Assessing caregiver comfort with linking the health care system and the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

While pediatricians, WIC nutritionists, and caregivers alike have identified data security and confidentiality as potential barriers to implementing integrated care models, WIC participants in this study were overwhelmingly comfortable with information sharing and integrated communication between health care providers and WIC. These comfort levels did not significantly vary by caregiver age, race, or ethnicity, signifying broad acceptability across demographic groups. Over one-third of caregivers reported FI, and almost all received WIC benefits for a year or longer.

These findings highlight an opportunity—caregivers were largely open to enhanced communication between health care systems and WIC. A prior study showed the majority of health care providers and WIC staff in favor of an EHR-based referral intervention. Given the high prevalence of FI and the favorable attitudes toward EHR-based information sharing, health care systems may be uniquely positioned to bridge service gaps through continued thoughtful collaboration with community-based nutrition programs like WIC. Increasing the uptake of WIC and enhancing communication between the two systems have public health relevance, such as strengthening prevention/early intervention efforts on FI and obesity and reducing inconsistent messaging.