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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05854186

Georgia: Technology and WIC - A Comprehensive Approach to Public Health

With funding through USDA and Tufts University's Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) project, the Georgia WIC department will be implementing a telehealth solution for nutrition and breastfeeding support. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this telehealth solution. The research/evaluation involves completing online surveys. The evaluation will focus on participant satisfaction, usage of the telehealth solution, and use of information collected on the WIC participant through the WIC management information system (MIS). It is hypothesized that the telehealth solution will increase WIC participant's satisfaction with nutrition and breastfeeding support while also reducing the burden of attending in-person care.

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Key information

Conditions

Telehealth Behavior Breast Feeding Dietary Intake Feeding Behavior Nutrition Education WIC

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Tufts University

Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, United States

About this study

Telehealth can reduce barriers and increase access to care, and it can be applied to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). WIC is a federal nutrition assistance program that helps low-income women with children up to age 5. There is a large volume of research that supports remote patient monitoring, and the most benefits are found when telehealth is used for communication and counseling. The USDA awarded Tufts University a grant to test and evaluate the use of telehealth innovations in the delivery of USDA's WIC program. Tufts University then offered the USDA/Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) grant opportunity to WIC state agencies across the US. THIS-WIC selected 7 WIC State Agencies to receive grants, and the GA state agency is one recipient. The THIS-WIC team at Tufts University is leading the evaluation of these telehealth solutions in collaboration with funded WIC State Agencies.

THIS-WIC aims to generate evidence from GA's video-conferencing telehealth solution to inform how the telehealth platform supports WIC services compared to usual in-person care. Evaluation findings will inform stakeholders about the platform's benefits and how viable it is to sustain and adapt more widely.

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

Telehealth solution: video conferencing

Behavioral

Telehealth solution: video conferencing

Primary outcomes

  1. Satisfaction with the telehealth solution

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    WIC clients satisfaction with nutrition education and breastfeeding support offered via the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Breastfeeding duration

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    Duration of breastfeeding in clients offered the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants

  2. Attendance at scheduled appointments

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    WIC clients attendance at appointments when offered the telehealth solution compared to usual care. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

  3. Dietary intake

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on dietary intake. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

  4. Attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on WIC clients' attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

  5. Barriers encountered in obtaining nutrition education and breastfeeding support

    Time frame: During the study period, approximately 18 months

    Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on barriers encountered by WIC clients in obtaining nutrition education and breastfeeding support. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Tufts University

Other

Collaborators

  • Georgia Department of Public Health, Division of Health Promotion
  • RTI International
  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
May 11, 2023
Registry last updated
May 31, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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