Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC)- Michigan

Tufts University

Status: Completed

Conditions: WIC; Breast Feeding; Nutrition Education; Dietary Intake; Telehealth

Treatments: Behavioral: Telehealth solution

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT05746741

202112-01-EA / STUDY00002536

Details and patient eligibility

About

With funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Tufts University's Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC), Michigan's (MI) WIC department will pilot telehealth opportunities as a means of delivering services to WIC Clients. This video conferencing pilot looks to improve and/or remove barriers. Implementing a pilot program in select local agencies to utilize technology would allow clients to connect with a WIC Registered Dietitian (RD) or an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Videoconferencing could open new opportunities for leveraging the extensive expertise of the nutrition and lactation workforce in WIC agencies to address rural and remote locations and travel considerations.

The purpose of this study will be to evaluate the effectiveness of this telehealth solution.

Full description

Michigan WIC Agency will pilot telehealth opportunities as a means of delivering services to WIC Clients.This video conferencing pilot looks to improve and/or remove barriers such as negative clinic experiences (long wait times or poor customer service), lost time from work (creating job risk and lost wages), inconvenient WIC clinic locations and appointment times, and lack of transportation. Implementing a pilot program in select local agencies to utilize technology would allow clients to connect with a WIC Registered Dietitian (RD) or an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Videoconferencing could open new opportunities for leveraging the extensive expertise of the nutrition and lactation workforce in WIC agencies to address rural and remote locations and travel considerations. Additional urban locations, where clients lack transportation or use of public transportation presents a barrier to traveling to subsequent WIC appointments, will also be included in the pilot. Local agencies in rural and urban areas with similar caseloads will serve as controls to compare outcomes between offering telehealth and conducting IBCLC and RD appointments in person.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this telehealth solution by having clients complete surveys on their comfortability using telehealth and their satisfaction with the telehealth appointment. Additionally, secondary demographic and other nutrition-related information about study participants is already collected in the MIS and will be utilized.

Enrollment: 386 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Pregnant women
• Breastfeeding women
• postpartum women with children in the age range of 0 to 5 years

Exclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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386 participants in 2 patient groups

Telehealth solution

Experimental group

Description:

Telehealth solution offered

Treatment:

Behavioral: Telehealth solution

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Usual care