The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50011

Mary Iodice, MA, MPH, CHES¹, Joann Petrini, MPH², Suzanne Nobrega, MS¹, and Janis Biermann, MS¹. (1) Folic Acid Campaign, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605, 914-997-4609, miodice@marchofdimes.com, (2) Perinatal Data Center, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 1275 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605

In 1999, the March of Dimes officially launched a national Folic Acid Campaign in an effort to reduce the incidence of neural tube defects. To help accomplish this, the March of Dimes supports the recommendation that all women of childbearing age take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily and eat a healthy diet. Through mass media efforts, community outreach and health professional education, we have attempted to influence behavior changes among our target groups.

Through a survey of about 2,000 women of childbearing age, conducted by The Gallup Organization, we were able to ascertain the difficulty in changing behaviors. One of the major lessons learned was that although we were able to increase women’s awareness of folic acid (52% in 1995 to 79% in 2001), increases in daily folic acid consumption (28% in 1995 to 29% in 2001) were more challenging to achieve.

In 2003, the March of Dimes will transition the national Folic Acid Campaign to a programmatic activity, and direct its efforts toward a new national campaign. We intend to use lessons learned through an assessment of the national Folic Acid Campaign as a basis for planning the new campaign.

We have learned that partnerships are essential, representing diversity in community outreach is critical, and health care providers play a crucial and indispensable role in delivering health messages to their patients. Presenters will discuss these lessons learned, in addition to examining the pros and cons of executing a national health education and behavior change campaign.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Describe what is involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating a national public health education campaign,
• Recognize the importance of professional partnerships and the involvement of community-based organizations in the delivery of vital public health messages and execution of an effective national campaign,
• Apply key findings from the assessment of the national Folic Acid Campaign to other public health initiatives.

Keywords: Behavior Modification, Pregnancy Outcomes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.