Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the impact of media messages targeted to women of childbearing age who smoke 2. Understand the disparity of smoking rates between white and African-American women receiving Medicaid maternity care 3. Learn how to effectively evaluate community-based tobacco cessation and prevention programs
Abstract: Introduction: The multi-channel media campaign of the Alabama Tobacco Free Families program (ATOFF) supports as a community-based effort to raise awareness about the potential harm to babies born to women who smoke cigarettes and to change social norms to support a smoke-free environment.
Objective: Wave I of the campaign concentrated on risks to the newborn of women who smoke while pregnant. Wave II targeted harm to children exposed to second-hand smoke in an automobile. ATOFF’s objective is to reduce smoking prevalence rates among women of childbearing age (14-44), but especially among those in Medicaid-supported maternity care.
Methods: Working with a professional advertising agency to complete a target-audience audit, ATOFF aimed Wave I messages at the woman who was not enthusiastically invested in the pregnancy. Wave II was designed to raise awareness of harm from second-hand smoke to children riding in an automobile. A quit kit was offered.
Results: Requests for quit kits received in the first 6 months totaled 2,882. Of the 1,597 women who responded to Wave I messages, 79% were pregnant. Baseline data from 381 women (ages 14 - 44) presenting as new maternity cases in the 12 public health clinics in the 8 target counties revealed a cotinine-confirmed smoking prevalence rate of 29%. Disparity between rates of white women (49%) and African-Americans (17%) was dramatic. Baseline data from a community telephone survey taken in parallel among women in the same counties revealed a self-reported smoking prevalence rate of 24%, with the rate of white women similarly high.
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