Providing Folic Acid Education to Future Healthcare Providers

This session focuses on the Healthy People 2010 goal to “Increase the proportion of pregnancies begun with an optimum folic acid level." and the CDC recommendation that all women of childbearing age should be counseled to consume adequate levels of folic acid. In order to meet these public health goals, healthcare providers must be educated on the importance of folic acid and urged to counsel their female patients

Brief Description of Topic:

Midwestern University (MWU) implemented the MWU Folic Acid Education Project in 2003. The project focused on educating future healthcare providers about the importance of folic acid in preventing neural tube defects, using a CD developed by the March of Dimes. Physician Assistant students evaluated the CD on effectiveness, and if it increased their knowledge of folic acid. In 2008, the March of Dimes updated the folic acid CD and the study was repeated with current Physician Assistant students. The results of both studies will be compared and graphically presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the folic acid CD in educating future healthcare providers about the importance of folic acid.