228045 Preventing late preterm birth: Health education strategies, activities and impact

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 : 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Diane M. Ashton, MD, MPH , Office of the Medical Director, March of Dimes, White Plains, NY
Karla Damus, PhD, MSPH, RN, FAAN , Bouve College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Julie Solomon, PhD , J. Solomon Consulting, LLC, Mountain View, CA
Monika S. Sawhney, PhD, MSW, MS , School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Joy Marini, MSPA-C , Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute, New Brunswick, NJ
Ruth Ann Shepherd, MD, FAAP, CPHQ , Department for Public Health, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Frankfort, KY
Katrina Thompson, MSW , State Director of Program Services, Kentucky March of Dimes, Lexington, KY
Karen Mandel, MSW , Office of the Medical Director, March of Dimes, White Plains, NY
Health education, of pregnant women and of clinicians and public health workers delivering services in the prenatal period, was the key component of the March of Dimes/Johnson & Johnson national model 2007-2009 Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait (HBWW). Designed to reduce increasing rates of singleton preterm birth (PTB) in specific KY intervention sites, this real-world collaborative effort relied heavily on health promotion activities related to its leading contributor, late (34-36 weeks) PTB. Multiple strategies used for delivery of key late PTB prevention messages included: development of educational content and format for bilingual signature brochures, brain cards, Prematurity Prevention ToolKit, www.premturityprevention.org, interactive diaries, HBWW logo items; perinatal provider continuing education (grand rounds, webinars, conferences, professional education resource centers, monthly relevant articles/professional guidelines) stressing the importance of evidence-based interventions, linking clients to services (smoking cessation, home visitation), and the positive impact of perinatal quality initiatives on the prevention of some late PTB; fostering collaboration between the clinical and local DOH teams; and leveraging community events to teach targeted audiences about the seriousness of late PTB and how everyone can make a difference (health fairs, billboards, media spots, giveaways with late PTB messages). Results will be presented of tracked health education activities and materials dissemination, as will findings from the intervention and comparison sites 2007 baseline (N=1066) and 2009 follow-up (N=1122) surveys of prenatal clients and from baseline/follow-up perinatal provider surveys regarding HBWW impact on PTB-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Lessons learned and recommendations to help prevent PTB will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. List at least 3 findings that reflect changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to late preterm birth for pregnant women between 2007 and 2009 in the HBWW intervention and comparison sites. 2. Describe 2 lessons learned from HBWW with respect to health education and late preterm birth.

Keywords: Health Education Strategies, Perinatal Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am the co-PI of Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait, I am the Deputy Medical Director of the National March of Dimes, and an obstetrician gynecologist.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.