The development of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment accessibility (SNAP-access) score

Laura J Samuel; Emily Xiao; Caroline Cerilli; Fiona Sweeney; Jessica Campanile; Nubaira Milki; Jared Smith; Jiafeng Zhu; Gayane Yenokyan; Adi Gherman; Varshini Varadaraj; Bonnielin K Swenor

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101366

The development of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment accessibility (SNAP-access) score

Disabil Health J. 2022 Oct;15(4):101366. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101366. Epub 2022 Aug 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA; Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
² Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
³ WebAIM, Institute for Disability Research, Policy, and Practice, Utah State University, 6807 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA.
⁴ Johns Hopkins Biostatistics Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
⁵ Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA; Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. Electronic address: bswenor@jhmi.edu.

Abstract

Background: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal public benefit providing food assistance to millions of Americans. However, it is typically administered by states, creating potential variation in accessibility and transparency of information about enrollment for people with disabilities.

Objective: To develop and demonstrate the use of a method to assess the accessibility and transparency of information about the disability-inclusive process and practices of SNAP enrollment.

Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected from SNAP landing and enrollment webpages from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and New York City from June-August 2021. Based on principles of universal design and accessibility, scores were determined for each SNAP program across three areas: flexibility in the enrollment process (6 points), efficiency of finding information about enrollment on SNAP websites (6 points), and the accessibility of SNAP webpages (6 points). Total scores were the sum of these sub-categories (18 points maximum).

Results: Of the 52 SNAP programs assessed, mean scores were 10.66 (SD = 2.51) for the total score, 2.67 (SD = 0.91) for flexibility in the enrollment process, 3.32 (SD = 1.19) for efficiency of finding information about enrollment on SNAP websites, and 4.67 (SD = 1.72) for the accessibility of SNAP webpages. No programs received the maximum flexibility score (6 points) on flexibility, 2 programs received the maximum on efficiency, and 31 programs the maximum on accessibility.

Conclusions: We found differences in the accessibility, flexibility, and efficiency of SNAP program enrollment information available on SNAP websites and outline room for improvement across all three of these areas.

Keywords: Disability; Food assistance; Food insecurity; Socioeconomic factors.

Grants and funding

K01 AG054751/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States