[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76787-76793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21453]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comments Request--Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants, and Children (WIC) Health Outcomes and Participant Experience 
(HOPE) Study

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection for the Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Health 
Outcomes and Participant Experience (HOPE) Study. This new information 
collection will provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and 
Nutrition Service (FNS) with current information about the population 
WIC serves, how well WIC services align with participants' needs, and 
how WIC influences participants' health outcomes. This information will 
help policymakers and program administrators address service gaps and 
reduce potential disparities in health outcomes.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 18, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to the WIC HOPE Study Team, Office of 
Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 1320 Braddock Place, 
Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via email to 
[email protected] or by phone at 709-905-2732. Comments will also 
be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will 
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information on 
or copies of this information collection should be directed to the WIC 
HOPE Study Team at [email protected] or the current Contracting 
Officer Representative for the study, Amanda Reat at 
[email protected], 709-905-2732.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden on the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
that were used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Title: WIC Health Outcomes and Participant Experience Study.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract:
    The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children (WIC) provides nutritious supplemental foods, nutrition 
education and counseling, breastfeeding promotion and support, and 
referrals to healthcare, social services, and other community providers 
to pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, and infants and 
children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk and in households with 
a low income. As a preventive public health nutrition program, WIC aims 
to improve the feeding practices, diet, and health of participants. The 
first comprehensive national study assessing WIC participants, the WIC 
Infant Feeding Practices Study (IFPS), began collecting data in August 
1994 and followed infants from birth to age 1.\1\ The subsequent and 
most recent study, the Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 
(ITFPS-2), began collecting data in 2013 and has followed children from 
birth through age 9.
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    \1\ Baydar, N., McCann, M., Williams, R., and Vesper, E. (1997). 
Final report: WIC Infant Feeding Practices Study (for the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service). Seattle, WA: 
Battelle, Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation. 
Available at: https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/WICIFPS.pdf.
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    WIC has experienced several notable changes since the last major 
study was launched. WIC currently serves a more diverse population 
using more modernized service delivery approaches, such as Electronic 
Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, online shopping, and virtual visits. WIC 
has also aligned its nutrition education with the 2020-2025 Dietary 
Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and invested in new breastfeeding 
promotion and support resources, like the WIC Breastfeeding Support: 
Learn Together. Grow Together. campaign. Additional substantial program 
changes are forthcoming. For example, WIC has proposed changes to the 
WIC food packages to better serve participants' dietary needs and 
preferences and ensure equitable access to supplemental foods. WIC is 
also investing in a national strategy to diversify the WIC workforce so 
it mirrors the diversity of WIC families, culturally sensitive outreach 
strategies to increase enrollment and retention rates, and technology 
enhancements to streamline enrollment and provide a modern WIC 
experience.\2\
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    \2\ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service 
(USDA, FNS). (2024a, February 13). WIC modernization. Alexandria, 
VA: Author. Available at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/modernization. Retrieved on: February 23, 2024.
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    The WIC Health Outcomes and Participant Experience (WIC HOPE) Study 
will provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and 
Nutrition Service (FNS) with current information about the population 
WIC serves, how well WIC services align with participants' needs, and 
how WIC influences participants' health outcomes. This information will 
help policymakers and program administrators address service gaps and 
reduce potential disparities in health outcomes.
    The five study objectives are: (1) conduct new data collection to 
update the information in WIC IFPS-1 and WIC ITFPS-2 on the feeding 
practices and behaviors of WIC infants and children, and compare and 
contrast findings with previous studies; (2) describe participants' WIC 
site experiences and engagement with WIC technologies such as text 
messaging, mobile apps, online appointment scheduling, video calling, 
online nutrition education, shopping assistance apps, and online 
shopping tools; (3) assess the extent to which WIC benefits used by 
participants (including food packages, nutrition education and 
breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals) are independently 
associated with feeding practices, diet, and health over time; (4) 
describe maternal diet, birth, and health outcomes from the pregnancy 
and postpartum period throughout the study period; and (5) examine the 
independent association between duration of WIC participation and diet 
and health outcomes as well as nutrition security.

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    WIC HOPE is a prospective cohort study that will follow a 
nationally representative sample of mother-child dyads who enroll in 
WIC prenatally or shortly after the child is born through the child's 
fifth birthday. Pregnant women or caregivers of newborns will be 
recruited through 80 WIC local agencies sampled from across the 
country. The study will collect data on participants' experiences with 
WIC, use of WIC benefits, feeding practices, diet, and health at 
multiple points.
    Because the study child is the focal member of the mother-child 
dyad, mothers (i.e., caregivers) may change over the course of the 
study, but the study child will remain the same. Based on data from the 
ITFPS-2, we anticipate about 96 percent of caregivers will be the 
child's mother throughout the study. Study participants will be 
followed for the duration of the study regardless of their continued 
participation in WIC. Capturing different patterns of WIC participation 
over time will enable the comparison of study participants with 
different durations of program exposure. However, because WIC HOPE does 
not include a randomized comparison group of infants who did not enroll 
in WIC, the study will examine relationships and associations between 
program predictors and outcomes rather than establish causality.
    Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include: (1) 
individuals consisting of mother-child dyads (adult WIC participants 
and their study child); (2) WIC State agencies; (3) WIC local agencies; 
and (4) WIC sites.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 8,825 (8,093 responsive and 1,512 nonresponsive). This 
includes 81 respondents for the pretest (81 respondents and 0 
nonrespondents), composed of 9 WIC participants per data collection 
instrument. The main study respondents include 8,130 WIC participants, 
54 WIC State agency staff, 160 WIC local agency staff, and 400 WIC site 
staff.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Based on the 
estimated 438,325 total annual responses (263,905 responsive and 
174,420 nonresponsive) to be made by the 8,825 respondents, the study 
team expects 50 responses per respondent. See Table 1 for the estimated 
number of responses per respondent for each type of respondent. The 
breakout follows:
    WIC participants: The estimated number of responses per WIC 
participant is 51 (32 per respondent and 115 per nonrespondent). For 
the pretest, 81 WIC participants will be asked to participate in a 
cognitive interview. For the main study, WIC participants will be asked 
to respond to one study brochure; complete one screener; one study 
consent; and one enrollment survey. After enrollment, they will be 
asked to respond to 14 caregiver surveys and 5 maternal dietary recall 
interviews, provide study child measurements at 7 points, and provide 
contact information updates 2 times a year for 3 years. They will also 
be asked to review upcoming survey notifications, study reminders, 
child birthday cards, and caregiver birthday greetings.
    WIC State agencies: The estimated number of responses per WIC State 
agency participant is six. The WIC State agencies will be asked to 
review one email from the Regional Office notifying them of the study 
selection, attend one informational webinar, review one email from the 
study to schedule a meeting, participate in one meeting to discuss 
study implementation, and notify the WIC local agency of their study 
selection.
    WIC local agencies: The estimated number of responses per WIC local 
agency participant is 12. WIC local agencies will be asked to review 
one email from the WIC State agency notifying them of the study 
selection, review the study factsheet, notify their sites of the study 
selection, attend one training webinar, communicate with Westat 
regarding WIC participant recruitment planning and implementation, 
communicate with sites regarding WIC participant recruitment planning 
and implementation, and assist with locating study participants.
    WIC sites: The estimated number of responses per WIC site 
participant is 57. WIC sites will be asked to review communications 
from the WIC local agency regarding the study selection, participate in 
an informational call, attend a training webinar, communicate with 
Westat and sites regarding WIC participant recruitment planning and 
implementation, introduce the study to the WIC participant, complete 
the referral form, and take length/height and weight measurements of 
study children.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The estimated total number of 
annual responses is 438,325. This includes 263,905 for respondents and 
174,420 for nonrespondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time is 
6.2 hours for all respondents (6.4 hours for responsive participants 
and 1.4 hours for nonresponsive participants). The estimated time of 
response varies from 0.50 minutes (0.008 hours) to 1 hour depending on 
the respondent group and activity, as shown in Table 1. The average 
estimated time per response across all respondents is 0.12 hours (equal 
to 54,308 total annual burden hours for both respondents and 
nonrespondents) divided by 438,325 (total responses for both 
respondents and nonrespondents), as shown in Table 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total public 
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at 
54,308 hours (annually). See Table 1 for estimated total annual burden 
for each type of respondent.
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Tameka Owens,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-21453 Filed 9-18-24; 8:45 am]
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