TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimizing Nutrition Education in WIC
T2 - Findings From Focus Groups With Arizona Clients and Staff
AU - Greenblatt, Yael
AU - Gomez, Sofia
AU - Alleman, Gayle
AU - Rico, Karen
AU - McDonald, Daniel A.
AU - Hingle, Melanie
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the Pima County Health Department for collaboration and support on this project, and clients and staff in Pima County WIC. This work was supported by a University of Arizona Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion Faculty Seed Grant.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - Objective To understand staff and clients' experiences with delivering and receiving nutrition education in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Methods Focus groups involving WIC staff, clients, and former clients in Arizona. Client and staff perceptions of WIC nutrition education, preferences, and suggestions for improvement were examined. Transcripts were analyzed using a deductive thematic approach to identify emerging themes. Results Findings from 10 focus groups with 25 WIC staff and 29 clients suggested that existing materials were time-consuming and unresponsive to client needs, and additional resources were needed to engage children while parents were in session; new delivery formats for nutrition education, including videos and interactive demonstrations focused on child-friendly preparations of WIC foods, were preferred. Conclusions and Implications Collaboration among existing nutrition education programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, community gardens, and Head Start, can complement and enhance WIC nutrition educations in this region.
AB - Objective To understand staff and clients' experiences with delivering and receiving nutrition education in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Methods Focus groups involving WIC staff, clients, and former clients in Arizona. Client and staff perceptions of WIC nutrition education, preferences, and suggestions for improvement were examined. Transcripts were analyzed using a deductive thematic approach to identify emerging themes. Results Findings from 10 focus groups with 25 WIC staff and 29 clients suggested that existing materials were time-consuming and unresponsive to client needs, and additional resources were needed to engage children while parents were in session; new delivery formats for nutrition education, including videos and interactive demonstrations focused on child-friendly preparations of WIC foods, were preferred. Conclusions and Implications Collaboration among existing nutrition education programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, community gardens, and Head Start, can complement and enhance WIC nutrition educations in this region.
KW - WIC
KW - focus group
KW - food assistance
KW - nutrition education
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jneb.2016.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jneb.2016.01.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 26883966
AN - SCOPUS:84957709007
SN - 1499-4046
VL - 48
SP - 289-294.e1
JO - Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
JF - Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
IS - 4
ER -