WIC NE State & Local - Phase II

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OMB Control Number: 0584-XXXX

Expiration date: XX/XX/XXXX

PPENDIX T:
PHASE II PILOT SCRIPT INVITATION TO
STATE AGENCY

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it ‎displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-XXXX. The time required to ‎complete this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, ‎searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of ‎information.

The purpose of this phone call is to go over the details of the study previously provided in the FAQ, discuss the administrative data request, answer any questions, and obtain buy-in from the SA before contacting the LA for the candidate site. A suggested script with talking points is provided below, but the call will be customized to address the questions and concerns of each SA.

Hi, my name is [Name] and I work for the Altarum Institute. We are one of the partners in the WIC Nutrition Education Study or NEST, and I am calling to talk with you about the study that is being conducted to evaluate the impact of WIC nutrition education. On the phone with me is [Name] from RTI International, another partner working with FNS on this study.

As I mentioned in my email, working with FNS, [Name of Site], part of the [Name of Local Agency], has been selected to be one of the six sites for this study. This site was selected to provide representation across different caseload levels, geographic locations, and modes of delivering nutrition education.

Did you have a chance to read the FAQ that we sent you? [Respond appropriately, offer to email the FAQ if they didn’t get it.] I wanted to share with you some information about the study and talk with you about [Name of Site]’s participation in this study.

The study will take place over a 12-month period and will include two data collection components. The first component includes data collection with WIC participants. The second component will include data collection with site staff and observations of nutrition education.

During study enrollment at the site, we will recruit about 135 WIC participants to take part in the study. Project staff stationed in the waiting room will screen participants for eligibility and obtain informed consent before enrolling participants into the study. Recruitment will take place in each site over a 6- to 8-week period. Project staff will work closely with each site to schedule and coordinate recruitment and data collection to not interfere with service delivery and will customize the procedures to address the specific needs and concerns of each site. WIC staff will not be asked to enroll participants or administer the baseline surveys. However, it would be greatly appreciated if the site could post a study flyer (with the eligibility criteria) in the clinic and hand out a study fact sheet to participants. The receptionist could pass out the study fact sheet when checking in participants or staff could give the fact sheet to participants at the end of their appointment. We would like to work with the clinic to conduct these activities for about a 4-week period the 3 months before data collection is scheduled to take place so as to alert clients about the upcoming study. If the site is agreeable, we would also like for site staff to hand out the fact sheet when checking in clients during the recruitment period.

We understand the importance of not disrupting service delivery, so if a client is called to her appointment during the enrollment process, we will quickly wrap up so she can go to her appointment and ask her to return after her appointment to finish the enrollment process and complete the baseline survey. During enrollment, participants will be asked to fill out a 20-minute questionnaire about their or their child’s nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Questions on baseline behaviors will be answered before the client’s appointment, and the remaining questions will be answered after their appointment.

Study participants will then be asked to fill out two more 20-minute surveys—one at an interim period and one in about 12 months. The Spanish versions of the three surveys will take a bit longer to complete. The interim and final surveys will be mailed to the participants. Participants will receive $50 in gift cards if they complete all three surveys. The gift cards will be provided after completing each survey, $20 for the first survey and $15 each for the second and third survey. We also plan to conduct discussion groups with participants at the end of the 1-year study with a subset of the survey participants. Project staff will work with the site and local agency to obtain the required IRB approvals for all the study activities. Do you have any questions on the participant data collection?

The second component includes a variety of data collection activities to collect information on the delivery of nutrition education at the site. Near the beginning of the study in [Month], we will conduct a Web-based survey of site staff who provide nutrition education. This survey will take about 20 minutes to complete.

We will conduct a site visit to observe staff conducting nutrition education and collect information to describe the types of educational materials used. The site visit will take place at the beginning of the study in [Month] and will take place over 2 to 3 days, including observations and an in-person interview with the site representative. This interview will take about 45 minutes. One person will come to the site to observe one-on-one and group nutrition education sessions for a total of about 16 hours. Staff are not required to do anything for the observations—we will just be there to observe them. We will conduct two 15-minute telephone interviews with the site representative toward the middle and end of the 12-month study period to discuss any changes that have been made in the delivery of nutrition education.

At the end of the 12-month study, we will ask the site to provide administrative data on a subset of study participants. This information will include whether the participant is high risk; the date of WIC visits; and, if available, whether nutrition education was provided.

Do you have any questions on the data collection that will take place at the site and with site staff?

All the information provided by participants and site staff will be kept private. In any reports we prepare, participants’ and site staff members’ names will not be associated with their responses. WIC participants’ participation in the study activities is voluntary, and if they enroll in the study, they can choose to drop out at any time.

It is important that [NAME OF SITE] take part in this study to provide representation across different caseload levels, geographic locations, and modes of delivering nutrition education. Do you have any questions that I can answer? Do you have any concerns or are you aware of any reasons why this site should not take part in this study?

Yes  Ask respondent to explain and try to address their concerns.

No  Great. How do you suggest we best approach this site about participating in this study? Do you want to make the initial contact or should we? [Determine next steps, thank respondent, and conclude call.]

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