Smartphone Education for Alaska Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Participants

Abstract

The State of Alaska Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) offers nutrition education for low-income women and children, addressing the nutrition knowledge gap among low-income parents to improve health outcomes. However, the State of Alaska WIC program does not currently use smartphone apps for participant education even though the population served by WIC generally relies on smartphones for trusted information. For this project, a template for WIC smartphone education modules was developed, accompanied by a style guide with format recommendations and platform information that can be used in the creation of future education modules. A sample module was created to illustrate how the style guide could be used for creating nutrition education for Alaska WIC participants. Behavioral change theories, counseling skills used in the Alaska WIC program, and smartphone usability features were evaluated as part of the project and the transtheoretical model of behavior change was chosen as a basis for the education. The style guide and template will allow WIC professionals to produce relevant education even if staff does not have a complete understanding of behavioral change theories or smartphone programming. This will allow WIC professionals to share their knowledge and insight with WIC participants in various parts of Alaska and in the United States with the goal of improving nutrition knowledge and supporting behavior change.