THIS-WIC Telehealth Solutions: Evaluation With North Carolina WIC Clients

Telehealth Clinical Trial

Official title:

THIS-WIC Telehealth Solutions: Evaluation With North Carolina WIC Clients

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05854199
• Other study ID #: STUDY00002935
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 16, 2022
• Est. completion date: November 30, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2024
• Source: Tufts University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

With funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Tufts University's Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) project, North Carolina (NC) WIC department will be implementing new, nutrition education telehealth in NC's WIC program. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the telehealth platform. The evaluation will focus on NC WIC clients as the study population. The North Carolina WIC department would be implementing this education platform, regardless of the evaluation research. The North Carolina WIC department is responsible for implementing this new intervention, while the Tufts University research team is responsible for the evaluation of this platform through surveys and analysis of administrative data.

An online survey will be used to gauge WIC clients' satisfaction with the telehealth solution and the impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on breastfeed duration, dietary intake, attendance at scheduled appointments, attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education, and barriers encountered. Survey data will be combined with previously collected data on clients and their families from the NC Management Information Systems (MIS), and aggregate level data from the telehealth solution about utilization.

Description:

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 NC 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 NC's telehealth solution to inform how the telehealth solution supports WIC services compared to usual in-person care. The NC telehealth platform includes a mobile-optimized website, meaning that it functions as an app without requiring the amount of memory and data that apps use. Evaluation findings will inform stakeholders about the platform's benefits and how viable it is to sustain and adapt more widely.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 892
• Est. completion date: November 30, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: November 30, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• pregnant women

• postpartum women

• parent/guardian of a participating infant or child in the WIC program

Study participants will be clients at local WIC agency sites where either the telehealth solution is offered or where only usual care is available (control).

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Dietary Intake
• Telehealth

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Telehealth solution
Telehealth nutrition education platform

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Tufts University	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Tufts University	North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, RTI International, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Satisfaction with the telehealth solution	WIC clients satisfaction with nutrition education 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.	During the study period, approximately 12 months
Secondary	Breastfeeding duration	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.	During the study period, approximately 12 months
Secondary	Attendance at scheduled appointments	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.	During the study period, approximately 12 months
Secondary	Dietary intake	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.	During the study period, approximately 12 months
Secondary	Attitudes to breastfeeding and nutrition education	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.	During the study period, approximately 12 months
Secondary	Barriers encountered in obtaining nutrition education	Impact of the telehealth solution compared to usual care on barriers encountered by WIC clients in obtaining nutrition education. Data will be collected, and this outcome measure will be assessed via survey completion by study participants.	During the study period, approximately 12 months

External Links

•   Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) website