WIP 99 - A Novel Intervention to Increase Service Member Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program

Poster Number: WIP 99
Publication Number: WIP 99.950

Background: 1 in 4 US service members are impacted by food insecurity. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an invaluable, yet underutilized, resource to mitigate food insecurity for families with children under 5 years of age. Our prior research has demonstrated that lack of awareness of eligibility, stigma, and administrative burdens impact military family engagement with the WIC program.

Objective: To determine if a targeted outreach intervention is successful in increasing WIC enrollment among military families at Fort Campbell, Kentucky (KY).

Design/Methods: We queried the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System to identify likely WIC eligible families at Fort Campbell, which sits on the border of Tennessee (TN) and Kentucky (KY), based on rank, family size, age of dependents ( < 5 years old) and time in service. Two hired community health workers will perform targeted outreach to identified service members, first with a standardized mailer, then by phone, to assist eligible, unenrolled, interested families with WIC enrollment. Process evaluation completed by April 1, 2024 will determine intervention efficacy, in conjunction with data sharing with TN and KY WIC offices, to assess pre-post intervention numbers of military families enrolled in WIC in both states. This project has been determined exempt by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Initial location based analysis identified 28,973 active duty service members stationed at Fort Campbell, of which 5,067 individuals (17%) were determined to be highly likely to be eligible for WIC. After manual address review, 4,714 individuals had addresses in KY or TN, which will be targeted for mailers and phone calls. Of these 4,714 servicemembers, the median number of dependents is 3 (IQR 2-4), median age 27 (IQR 24-31), 90.9% are male, and 94% are married. 41% of identified servicemembers are junior enlisted, 58% senior enlisted and 1% officer, and 56% White, 21% Black, 17% Hispanic, 4% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% Other.