Early engagement crucial to retaining families in WIC programme, study shows

A recent study highlights the importance of early contact and consistent support to improve family retention in the WIC programme, with implications for enhancing nutrition education and breastfeeding guidance during a child’s first year.

A study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour suggests that the way families first use the Special Supplemental Nutrition Programme for Women, Infants and Children may shape whether they stay enrolled through a child’s first year. Researchers analysed data from 1,851 people in the nationally representative WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 and found that about 15% left the programme before their child reached 13 months.

The study found a pattern linking early disengagement with later dropout. Families were more likely to leave WIC if they signed up later in pregnancy, failed to redeem all of their food benefits, did not receive breastfeeding information, did not use WIC as a source of infant-feeding advice or were not enrolled in other public assistance programmes.

Those findings fit with other recent work suggesting that steady contact matters. Research from PHFE WIC in Los Angeles County found that each additional touchpoint with the programme, whether by phone, online class, text message or in person, was associated with a 14% higher likelihood that a family would re-enrol. Separate studies have also pointed to the value of aligned breastfeeding guidance from paediatricians and WIC staff and to the potential of telehealth and text messaging to support education and retention.

WIC reaches millions of women, infants and young children each month with food assistance, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health and social services. The new study suggests that improving engagement during pregnancy and the earliest months after birth could help more families stay connected long enough to receive the programme’s full benefits.