Effectiveness of Text Message Outreach to Promote Enrollment in a Government Food Assistance Program: Pilot...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Interventions
• Health Communication

Background:

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) aims to improve nutrition for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum individuals, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.
• Effective outreach strategies are crucial for maximizing WIC program participation among eligible populations.
• Text message outreach is a modern communication method with potential for widespread reach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of outreach text messages as a strategy to increase WIC program enrollment.
• To assess the impact of text message interventions on WIC enrollment rates among eligible households in Arizona.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized trial was conducted involving 916 households.
• Eligible households were randomized to receive outreach text messages or a control condition.
• WIC enrollment data was collected and compared between the groups.

Main Results:

• Outreach text messages were found to be ineffective in increasing WIC enrollment.
• No statistically significant difference in enrollment rates was observed between the intervention and control groups.
• The pilot study suggests text messages are not a viable strategy for boosting WIC participation.

Conclusions:

• Text message outreach is not an effective method for increasing WIC enrollment among eligible households in Arizona.
• Further research may be needed to explore alternative or complementary outreach strategies.
• Optimizing WIC program reach requires exploring diverse and evidence-based communication channels.