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NC Folic Acid Campaign



Last Updated: 7/14/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 24
City: RALEIGH
State: North Carolina
Country: US

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October 21, 2009 - Wednesday 

Current mood:  enlightened
Category: News and Politics

Raleigh, NC (October 19, 2009) – A recent study conducted by the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign found that educating health care providers about folic acid can increase their knowledge and ability to counsel their patients. The program, called the Office Champion Program, increased health care providers’ knowledge of the proper timing of folic acid supplementation, the correct folic acid daily dose, and the correct recurrence prevention dose for those who have had a baby with a neural tube defect (NTD).


These findings are important because health care providers are the leading source of folic acid information for women. If all women took adequate folic acid before and during pregnancy, 50 to 70 % of NTDs, like spina bifida, could be prevented. Unfortunately, only one-third of women ages 18-45 have discussed the benefits of folic acid with their health care provider, even though 89 percent of women who do not take multivitamins say they would be likely to do so on the recommendation of their health care provider.


In order to close this gap, the Folic Acid Campaign developed a unique education initiative to remind health care providers about folic acid so that they can influence their patients’ behavior. This Office Champion program provides in-service educational sessions and trainings to public and private health care providers throughout North Carolina.


An evaluation of the Office Champion Program took place from 2006-2008 to examine the knowledge, attitudes and recommendation behavior related to folic acid and multivitamin use among private health care providers. Evaluators randomly selected OB-GYN and family practice offices from a statewide database. Prior to the in-service, staff administered a confidential survey to those in attendance to assess the baseline knowledge and behavior of providers. Three to four months later, a second survey was sent by mail to measure how individual health care providers’ knowledge, attitudes and counseling behaviors related to folic acid and multivitamins had changed as a result of the in-service and program.


A total of 104 respondents, including 57 nurses, 29 doctors, 14 mid-level providers and two health educators, completed the survey. The results showed that the Office Champion Program strengthened provider knowledge with regard to:


·        Proper timing of folic acid supplementation: 87% of respondents answered correctly (at least one month before conception) before the in-service and 94% after the in-service. North Carolina providers have high knowledge about the importance of taking folic acid before pregnancy.

·        Correct folic acid daily dose: Improvement from 53% to 73% of respondents who correctly identified 400 mcg.

·        Correct recurrence prevention dose: Improvement from 24% to 45% of providers who knew that 4000 mcg before pregnancy is the correct dose to prescribe if a patient has a history of a prior NTD-affected pregnancy.....

·        U.S. unintended pregnancy rate: Improvement from 63% correctly identifying the correct rate (~50%) before the in-service to 66% after the in-service. Health care providers still need convincing that unintended pregnancy is an important issue.


The program also appears to be effective in influencing health care provider counseling behaviors in regard to folic acid and multivitamins. The proportion of providers who reported discussing folic acid and multivitamin use with at least half their female patients of childbearing age at annual exams jumped from 51% before the in-service to 69% afterward.


Discussing folic acid and multivitamin use at routine visits is of particular interest because those visits are often related to chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes) that could affect future pregnancies. Encouragingly, 25% of providers surveyed made a positive shift toward counseling the majority of their female patients about folic acid and multivitamin use at these visits, from 36% before the intervention to 55% after.


These results demonstrate that the Office Champion program has the potential to influence provider knowledge and behavior regarding one important health message, folic acid consumption. As a result of this program evaluation, the Folic Acid Campaign will be able to strengthen the Office Champion curriculum and provide feedback to existing Office Champion practices. These results will also be useful as the Office Champion program grows, potentially adding information about other health topics for providers.


“This research not only helps the Folic Acid Campaign strengthen its programs, but it’s a great way to remind health care providers that it only takes 15 seconds to start a conversation with their patients about folic acid and multivitamins,” said Amy Mullenix, MSW, MPSH, the Folic Acid Campaign’s statewide coordinator. “Health professionals are important motivators in changing patient behavior, and patients value the opinion of their health care provider.”


For more information about the results of this study, please contact Megan Fazekas, at 919-424-2151 ormfazekas@marchofdimes.com. The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign, a collaboration between the North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes, uses innovative initiatives to educate women about the benefits of folic acid and the birth defects it helps to prevent. The statewide program’s mission is to improve health by promoting the benefits and consumption of folic acid by taking a daily multivitamin. Established in 1994, the program advocates that all women of child bearing age take 400 mcg of folic acid daily to help prevent birth defects of the brain and spine, called neural tube defects (NTDs). Membership in our Council is free. Visit www.getfolic.com for more information.

2:09 PM 
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August 12, 2009 - Wednesday 
The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign is now hiring for a full-time, temporary position. The purpose of this position is to provide folic acid education and collect survey information from Spanish-speaking women in Wake and Johnston counties. The mission of the Folic Acid Campaign is to improve health by promoting the benefits and consumption of folic acid. The position will be located in Raleigh.

For a complete job description visit: http://www.getfolic.com/documents/folic-acid-promotora-job-description.pdf
6:42 PM 
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July 14, 2009 - Tuesday 

Current mood:  happy
Category: News and Politics



A new Spanish-language health site women launched as a part of the getfolic.com family. The new section, getfolic.com/espanol, addresses health issues that are important to Hispanic women in North Carolina. The site covers more than just folic acid; it also includes information about multivitamins and women’s health before and after pregnancy. 

Hispanics have a significantly higher risk of having a baby affected by a birth defect of the brain (anencephaly) or spine (spina bifida) than other ethnic groups. According to public health experts, all women of childbearing age should take a daily multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid to reduce their risk of having a baby with these birth defects. This recommendation is especially important for Hispanics because their risk is double that of non-Hispanic whites and blacks.

Hispanics are also less likely to receive early prenatal care and they have additional barriers to care, such as lack of health insurance and language barriers. However, health care providers can be extremely influential to this population. According to research conducted by the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign (NCFAC), ninety-nine percent of Hispanic women who did not take a daily multivitamin said they would if their health care provider recommended it.

“We want health care professionals to use this Spanish-language information to start conversations about the importance of women’s health prior to pregnancy,” said Leslie deRosset, MPH, Latino Campaign coordinator. “The Campaign encourages them to provide information and resources to their patients.”

With the help of Crittenden Advertising and Design Nation, the NCFAC created a comprehensive and user-friendly resource for women’s health and wellness in North Carolina. The NCFAC was then able to expand the site to include Spanish-speaking women. The Web site now offers Hispanic women easy-to-understand information that impacts their health and the health of their family. 

The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign, a collaboration between the North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes, uses innovative initiatives to educate women about the benefits of folic acid and the birth defects it helps to prevent. The statewide program’s mission is to improve health by promoting the benefits and consumption of folic acid by taking a daily multivitamin. The Latino Campaign focuses on providing culturally appropriate programs to promote multivitamin use by Hispanics in North Carolina.

For more information about the Spanish Web site, please contact Leslie deRosset, MPH, at 919-424-2149 or lderosset@marchofdimes.com. 

9:43 PM 
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June 9, 2009 - Tuesday 

Current mood:  impressed
Category: News and Politics


Two years after the creation of our first Spanish marketing Campaign, it's time to redevelop our spanish media materials.  We are redeveloping our Spanish TV ad, radio ads and print ads, as well as working on our new Web site in Spanish. 

We decided to collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because their existing materials are so fantastic and they’ve been focus tested. We took their current materials and tweaked them to create a television ad for both agencies to use. Other states and agencies may order the spot once available for free! Because the CDC already has 30 second radio ads, we made new 60 second spots to be used in North Carolina. 

With our production team at Univision we recorded the spots on June 3. We’re in the final stages of editing and we hope to release the new materials soon!

Special thanks to our cast and crew!
Alina Flores, MPH, Health Education Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Belise Gonzalez, MPH, Health Marketing and Media Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Kevin Booker, Production Manager, Univision
Shirley Davenport, Account Executive, Univision
Emily Barefoot, Photographer
Maria Seaman, Talent
Tania Peon, Talent
Jorge Calles, M.D., Talent
Carlos Estanga, Talent

5:46 PM 
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June 5, 2009 - Friday 

Category: News and Politics
Raleigh, NC (June 5, 2009) – A recent statewide study conducted by the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign and published by the American Journal of Health Education revealed that only one-third of Hispanic women took a daily multivitamin with folic acid. These findings are important because Hispanics have a significantly higher risk of having a baby affected by a birth defect of the brain (anencephaly) or spine (spina bifida). According to public health experts, all women of childbearing age should take a daily multivitamin with folic acid, to reduce their risk of having a baby with these birth defects. This recommendation is especially important for Hispanics because their risk is double that of non-Hispanic whites and blacks.

As part of the study, in 2006, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign administered a survey to foreign-born Hispanic women ages 18-35 in 12 randomly selected counties throughout the state. The study results confirm that Hispanic women in North Carolina lack awareness about the importance of multivitamins and folic acid. Less than one-quarter of the respondents knew that multivitamins or folic acid should be taken before pregnancy and only 20 percent knew that folic acid was good for the development of the brain and spine of fetuses. 

Established research shows that up to 70 percent of birth defects of the brain and spine, known as neural tube defects (NTD), may be prevented with adequate folic acid intake before and during the early weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin found in multivitamins and fortified foods.

The survey also found several myths about multivitamins in the Hispanic community. Hispanic women believe that multivitamins are expensive, are only needed for pregnant women, and can cause weight gain and/or increase their appetite. These myths can create significant barriers and challenges for Hispanic women in starting a daily multivitamin habit. Furthermore, these barriers may contribute to the low vitamin consumption among Hispanic women in North Carolina. In reality, vitamins are inexpensive and only cost pennies a day. It is also clear that women need to take a daily multivitamin regardless of their pregnancy intentions. Currently no research exists to prove or disprove the belief about weight gain and/or increased appetite from a multivitamin. 

Although this study confirmed earlier findings regarding multivitamin knowledge and behaviors, it was unique because it offered insights into a population that is rarely surveyed in such a comprehensive way. The combination of an anonymous face-to-face survey in Spanish and the use of native Spanish-speaking data collectors produced a high level of participant comfort with the survey, thereby allowing the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign to survey approximately one percent of the total population of Spanish-speaking foreign-born women 18-35 in North Carolina.

This study also highlighted the important role of health care providers in educating Hispanic women about multivitamins, folic acid and birth defects. Ninety-nine percent of respondents who did not take a daily multivitamin reported that they would do so upon the recommendation of their health care providers (vs. 88 percent of all women of childbearing age nationally).

“This is good news for the health care community. Health care providers play a critical role in increasing knowledge and influencing behavior to increase the consumption of multivitamins among Hispanic women,” said Leslie deRosset, MPH, Latino Campaign Coordinator and lead author of the study. “They should be prepared at every available opportunity to counsel women about their risk and the potential benefits of preconceptional folic acid consumption.”

The article, “Multivitamins, Folic Acid and Birth Defects: Knowledge, Beliefs and Behaviors of Hispanic Women in North Carolina,” was published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Education.  This is the first time the NC Folic Acid Campaign has been published in a peer-reviewed publication. 

For more information about the results of this study, please contact Leslie deRosset, MPH, at 919-424-2149 or lderosset@marchofdimes.com. The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign is a collaboration between the North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes. Membership in our Council is free. Visit www.getfolic.com for more information.

3:10 PM 
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May 6, 2009 - Wednesday 

Current mood:  accomplished
Category: News and Politics
Enjoy the Spring 2009 edition of the Folic Acid Forum! We have a lot of great information to share with you, including results from one of our recent program surveys. We'll also spotlight a Campus Champion, as well as the results from the 2008 March of Dimes Gallup Poll. And, as always, we like to keep you up-to-date with the most important folic acid news so you can stay current on the science. Click here to view the PDF online: Folic Acid Forum Spring Newsletter http://www.getfolic.com/documents/newsletter-spring-2009_final-for-web.pdf Want to know more about the Campaign? We’ve recently published our 2008 Program Accomplishments. This annual report describes our programs and highlights our accomplishments. Click here to view the PDF online: http://www.getfolic.com/documents/Program%20Accomplishments%202008-FINAL-web.pdf
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April 9, 2009 - Thursday 

Current mood:  accomplished
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
2008 North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign Program Accomplishments

Community Health Education
Regional coordinators train individuals across the state to be community health educators through the Community Ambassador program. These ambassadors provide trainings about folic acid and multivitamins through their own personal networks, making it a particularly effective way to reach women across the state. In 2008, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign’s regional coordinators trained 181 Community Ambassadors. These ambassadors then provided information about the health benefits of folic acid and multivitamins to more than 10,000 individuals. Regional coordinators also promoted folic acid to the general public as well as health care providers at over 200 conferences, professional meetings, work sites and other events. The Folic Acid Campaign places a special emphasis on reaching college-age women; in 2008 the Folic Acid Campaign provided folic acid education on 29 college campuses in North Carolina.

Health Care Provider Education
According to the 2008 Gallup Poll commissioned by the March of Dimes, health care providers are the leading source of folic acid information among all women. Unfortunately, only one-third of women ages 18-45 have discussed the benefits of folic acid with their health care provider, even though 89 percent of women who do not take multivitamins say they would be likely to do so on the recommendation of their health care provider. In order to close this gap, the Folic Acid Campaign developed a health care provider education initiative called the Office Champion program. The program provides in-office educational sessions to public and private health care providers throughout North Carolina. The providers are given tools and encouraged to talk to their female patients about taking folic acid during their childbearing years. In 2008, 100 new health care offices were trained, and approximately 372 previously trained offices were supported in their work to promote folic acid. In total, we trained and supported 472 health care practices, who will in turn reach thousands of women across the state.

Latino Campaign
In 2008, the Latino Campaign completed an evaluation of its educational campaign. The Folic Acid Campaign now has pre- and post-test data highlighting the successes and challenges of educational efforts with Hispanic women. These results show that knowledge about folic acid is improving, but more work remains to be done to get women to take their multivitamins every day. These results will be used to modify and improve the Latino Campaign for 2009. In December 2008, the Latino Campaign received official notice that its pre-test evaluation results will be published in the 2009 May /June issue of the American Journal of Health Education. The Folic Acid Campaign also provided seven cultural competency trainings to health care providers in 2008. The cultural competency curriculum uses folic acid as the framework for discussion as it teaches providers about the cultural values and health care beliefs of Hispanics. Additionally, the Latino Campaign trained 26 Community Ambassadors about folic acid and multivitamins, who then educated more than 1,500 Hispanics face-to-face.

Media and Materials
The Folic Acid Campaign continued to develop effective folic acid messages in English and Spanish for the general public using mass media. In 2008, over 2,000 advertisements, 217 direct mail pieces, 4 social networking sites, 3 news releases, 2 feature stories, and 5 radio and television interviews were used to spread the word about folic acid and multivitamins across the state. In 2008, the Folic Acid Campaign focused on using online social networking sites as a way to attract women ages 18-24. The Folic Acid Campaign now has active profiles on Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter and YouTube. Our educational videos were viewed more than 1,600 times on YouTube alone. Additionally, over 600,000 pieces of folic acid informational items (969 orders) were distributed through the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation, a Folic Acid Campaign partner. The information is free to residents of North Carolina via the Folic Acid Campaign’s Web site, www.getfolic.com.

Evaluation
The Folic Acid Campaign has continued its work of evaluating our programs and will use this information to effectively target programs, media activities and outreach. An evaluation of the Office Champion program, our health care provider education program, was completed, analyzed and presented at the national annual meeting of the American Public Health Association. An evaluation of the Community Ambassador program was launched in 2008. Surveys will be distributed to more than 500 recipients of this educational program to measure their behavioral intentions about multivitamins as well as the effectiveness of the training program. And finally, the Campaign implemented a pilot vitamin distribution program in conjunction with a research study beginning in July of 2008 to determine whether women who are given a bottle of free vitamins and education about their importance at a local health department will purchase more if given the opportunity. We are also studying their vitamin-taking behavior over a 6-8 month period. This pilot study is being implemented at the Pitt County Health Department. Results will be available in the fall of 2009.

Awards and Presentations
In February 2008, the National Birth Defects Prevention Network awarded the Latino component of the Folic Acid Campaign its National Birth Defects Education and Prevention Award. In addition, one staff member and one member of the Folic Acid Campaign’s Executive Committee presented about the Campaign at the First Central and Eastern European Summit on Preconception Health and Prevention of Birth Defects held in Budapest, Hungary. In total, the Folic Acid Campaign staff presented at 13 prestigious national and statewide academic conferences.

North Carolina Folic Acid Council Partners:
March of Dimes Foundation
North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation
North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program
Fullerton Genetics Center at Mission Hospitals
Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services
UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health
Crittenden Advertising
North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics
National Council on Folic Acid National
Birth Defects Prevention Network
5:51 PM 
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January 6, 2009 - Tuesday 

Current mood:proud
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

In recognition of National Folic Acid Awareness Week the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign (NCFAC) launched a completely redesigned website, www.getfolic.com.

The site covers more than just folic acid; it also includes information about multivitamins and women's health. Folic acid is a part of a healthy lifestyle and research shows that up to 70 percent of birth defects of the brain and spine could be prevented if all women took folic acid before pregnancy.

With the help of Crittenden Advertising and Design Nation, we created a comprehensive and easy-to-use resource for women's health and wellness in North Carolina. The Campaign plans to launch the Spanish-language portion of the website in April.

"The Folic Acid Campaign's website now offers women complete information about folic acid, multivitamins and their overall health," said Amy Mullenix, statewide coordinator for the Campaign. "We want women in North Carolina to use this as a tool to stay in good health."

The site also features a section for health care providers and other health professionals, which includes current recommendations, free materials and an impressive list of scientific journal articles. According to a March of Dimes Gallup poll, almost 90 percent of women say they'd take multivitamins at their doctor's recommendation.

To find out more about the Campaign visit www.getfolic.com, or contact Megan Fazekas at 919-7424-2151 or by e-mail at mfazekas@marchofdimes.com. Membership in our Council is free. Sign up and stay informed about Campaign activities.

3:24 AM 
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November 6, 2008 - Thursday 

Current mood:  happy
Category: News and Politics

See what we've been up to! The Fall issue of the NC Folic Acid Campaign's newsletter is now available.

We have a lot of great information to share with you, including results from two of our recent program surveys. We'll also spotlight a physical therapist who has recently joined our Council, as well as Executive Committee members who traveled to Budapest, Hungary to present on our Campaign! And, as always, we like to keep you up-to-date with the most important folic acid news so you can stay current on the science.

If you would like to receive these by mail in the future, please join our Council at http://getfolic.com/contact/join.html.

Read the newsletter here: http://www.marchofdimes.com/files/Newsletter_Fall_2008-Final_for_Web.pdf

Thanks,
Megan Fazekas
Communications Coordinator

11:34 PM 
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October 2, 2008 - Thursday 

Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes Celebrate Spina Bifida Awareness Month

New Support Group Forms in Raleigh

Raleigh, N.C. (October 2, 2008) -- One in every 1,970 babies in North Carolina is born with spina bifida, a severe birth defect of the brain and spine. The North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes are recognizing October as Spina Bifida Awareness Month by highlighting the occurrence of the birth defect and offering recommendations to decrease the chances of developing spina bifida. Current recommendations advise every woman of child bearing age--even those who are not planning a pregnancy--to take a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid every day,

Spina bifida occurs when the spine of a baby fails to close properly. It occurs during the first month of pregnancy before a woman knows she is pregnant. Spina bifida may lead to paralysis or other disabling problems. An estimated 70,000 to 130,000 people in this country currently live with spina bifida, the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States.

"Spina Bifida Awareness Month helps us educate the public and increase understanding of what it's like to live with spina bifida and how to prevent it," says Amy Mullenix, MSW, MSPH, Statewide Coordinator for the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign. "It's essential that people are aware that spina bifida affects a startling number of people in the United States and that 50 to 70% of cases could be prevented with adequate folic acid intake before pregnancy."

Spina bifida is not one condition; it is a multitude of problems that affect the mind, body and spirit. Advancements in treatment and prevention, however, have opened new doors for those with spina bifida. While it presents unique challenges, those affected by spina bifida are able to attend school, work, raise a family, and spend time with friends just like everyone else.

The root cause of spina bifida is unknown and the effects for each person are different. Hispanics have an abnormally high rate of occurrence. In North Carolina, Latina/Hispanic women are twice as likely to have a baby born with a neural tube defect (NTD), than any other race or ethnicity.

In the Triangle area, a new support group has formed to help parents of children in with spina bifida. A new member of the Folic Acid Council, Anna Romanosky, DPT, is a pediatric physical therapist at Raleigh Neurology Associates, P.A. and she started the support group after realizing that there are not a lot of resources available for these families.

Romanosky and her partner, Nazaly Miller, PT, currently treat six children with spina bifida at their practice. Many families they work with are middle-income so they don't qualify for subsidies or state programs.

"I just started networking, and talking to anyone I could. It seemed that a lot of people were waiting for something like this to happen," Romanosky said.

Romanosky decided to start a support group for these families, and so far the effort has paid off. The first meeting was held on September 4 and seven families attended. "It went really well. It was amazing to see the parents interact," Romanosky said.

The group decided that it would focus ..ing a free equipment exchange so that parents can swap out expensive equipment, since children with spina bifida often need numerous pieces of equipment that they grow out of quickly. They will also focus on providing support to pregnant women whose babies have been diagnosed with spina bifida in utero, as well as advocating for more services and resources to those with spina bifida.

The support group will also encourage prevention since more than half of spina bifida cases could be prevented if every woman of child bearing age was to take a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid every day before pregnancy. The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign is providing the support group with free materials and information that they can use at health fairs and other events.

The next support group meeting is scheduled for Oct. 16 in Raleigh. All families who have a child with spina bifida are encouraged to attend. For information about the meeting or to start a support group in your area, please contact Anna Romanosky, DPT, at 919-420-1682 or at aromanosky@raleighneurology.com.

To find out more about how you can become a member of the Folic Acid Council, contact Megan Fazekas at 919-781-2481 or by e-mail at mfazekas@marchofdimes.com. For more information about the NC Folic Acid Campaign, or to order free materials, visit www.getfolic.com.

9:21 PM 
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