Increasing WIC Participation One Scan at a Time

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health WIC Program utilizes several outreach methods to educate residents about services. Outreach efforts include a website, social media postings, educational brochures/flyers available at WIC offices, community event participation, word of mouth at WIC appointments, and text messages. The goal of this project was to use technology to increase access to WIC services. By placing a QR code on posters, residents could obtain information about whether or not they qualify for the WIC Program simply by using their smartphone to take a picture. Program staff created several posters aimed at diverse audiences. The posters focused on education about who qualifies for WIC and was field tested with residents. A survey was used to obtain feedback about the posters. The posters were piloted in the department’s Health Clinics, Health Promotion and Education Services, Vital Statistics and Black Infant Health (BIH) Programs. Results showed 31 scans were recorded for the posters during the pilot. By utilizing technology, the WIC Program was able to obtain valuable feedback about another outreach method that could be used to increase WIC Participation rates in San Bernardino County.