BACKGROUND Many low-income neighborhoods do not include a full-service grocery store. In these communities, discount variety stores (DVS) can be convenient points of food access. However, no identified DVS are authorized to accept Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) benefits. OBJECTIVE One national DVS retailer implemented WIC in 10 stores located in low-income communities in North Carolina over a 10-month pilot period to assess WIC feasibility. METHODS To better understand the facilitators and barriers to WIC implementation from the perspective of DVS staff, we analyzed 36 in-depth interviews with employees of this DVS chain at corporate, manager, and store clerk levels. RESULTS Most participants provided positive feedback about implementing and offering WIC. Many store employees had personal experience participating in WIC, which increased their understanding of the WIC shopping experience. Store staff's prior WIC participation and customers' proximity to DVS locations were facilitators to implementation. Primary barriers included limited choice of store products for customers, complicated or unclear labeling of WIC products, and difficulty training employees to process WIC vouchers. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that whereas most employees viewed WIC positively, barriers related to product selection and training must be addressed. Notably, North Carolina's recent change to an electronic system to process WIC transactions requires minimal manual employee training and should address several barriers to implementation. However, the computer system upgrades necessary to accept electronic WIC transactions may be a barrier for DVS to continued WIC acceptance. Future research is needed to evaluate implementation of electronic WIC transactions in DVS.

中文翻译：

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通过折扣杂货店增加对 WIC 的访问：来自定性研究的结果

背景许多低收入社区不包括提供全方位服务的杂货店。在这些社区，折扣杂货店 (DVS) 可以成为方便的食品获取点。但是，任何已确定的 DVS 均无权接受针对妇女、婴儿和儿童计划 (WIC) 福利的特殊补充营养计划。目标 一家全国性 DVS 零售商在 10 个月的试验期内在位于北卡罗来纳州低收入社区的 10 家商店实施了 WIC，以评估 WIC 的可行性。方法 为了从 DVS 员工的角度更好地了解 WIC 实施的促进因素和障碍，我们分析了对这家 DVS 连锁店员工的公司、经理和店员级别的 36 次深入访谈。结果 大多数参与者对实施和提供 WIC 提供了积极的反馈。许多门店员工都有参与WIC的亲身经历，增加了他们对WIC购物体验的了解。商店员工之前的 WIC 参与和客户与 DVS 位置的接近是实施的促进因素。主要障碍包括客户对商店产品的选择有限、WIC 产品的标签复杂或不清晰，以及难以培训员工处理 WIC 代金券。结论 这些调查结果表明，尽管大多数员工对 WIC 持积极态度，但必须解决与产品选择和培训相关的障碍。值得注意的是，北卡罗来纳州最近更改为处理 WIC 交易的电子系统需要最少的手动员工培训，并应解决实施中的几个障碍。然而，接受电子 WIC 交易所需的计算机系统升级可能是 DVS 继续接受 WIC 的障碍。未来的研究需要评估 DVS 中电子 WIC 交易的实施。