This public health study was conducted to better understand who utilizes food assistance from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). It investigates the association between use of WIC benefits and diagnosis for gestational diabetes among pregnant women. Findings could indicate the effectiveness of WIC for promoting health, as well as clarify the relationship between diet, income, and diabetes outcomes. The data utilized for this study originated from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). By utilizing generalizable data, the findings of this study could be applied to the U.S. population to guide future research and health policy. Binary logistic regression was employed to determine the strength of association and control for confounding variables. It was found that compared to those who did not use WIC benefits during pregnancy, those who did were 0.30 times less likely to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This may indicate that the benefits were effective in improving diet and overall health. However, the use of WIC benefits did not have a statistically significant relationship with diagnosis for gestational diabetes. The small sample size employed in this study may have been insufficient to indicate a significant correlation; additional research with a larger sample size should be employed in the future to further investigate the relationship. This research experience was extremely valuable for me as I plan to pursue my MPH next year with a focus on maternal and child health. I honed my skills of generating a meaningful research question, utilizing SAS software, and interpreting results in a public health context. Additionally, I am passionate about advancing research about pregnancy outcomes in relation to the social determinants of health; this project allowed me to delve into this area as an undergraduate, which was very gratifying.
Author(s): Julia Rushing, Public Health Major
Advisor(s): Saruna Ghimire, Microbiology Department
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