Primary Submission Category: Health equity
Bridging the Health-Wealth Gap: Evaluating the Impact of Digital and In-Person Enrollment Methods on WIC Access
Authors: Timothy Scheinert,
Presenting Author: Shreya Srinivasan*
Background
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) addresses nutrition needs of mothers and children and provides a benefit of $50 per month. Link Health (LH) is a nonprofit leveraging hybrid platforms to support low-income individuals through enrollment in benefit programs. LH promotes access to essential resources, improving health and economic stability for communities.
Objective
This study evaluates digital and in-person enrollment in WIC in Boston and Houston and focuses on understanding how enrollment strategies impact sign-up rates and engagement.
Methods
Applicants are screened in-person at clinics and remotely via text-message by patient navigators (PNs). PNs facilitate application submissions, and demographic data is stored in a Google Firebase Dashboard. Descriptive statistics for sign-ups across methods are described.
Results
Since February 2024, 128 individuals, most commonly 30-44 years old (38%), enrolled in WIC digitally and in-person, receiving $91,440 in benefits. 47 individuals (37%) signed-up digitally and 81 (63%) in-person; all enrollees identified as Hispanic; of respondents who indicated a preferred language, 45% (n=10) preferred Spanish, and 9% (n=2) preferred Haitian-Creole. $33,840 was disbursed for families who signed-up digitally compared to $57,600 in-person. 23% (n=29) of enrollees were women.
Conclusions
Digital sign-up can decrease the health-wealth divide by easing access to benefits. By leveraging virtual platforms, LH helps underserved communities, particularly Hispanic women, access resources to combat malnutrition. Digital enrollment helps overcome physical limitations such as transportation, wait times, and geographic distance. Challenges persist for those with limited digital literacy or technology access, highlighting the need for in-person outreach. Digital literacy initiatives, while maintaining both digital and in-person enrollment options, can expand care to a wider population.