605 - Exploring Food Insecurity and WIC Enrollment in Military Families

Poster Number: 605
Publication Number: 605.411

Sidney Zven, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Department of Pediatrics, Annandale, VA, United States; Kristen Smith, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, United States; Robert C. McNamara, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, North Bethesda, MD, United States; Brian Graziose, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, United States; ELIZABETH HISLE-GORMAN, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, United States; Binny Chokshi, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States

Background: The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an
invaluable resource for pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to five years old. WIC enrollment during pregnancy has been shown to decrease the likelihood of neonatal intensive care unit admissions by 23%, risk of preterm birth by 29-48%, low birth weight by 23-36%, and perinatal death by 22-31%. Despite its value, there is not a protocolized method to ensure military families are screened for WIC eligibility, a potential missed opportunity to connect at-risk families to a helpful resource in a timely manner.

Objective: To survey families presenting to Walter Reed National Medical Center (WRNMC) pediatric and obstetric clinics for food insecurity, WIC awareness, enrollment, and eligibility.  

Design/Methods: We recruited families with children less than 5 years old or active pregnancies at the WRNMMC pediatric or obstetric clinics in July 2022. We utilized an electronic survey to collect demographic information, determine knowledge of the WIC program, and source(s) of knowledge. We screened for food insecurity using the validated Hunger Vital Sign screening questionnaire. This study was approved by the WRNMMC Institutional Review Board.

Results: 437 families who presented with children < 5 year old and/or active pregnancies were surveyed. 362 (83%) were aware of the WIC program, however less than 10% had learned of WIC from clinical settings. Greater than 40% of families learned of WIC through friends and family or online/social media groups. 100 of 437 families screened (23%) were eligible for WIC, with 70 of those families (70%) unaware of their eligibility. 54 of 437 families screened (12%) were positive for food insecurity, with 17 of these 54 families (31%) also being unaware of their WIC eligibility.

Conclusion(s):

Our results highlight that despite proven efficacy in improving neonatal and childhood outcomes, the use of the WIC program is not optimized in military families.  Our 1-month screening protocol could result in approximately $427,680/year in newly discovered food supplementation benefits for eligible families at WRNMMC. These results highlight that the obstetric and pediatric clinics can represent an ideal setting to engage at-risk families in the WIC program, and a protocolized process for screening and enrolling families could help to uphold the health of military children and families as a whole.