FASD Prevention Interventions Valued by Australian and Canadian Women

Abstract

Clinical reports indicate a poor quality of life (QOL) among individuals with FASD. For example, women with FASD had poor QOL scores and high levels of mental health disorders and behavioral problems relative to other populations (Grant et al. 2005). Despite potential dangers to children’s health, drinking by pregnant women remains too common in Australia and Canada. This exploratory study opens a dialogue with educated women aged 25–45 to “brainstorm” preferred social marketing interventions. To investigate, 24 Australian women and 20 Canadian women participated in focus groups and interviews. Thematic discourse analysis was utilized to analyze the data. Alcohol use appears to be related to peer and societal expectations. Current awareness strategies for alcohol abstinence are too simplistic to provide a rationale for behaviour change. An intervention deemed likely to be successful would include a website delivered through credible sources offering information based on best practices, an online forum with health, government, and/or university professionals as moderators, and an in-person educational lecture series. To overcome alcohol drinking during pregnancy and therefore optimise quality of life for unborn children, FASD prevention campaigns should provide evidence to justify abstinence, encourage women and their families to join non-alcoholic activities, change the social norm of consuming alcohol in social gatherings, as well as create on-line support groups and educational interactive tools. The results of this study may inform the design of social marketing interventions seeking to prevent FASD and therefore improve quality of life. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.