Achieving Success

The fruit and vegetable education project has been a learning process for both WIC clinics and wichealth staff. Throughout the study, communication between wichealth and WIC staff has been very important. Monthly visits and regular communication via e-mail and the phone have been very helpful in reviewing what has been going on in each clinic during the study.

Enthusiasm and organization seem to be the key characteristics helping the clinics experience success with the project. Many of the clinics have taken the initiative to develop their own tracking system tailored to their needs, create additional promotional materials and find other ways to promote the study such as developing their own incentive bag to give to participants who enroll. All of these initiatives have helped to make the project a success.

Specifically, the following initiatives have added to the study’s success thus far:

(1) Contacting another clinic involved in the study to help with any ideas such as how to track clients. Your wichealth.org contact person can provide you with a list of clinics.

(2) Handing out step-by step instructions for accessing wichealthfv.org for online participants.

(3) Providing each participant with a thank-you flyer outlining the study and what it involves. Make the flyer quick, easy-to read, and attention grabbing.

(4) Developing an education flow chart for all staff involved in the study so they can easily see the progression of the study.

(5) Putting together an additional incentive bag to get the clients motivated.

(6) Using a computer database for tracking clients.

(7) Being enthusiastic. WIC staff enthusiasm will encourage clients to want to be involved. Excitement from staff will transfer to clients. Make sure all clients know they will receive incentives during the study.

The following are struggles that some agencies have experienced followed by how we worked together to resolve them.

Missing WIC ID numbers

Pulled files and wrote the WIC ID # on the next survey based on traditional or online education and placed the survey in the participants file for their next visit.

Old and new staff members that did not attend the initial meeting.

Set up additional training with all staff members who did not attend.

Overwhelmed WIC staff.

A short one-page overview of the study designed to break down the project into simple, easy-to-follow steps, was developed by wichealth staff.

WIC staff forgetting to hand out surveys to participants involved in the study.

wichealth.org staff typed up a list of all participant WIC ID #’s involved in the study to provide to the clerk or other WIC staff so they could be red flagged at the participant’s next visit.

Article from Summer 2006 wichealthSupport Newsletter