions in WIC: Wisconsin WIC Clients

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Nutrition Education; WIC; Telehealth; Breast Feeding; Dietary Intake
• Interventions: Behavioral: Telehealth solution

• Registration Number: NCT05726448
• Lead Sponsor: Tufts University

Brief Summary

With funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Tufts University's Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) project, Wisconsin's (WI) WIC department will be implementing a new, customized, mobile-friendly nutrition education platform called ONE (Online Nutrition Education) in WI's WIC program. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the ONE platform. The evaluation will focus on WIC clients as the study population. The Wisconsin WIC department would be implementing this education platform, regardless of the evaluation research. The Wisconsin WIC department is responsible for implementing this new intervention, while the Tufts University research team is responsible for the evaluation of this platform through surveys and analysis of administrative data.

An online survey will be used to gauge WIC clients' satisfaction with ONE, and the impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on breastfeed duration, dietary intake, attendance at scheduled appointments, attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education, and barriers encountered. Survey data will be combined with previously collected data on clients and their families from the WI Management Information Systems (MIS), and aggregate level data from the ONE telehealth solution about ONE utilization.

Detailed Description

Telehealth can reduce barriers and increase access to care, and it can be applied to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). WIC is a federal nutrition assistance program that helps low-income women with children up to age 5. There is a large volume of research that supports remote patient monitoring, and the most benefits are found when telehealth is used for communication and counseling. The USDA awarded Tufts University a grant to test and evaluate the use of telehealth innovations in the delivery of USDA's WIC program. Tufts University then offered the USDA/Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) grant opportunity to WIC state agencies across the US. THIS-WIC selected 7 WIC State Agencies to receive grants, and the WI state agency is one recipient. The THIS-WIC team at Tufts University is leading the evaluation of these telehealth solutions in collaboration with funded WIC State Agencies.

THIS-WIC aims to generate evidence from WI's telehealth solution to inform how the ONE platform supports WIC services compared to usual in-person care. ONE is a mobile-optimized website, meaning that it functions as an app without requiring the amount of memory and data that apps use. WIC clients can experience the ONE platform in either English or Spanish. Evaluation findings will inform stakeholders about the platform's benefits and how viable it is to sustain and adapt ONE more widely.

Surveys will be conducted online via the Alchemer survey software platform for intervention and control sites.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-01-12
• Study First Submitted: 2023-01-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-02-02
• Study First Posted: 2023-02-14
• Primary Completion: 2023-11-30
• Study Completion: 2023-11-30
• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-05-29
• Last Update Posted: 2024-05-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 2228

Inclusion Criteria

• pregnant women
• postpartum women
• parent/guardian of a participating infant or child in the WIC program

Study participants will be clients at local WIC agency sites where either the telehealth solution is offered or where only usual care is available (control).

Read More

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Read More

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Telehealth solution	Telehealth solution	Telehealth solution offered

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Satisfaction with the telehealth solution	During the study period, approximately 18 months	WIC clients satisfaction with nutrition education offered via the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education	During the study period, approximately 18 months	Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on WIC clients' attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.
Breastfeeding duration	During the study period, approximately 18 months	Duration of breastfeeding in clients offered the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.
Attendance at scheduled appointments	During the study period, approximately 18 months	WIC clients attendance at appointments when offered the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.
Dietary intake	During the study period, approximately 18 months	Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on dietary intake. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.
Barriers encountered in obtaining nutrition education	During the study period, approximately 18 months	Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on barriers encountered by WIC clients in obtaining nutrition education. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Tufts University; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States