Diarrheal Illness among Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program Participants in Miami, Florida: Implications for Nutrition Education
Abstract
Objective
To assess risk factors for diarrheal illness among clients of a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Miami, FL.
Design
A cross-sectional survey with questions about demographics, food safety practices, and diarrheal illness.
Setting
WIC clinic operated by the Miami-Dade County Health Department in Florida. WIC is a national program for nutritionally at-risk, low-income young children and pregnant or postpartum women.
Participants
WIC female clients at least 18 years of age who are able to read and speak English (n = 299).
Main Outcome Measure
Diarrheal illness, defined as having at least 3 loose stools for 2 or more consecutive days during the previous 30 days.
Analysis
Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses.
Results
Food safety behaviors significantly associated with diarrheal illness included not washing hands before preparing meals (P = .048) and baby bottles (P = .045) or after changing diapers (P = .009) and not washing all items that touched raw meat before preparing the next food item (P = .023). In general, pregnant women reported less frequent hand washing and had a lower food safety score than nonpregnant women (P = .002).
Conclusions and Implications
These findings suggest that interventions to improve food handling practices such as proper hand washing are needed for WIC clients, particularly pregnant women.
1Florida International University, Stempel School of Public Health, Miami, FL
2University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Miami, FL
Address for correspondence: Evelyn P. Davila, MPH, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, 1120 NW 14th St, Room 1074-1, Miami, FL 33136; Phone: (305) 243-7565; Fax: (304) 243-5585
This study was supported by funding from the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, of the United States Department of Agriculture No. 2004-51110-02166.
ABSTRACT