Publications by authors named "R Colchamiro"
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan (2021) allowed state agencies of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) the option of temporarily increasing the Cash-Value Benefit (CVB) for fruit and vegetable (FV) purchases. To examine the impact of this enhancement on WIC caregiver experience, the MA WIC State Office invited 4600 randomly selected MA WIC caregivers to complete an online survey (February-March 2022). Eligible adults had at least one child, had been enrolled at least a year, and were aware of the increase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The retail environment is an important determinant of food package redemption in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe where Massachusetts WIC households redeemed their food benefits each month and monthly variations in benefit redemption depending on a household's most frequently used vendor type each month.
Design: These were cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of administrative data provided by Massachusetts WIC.
Article Synopsis
- The WIC program aims to enhance the health of low-income women and children but faces challenges with low participation rates; the study investigates reasons for this issue.
- Interviews with current participants and early dropouts revealed mixed experiences, highlighting both positive support from clinic staff and negative aspects like financial limitations and inflexibility in food benefits.
- Suggestions for improvement include enhancing food package offerings, increasing benefits for healthy foods, and addressing misconceptions about benefit eligibility to boost participation and satisfaction.
Objective: The multi-sector, multi-level Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) study resulted in improvements in obesity risk factors among children age 2-4 years enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The goal of this study was to examine whether the MA-CORD intervention increased WIC provider confidence in their ability to identify childhood obesity and obesity-related behaviors.
Methods: As part of the MA-CORD intervention conducted from 2012 to 2015, we implemented WIC practice changes focused on childhood obesity prevention within two Massachusetts communities.
Objectives: To investigate racial/ethnic and language differences in the effectiveness of the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) study among children aged 2 to 4 years enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Methods: We performed a multisector quasiexperimental study in 2 MA-CORD intervention communities and 1 comparison community. Using WIC data from 2010 to 2015, we examined intervention effect on child weight and behavior outcomes by child race/ethnicity and parental primary language using multilevel linear regression models with an interaction term.