Hold for release: Tuesday, May 4, 1999, 4:00 p.m.
CDC Media Relations: 404-639-8593
Immunization coverage rates and the performance of other clinical preventive services increased significantly for low-income children enrolled in the United States Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) when immunization assessments are coupled with monthly food voucher pick-ups, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study presented today at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting being held May 1 - 4 in San Francisco. Vaccination coverage improved by 20 percent among children who received immunization assessments when parents or caregivers picked-up monthly food vouchers at seven WIC sites in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area as part of a Milwaukee Public Health Department program to implement immunization-promoting strategies for children two years of age and younger. The study's primary author, Abigail Shefer, M.D., of the CDC's National Immunization Program, said, "Children living in poverty are high-risk children. They are more likely to be under immunized and have inadequate health supervision. When we assess the immunization status of children who receive WIC benefits, we are able to dramatically improve vaccination coverage and significantly increase other prevention services." In addition to a 20 percent improvement in vaccination coverage, children who received an immunization assessment had two additional "well-child" visits to their primary care health provider and there were significant increases in the number of lead, anemia, and tuberculosis (TB) screenings. For every 100 children who participated in the WIC program, there were an additional 50 lead, 40 anemia, and 30 TB screenings. USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is the single largest healthcare access point for children living in poverty. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breast-feeding, and non-breast-feeding women, and to infants and children who are found to be at nutritional risk. WIC programs provide vouchers that participants use at authorized food stores. Monthly voucher pick-up is a practice routinely used by WIC programs to monitor many high-risk children in the WIC program. While participants may have to make more visits to WIC sites, benefits are not denied or interrupted. This strategy has the potential to greatly improve the health status of high-risk children in under-served populations, Dr. Shefer said. Implementation of the monthly voucher pick-up program at WIC sites is the single most promising intervention to improve health care among preschool children in poverty we have seen to date.
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