Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #103863

Anna B. Brown, MPH¹, Elizabeth R. Eslick, MEd¹, and Maggie Tomei, BA². (1) March of Dimes, 4112 Pleasant Valley Road, Suite 208, Raleigh, NC 27612, 919-781-2481, abrown@marchofdimes.com, (2) Crittenden Advertising, 801 Jones Franklin Road, Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606

Objective: To reach women 18-24 with folic acid education Background: Women of childbearing age who consume 400 mcg of folic acid, a B vitamin, before and early in pregnancy may help prevent by up to 70% their baby's risk for birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Since approximately 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, education campaigns are needed to promote multivitamin use among all women of childbearing age. Research indicates that women ages 18-24 are least likely to take vitamins. Project: The March of Dimes North Carolina Chapter received grant funding from the state Attorney General's Office for folic acid education. The chapter is using social marketing concepts to reach women ages 18-24. Focus groups indicated that young women are not interested in getting pregnant, but are concerned about health and fitness. The Chapter partnered with Crittenden Advertising to develop a media campaign to promote multivitamin use. The Chapter also promotes multivitamins on college campuses. Results: This presentation will describe how grant funding can be strategically spent to promote behavior change to a hard-to-reach target audience and will include preliminary evaluation data on the impact of these strategies on folic acid awareness and multivitamin use.

Learning Objectives: The participant (learner) will be able to

• Discuss effective strategies for reaching young women with health messages.
• Analyze the impact of a folic acid education campaign on awareness and behavior change.

Keywords: Social Marketing, Vitamins

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation