Determinants of WIC Participant Retention: A Case in New Jersey
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Yeon Bai
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 2:15 PM
End Date
26-4-2024 3:15 PM
Description
Background: WIC offers nutrition assessment and education, nourishment, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and social services for participants. The recruitment and retention of participants are important to maintain the program effectiveness. Currently about 50% of eligible people participate in the program. This study examined factors associated with the participants’ intention to stay on WIC. Methods: In May and June 2023, a cross-sectional Qualtrics survey was conducted with WIC participants in Northern New Jersey. The survey was framed by the theory of planned behavior. Questions included intention to stay on WIC, attitude toward, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) of the intention. Multiple regression analyses determined relative importance of the factors. Results: Participants (N=897) were 93.4% Hispanic, 80.5% high school graduates, and 63.7% unemployed. Study participants marked high on their intention but low on PBC to stay on WIC. Attitude, subjective norm, and PBC together captured 32.8% (p<.0001) of the intention to stay on WIC. Subjective norm was most influential (ß= .422, p<.0001) to the intention followed by PBC (ß= .142, p<.0001). The importance of subjective norm was more pronounced for those who were on WIC for less than 1 year compared to those on WIC for longer period (ß= .620, p<.0001 vs. ß= .303, p<.0001). Conclusion: How significant others view and support WIC participation is critical to stay on WIC. Participant education with peer group and family members and modernizing program services could improve WIC retention
Determinants of WIC Participant Retention: A Case in New Jersey
Background: WIC offers nutrition assessment and education, nourishment, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and social services for participants. The recruitment and retention of participants are important to maintain the program effectiveness. Currently about 50% of eligible people participate in the program. This study examined factors associated with the participants’ intention to stay on WIC. Methods: In May and June 2023, a cross-sectional Qualtrics survey was conducted with WIC participants in Northern New Jersey. The survey was framed by the theory of planned behavior. Questions included intention to stay on WIC, attitude toward, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (PBC) of the intention. Multiple regression analyses determined relative importance of the factors. Results: Participants (N=897) were 93.4% Hispanic, 80.5% high school graduates, and 63.7% unemployed. Study participants marked high on their intention but low on PBC to stay on WIC. Attitude, subjective norm, and PBC together captured 32.8% (p<.0001) of the intention to stay on WIC. Subjective norm was most influential (ß= .422, p<.0001) to the intention followed by PBC (ß= .142, p<.0001). The importance of subjective norm was more pronounced for those who were on WIC for less than 1 year compared to those on WIC for longer period (ß= .620, p<.0001 vs. ß= .303, p<.0001). Conclusion: How significant others view and support WIC participation is critical to stay on WIC. Participant education with peer group and family members and modernizing program services could improve WIC retention