WIC program provides specific nutritious foods, (milk, cheese, cereal, fruit juices, eggs, beans, and infant formula) in quantities tailored to meet the needs of the participant. Applicants admitted to the program are South Carolina residents whose household?s income are below 185% of the poverty level and certified as having a nutritional risk by a nurse, doctor or nutritionist etc. Eligible applicants are ?certified? for the program for a set length of time as the WIC program participants.
In the past five years total number of births to South Carolina residents has increased. Total number of WIC participants, however, has decreased. The WIC program is interested in examining various strategies to increase their program participants. A GIS application will be developed to compare the participants' addresses to the most recent infant addresses through birth certificate. Through this application the mothers and infants who would be potentially eligible will be identified for local WIC offices to increase their participants.
Furthermore, the WIC program is interested in examining their vendors' compliance with their regulations. A large county is selected for piloting a GIS application that uses 170 geocoded vendors' addresses and their WIC participants for comparison. We will use the ESRI spatial analyst to enumerate the access to voucher redemption centers; and to improve access to the WIC's clinics by exploring alternative location or transportation routes.
Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize the potential of GIS as a tool for Epi related investigation. 2. Assess the appropriatness of the GIS application for WIC services. 3. Identify the components of a useful tool such as GIS for prevention and intervention activities.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: ESRI
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.