Get Folic

We've moved!

2011-08-11T13:37:00.001-04:00

The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign has a new name and website! We're now the North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign and our new site can be found at EveryWomanNC.com. To go directly to our new blog click here.

2011-03-16T09:45:00.001-04:00

At the General Assembly getting ready for Advocacy Day! Let's hope we get funding this year!

2011-02-23T10:40:00.001-05:00

Our abstracts submitted for the National Summit on Preconception Health & Health Care were accepted. Tampa here we come! :)

Please welcome our newest staff members

2011-02-10T12:02:00.002-05:00

As you know, the Campaign has been undergoing a lot of changes. We were sad to lose three of our regional coordinators in 2010, but we wish them all the very best. And now we are happy to announce our two newest team members who will serve the eastern part of the state. Please welcome Sarah Wright, Cape Fear Regional Coordinator, and Rovanda Freeman, Eastern Regional Coordinator.

Sarah comes to us from the Beaufort County Health Department where she served as a Public Health Education Specialist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with minors in Alcohol & Drug Studies and Child Development & Family Relations, and a Master of Arts in Health Education and Promotion, both from Eastern Carolina University. Sarah’s diverse and impressive background will be an asset to the Campaign and the Cape Fear Region in particular.

Another ECU Pirate has joined our team. Rovonda comes to us by way of the Wayne County Health Department where she was the Minority Health Coordinator/Public Health Education Specialist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education and Promotion with a Community Health Concentration, in addition to a Master of Arts in Health Education. Rovonda has an abundance of experience in conducting outreach and health education programs to various audiences on a myriad of subjects, including women’s health and preconception health.

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-22T11:41:00.005-05:00

We're just about ready to head out for the holiday season...but before we leave for the good times, we just wanted to send out a little note acknowledging your support and the wonderful year we've had.

2010 was a year of transition for us. We officially made the plans to switch our focus from just folic acid to a wider preconception health campaign. To this end we will launch new programs and will be changing our branding and messaging. Initially our focus will be on training health providers about how to counsel their paitents on healthy weight. We've produced a educational booklet and we'll provide the participants with lots of free goodies as incentives for joining the cause. Contact us if you want to participate.

For more information about our year and our campaign, view our newsletter. To start receiving our newsletter, join us!

As we end this year and reflect, it's important to give thanks to our supporters. We are deeply grateful to the March of Dimes, the Department of Public Health’s Women Health Branch, the North Carolina Preconception Health Coalition, and countless other agencies and groups who have supported us during this transition. Thank you for your guidance, partnership and support!

Seasons Greetings,
The North Carolina Folic Acid/Preconception Health Campaign

2010-12-15T16:29:00.001-05:00

We're still looking for a Triad Regional Coordinator! Based in Winston-Salem with great benefits. (Dietitians encouraged to apply) http://ping.fm/4wDZw

2010-12-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

The CDC Warehouse is downsizing. Loads of folic acid materials are available at increased quantities. http://ping.fm/64zko

We're hiring!

2010-09-02T15:53:00.002-04:00

Exciting health education full-time positions to promote women’s health - The March of Dimes is looking to expand its health education team (NC Folic Acid Campaign) to promote preconception health in the Triad and Cape Fear regions of North Carolina. Positions will be located in Winston-Salem and Fayetteville. Please share the attached job descriptions and encourage all qualified applicants to apply via: marchofdimes.com – about us – careers.

Shape our materials: Key Informants wanted

2010-07-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign and the March of Dimes are looking for outreach workers to give feedback about a new brochure we’re developing. The brochure is about healthy weight and is targeted toward 18-24 year old African American women. Interviewees’ primary client base should match our target audience. These interviews will be informal chats that will last about an hour. They can be done in person or over the phone. Think of it like a private focus group. All comments will be kept confidential. Participants will not only get to influence the design and content of a brochure that will help NC women, they will also receive a gift bag and a $25 Walmart gift card. Please contact Megan Fazekas at 424-2151 or mfazekas@marchofdimes.com to see if you qualify to participate. Thanks!

2010-06-24T18:03:00.001-04:00

North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign Communications Volunteer/Intern http://ping.fm/Pp1t6

Low-income women will receive free multivitamins with folic acid

2010-05-25T10:46:00.004-04:00

A bill passed by the NC General Assembly provides funding for the statewide distribution of multivitamins with folic acid to low income, non-pregnant women of childbearing age through health departments and other safety net providers. North Carolina is now the fifth state to have a statewide multivitamin program of this nature.

Studies show that if all women consumed the recommended amount of folic acid before and during early pregnancy, up to 70 percent of all neural tube defects could be prevented. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, that occur before most women even know that they are pregnant. These birth defects can result in physical abnormalities that can vary from minor to fatal. NTDs are common birth defects that occur in about 200 pregnancies each year in North Carolina.

This statewide multivitamin distribution program specifies that any low income, non-pregnant woman of childbearing age is eligible to receive a year’s supply of multivitamins with folic acid from a participating health agency at no cost. Participants do not need to register with the agency to receive vitamins. These women must also receive one-on-one folic acid counseling and educational materials in order to take home their multivitamins.

Free multivitamins may be available at health departments’ clinical settings such as Primary Care, Family Planning, STI, home visits, WIC, and health fairs, as well as at the Pharmacy or front desk. Other safety-net providers such as community health centers, rural health centers and migrant health centers will also distribute free multivitamins. Over 190 agencies throughout the state have signed up for the program, including all health departments.

The vitamins distributed by this program are basic daily multivitamins that contain 100 percent daily value of vitamins A, C, D, B1, B2, B6, niacin, folic acid, and B12. They are not prenatal vitamins and are not intended for pregnant women. The vitamins do not contain any minerals, which makes the pills smaller and easier to tolerate.

The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign is providing training and technical assistance to agencies who wish to participate in the program. The campaign is using its existing regional coordination model to reach out to health care providers who are most likely to influence the health decisions of women of childbearing age. The Campaign is also offering an online training module to prepare them for the program.

A multivitamin distribution pilot program in western North Carolina showed folic acid education provided to those distributing multivitamins and those receiving multivitamins is essential to program success. With the help of the Mission Healthcare Foundation, 24 western North Carolina counties have participated in a pilot program to distribute low-cost multivitamins to women of childbearing age since 2003. The results of the program evaluation showed that 53 percent of women in the program take a daily multivitamin, compared to 25 percent before the intervention. The most dramatic change in behavior was among Hispanic women, who have a higher risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy than other races/ethnicities.

Although our NTD rates have dropped in North Carolina, the financial cost of spina bifida to taxpayers continues to be high. A statewide multivitamin distribution program for low-income women, in conjunction with an existing public health education campaign, could decrease North Carolina’s NTD rate even more while producing a sustained cost savings to Medicaid over time. In a recent analysis of Medicaid claims during the first year of life for children with spina bifida, the NC State Center for Health Statistics found that Medicaid expenses for children with spina bifida are more than 12 times greater than the average (median) cost for all Medicaid live births. Between 2001 and 2005, $4,365,000 of Medicaid claims were paid in North Carolina for infants with spina bifida (through age 1). The average Medicaid cost per year was $873,000 for the care of these infants during those years.

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of the March of Dimes and its volunteers, low-income women will now have access to a vitamin that saves lives. Providing a free, one-year supply of vitamins simultaneously with face-to-face health care provider counseling may be the ideal tool to move individuals from knowledge to action and allow women to change their behavior immediately.

For more information about the program, please contact Megan Fazekas, at 919-424-2151 or mfazekas@marchofdimes.com. The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign, a collaboration between the March of Dimes and the North Carolina Folic Acid Council, 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 getfolic.com for more information.

2009 Program Accomplishments

2010-04-29T09:44:00.003-04:00

We've just released our 2009 Program Accomplishments! It's our annual program report and we had such a great year. Take a look and tell us what you think!

In 2009 the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign built on its successful programs, launched new initiatives, and continued to plan for the future. Results of program evaluations showed that our signature programs do indeed work, and a pilot multivitamin distribution program at the Pitt County Health Department also showed promise. This pilot program, along with evaluation results from similar vitamin distribution programs in western North Carolina, were instrumental in influencing the passage of legislation that provided for a statewide vitamin distribution program. We are grateful to all our partners who helped make this vitamin distribution program a reality – starting in 2010, low-income women of childbearing age will be able to get a year’s supply of free multivitamins from local health departments, community health centers and safety net clinics.

The Campaign officially broadened its mission to include other preconception health messages such as healthy weight and reproductive life planning. A new strategic plan was completed and the Campaign is currently seeking funding to broaden its work, building on the documented successes of its signature programs.

Community Health Education
Regional coordinators train individuals across the state to be lay 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 2009, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign’s regional coordinators trained 156 Community Ambassadors. These ambassadors then provided information about the health benefits of folic acid and multivitamins to more than 9,000 individuals. A comprehensive program evaluation completed in 2009 showed that the program significantly increases participants’ knowledge and intentions to take a multivitamin. Regional coordinators also promoted folic acid to the general public as well as health care providers at 182 conferences, professional meetings, work sites and other events. The Folic Acid Campaign places a special emphasis on reaching college-age women; in 2009 the Folic Acid Campaign provided folic acid education on 31 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 2009, 80 new health care offices were trained, and approximately 550 previously trained offices were supported in their work to promote folic acid. These offices will in turn reach thousands of women across the state. A comprehensive program evaluation completed in 2009 showed that health care providers are significantly more likely to discuss multivitamin consumption with patients after participating in this program.

Latino Campaign
The Folic Acid Campaign places special emphasis on educating the Hispanic/Latino population about folic acid because this group has twice the rate of NTDs than other races/ethnicities. The Campaign uses lay health educators, similar to the Community Ambassador program, to educate women most at risk. In 2009, the Latino Campaign trained more than 75 Community Ambassadors about folic acid and multivitamins, who then educated more than 1,875 Hispanic women face-to-face. The Campaign also provided four cultural competency trainings to health care providers in 2009. The curriculum uses folic acid as the framework for discussion as it educates providers about the cultural values and health care beliefs of Hispanics.

The Latino Campaign was expanded in late 2009 with a CDC grant to study the effectiveness of a lay health education model known as a promotora program to promote folic acid in Wake and Johnston counties.

Due to our extensive evaluation efforts, 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 were used to modify and improve the Latino Campaign for 2009 and beyond.

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 2009, new Spanish-language ads for the Latino Campaign were developed in collaboration with the CDC. These new ads were produced for print, radio and television and ran on Hispanic media across the state. Meanwhile, the English media campaign changed its focus by switching to web-based advertising to promote the redevelopment of getfolic.com which launched in January 2009. The new web ads ran on Facebook, Yahoo! sponsored searches, and Google AdWords. The site received over a million impressions through these advertising campaigns in 2009. These ad campaigns and other promotional efforts led to a 43% increase in visitors (74,580 total site visits) to getfolic.com over 2008.

With the launch of the redeveloped website, the Folic Acid Campaign continued to focus 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 1,800 times in 2009 on YouTube alone. More than 200,000 pieces of folic acid informational items were also distributed through our partner, the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation. The materials are free to residents of North Carolina via the Folic Acid Campaign’s website, getfolic.com.

Presentations and Publications
The Folic Acid Campaign continues to present and publish information about its programs and evaluations at the state and national level. The Latino Campaign published an evaluation of its educational campaign in the 2009 May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Education, making this the Campaign’s first peer-reviewed research article to be published. In September 2009, the Campaign published another peer-reviewed article in the North Carolina Medical Journal, which reported on results from the Western North Carolina Vitamin Distribution Program. A second article in this Journal highlighted the Campaign’s work as a successful example of a preconception health campaign. Additionally, Folic Acid Campaign staff presented at 11 prestigious national and statewide academic conferences.

North Carolina Folic Acid Council Partners
March of Dimes Foundation
North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services: Division of Public Health-Women’s Health Branch
North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation
Fullerton Genetics Center at Mission Hospitals
North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program
Crittenden Advertising
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Council on Folic Acid
National Birth Defects Prevention Network

Looking for FREE educational materials to use in your agency, clinic, school, business or church?

2010-03-05T14:18:00.004-05:00

The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation has been printing and shipping our folic acid educational materials for several years. In addition to information about multivitamins and folic acid, the NCHSF also offers educational and promotional materials, in English and Spanish, on a variety of women’s and children’s health topics including:

Women’s health (for women of childbearing age)
Pregnancy
Family planning waiver (Medicaid)
Parenting and baby care
Infant safe sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS
Health Check and NC Health Choice (publicly funded child health insurance)
Medical home for children

For a list of the NCFAC materials that they print, visit http://www.getfolic.com/order/index.htm. View the entire NCHSF catalog (Summer 2009) and all materials at www.nchealthystart.org/catalog/list.htm (Yes, this is the most recent catalog).

Order Forms are available on-line at www.nchealthystart.org/orderform or call: 919-256-3581.

Order on-line or download and order by fax (919-828-7470) or by mail:
Shipping Department
North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation
1300 St. Mary’s St., Suite 204
Raleigh, NC 27605

Don't forget...It's always FREE!

PIMPAC serves as a model for preconception health programs and coalitions

2009-11-19T15:09:00.003-05:00

We like to spotlight our partners and members regularly to give them the recognition and support that they truly deserve. This fall we are spotlighting a council from Pitt County, the Pitt Infant Mortality Prevention Advisory Council (PIMPAC). They're truly stars in our eyes.

In the early nineties most people didn’t know what preconception health was, much less attempt to address it, but Pitt County was ahead of the times. In 1990 the Pitt Infant Mortality Prevention Advisory Council (PIMPAC) was formed to improve Pitt County’s birth outcomes. PIMPAC realized early that in order to improve birth outcomes, public health programs must address the health of potential parents in addition to the health of pregnant women.

Amy Hattem, MAEd, LCCE, is an employee of the Pitt County Health Department and has been the coordinator for PIMPAC since 1995. PIMPAC is led by dedicated advisory board members who are active in directing the Council’s work.

Over the years, PIMPAC has been awarded grant money from the North Carolina Community Grants Program at the March of Dimes. PIMPAC members are currently working on the second year of a March of Dimes grant to create a preconception health awareness campaign among employees of local businesses. In 2008, PIMPAC implemented the campaign for Convergys Corporation, a local call center that employs over 300 individuals. A series of presentations related to preconception health were conducted on site for employees. Gym bags bearing the message Taking Care of Me, Planning for My Future were provided to employees to encourage participation, and to encourage them to increase their daily physical activity. The campaign is being replicated at DSM Pharmaceuticals and DSM Dyneema. PIMPAC hopes to secure additional funding to expand the preconception health campaign to more businesses in 2010.

Working closely with businesses has taught PIMPAC valuable lessons about worksite health education. “Make sure the worksite employs the target population you are trying to reach,” Hattem said. It is important to meet with management members early in the planning stages and encourage them to provide feedback during this stage.“ Get support from management so they will promote the program among employees and encourage them to attend.”

Hattem also stresses that campaigns shouldn’t feel discouraged if they don’t see results right away. “It takes time, several months to a year, to build a positive rapport with worksites and to implement an on-site program.”

Other important lessons learned from PIMPAC’s preconception health campaign are:

Be courteous and don’t interfere with the worksites’ normal daily operations.
Be flexible and willing to serve employees across various shifts.
Understand that some worksites may not always offer an ideal presentation environment, but work with what you have and without complaints. Remember, the most important thing is you were allowed in!
Tailor all presentations so that men can also relate to them.
Don’t exclude older people. Instead, encourage them to promote these preconception health messages to younger generations and members of their families.
Take the focus off of pregnancy. Focus on overall wellness instead.
Use terminology other than “preconception health”. Many individuals do not know the meaning of this term or cannot relate to it. PIMPAC has adopted the slogan, Taking Care of Me, Planning for My Future. This non-threatening message could mean many things and applies to many audiences.

“The PIMPAC advisory council is comprised of representatives from Pitt County Health Department, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Pitt County schools, local human service agencies, nonprofit agencies, such as March of Dimes, businesses, media, community groups, and consumers,” said Hattem. “Membership is open to anyone who shares PIMPAC’s mission of improving Pitt County’s birth outcomes.”

PIMPAC and the Folic Acid Campaign have worked closely for years. Eastern Regional Coordinator, Gina Smith, MA, CHES, knows about the partnership first hand. “I have worked with PIMPAC since I started with the Campaign four years ago,” she said. “They are wonderful to collaborate with and always involve me in their work. They have helped me tremendously in my efforts to network and spread the folic acid message throughout Pitt County.”

For nearly two decades PIMPAC has been working hard on their mission, never wavering from their vision. They serve as a model for creating public health-based coalitions in communities who want to improve infant mortality and women’s health. Their collaborative approach and innovative programs have truly left a mark on the lives of women, children and families in Pitt County.

News Desk: Getfolic.com is now in Spanish!

2009-07-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

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.

As promised...our new Spanish TV PSA!

2009-06-12T10:11:00.004-04:00

If you would like to order a taggable version of this PSA, please post a comment with your contact information and I will get you in touch with the person who is distributing these PSAs. We also have radio PSAs available to be tagged free of charge! Again, post a comment to request more information.

Translation:
Friend 1: Anita! Do you have babies yet?
Friend 2 (Anita): Not yet.
Friend 1: But you are taking a vitamin with folic acid, correct (right)?
Anita: No, I am not pregnant.
Friend 1: You must be prepared. Folic acid is important before you get pregnant so the baby is born healthy.

Doctor: Folic acid will help to prevent birth defects of the brain and spine. You must take it every day, and especially before and during the early weeks of pregnancy. Put your vitamins somewhere you will see them.

Doctor: Take your vitamin with folic acid every day.

New Spanish Commercial/PSA

2009-06-09T13:09:00.005-04:00

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

News Desk: North Carolina Hispanic women do not take multivitamins despite increased risk of serious birth defects

2009-06-05T11:14:00.004-04:00

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.

Campus Ambassadors: Spreading the word about folic acid in the spirit of service

2009-05-12T10:53:00.003-04:00

Campus Ambassadors are specially trained college students who spread the word about folic acid to students on their campus. They play a vital role in the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign’s efforts to reach women ages 18-24. We know college can be demanding and overwhelming at times, and the Folic Acid Campaign would like to commend and thank the Campus Ambassadors for their work in reaching out to others with the folic acid message.

Briana Sylvester is one such Campus Ambassador. Sylvester is a student majoring in Health and Wellness at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She has been working with the Folic Acid Campaign since the Fall of 2008. She was trained by Linda Morgan, regional coordinator for Western NC, after a former sorority sister at Gamma Phi Beta asked Sylvester to carry on her "folic acid legacy."

"And, she’s doing just that," Morgan says, "Briana has presented to more than 10 groups of women already and is still going strong!"

Before hearing her sorority sister speak Sylvester was unaware of the importance of folic acid, but now she enjoys sharing the message. "I had never even heard of folic acid and I learned so much during [her] presentation. I love being on the other side and educating people who have no previous knowledge of what folic acid is," she said.

"I was not taking a multivitamin regularly when I became a Campus Ambassador," she admits frankly. "I would take one maybe once a week when I remembered. Other than that, I did not really see the point except that I heard that they were good for you. Now, after becoming an Ambassador, I take a multivitamin every day."

Now that she is taking her multivitamins, she has to convince others to do so as well. "My biggest challenge as a Campus Ambassador is the inevitable argument from people who feel that they are being pressured into taking a multivitamin when they believe they can get their recommended daily value naturally," she said. She tells her audience that folic acid is more easily absorbed by the body than naturally occurring folate, and that with today’s diets it is hard to get enough from food alone.

Other than giving the facts about folic acid, Sylvester also stresses personal responsibility. "I always want women to know that taking a multivitamin is a personal choice. If a woman chooses not to take a multivitamin, this campaign is not making the claim that her baby will have a neural tube defect. It is just informing women of the benefits of folic acid in order to help them make the best decision," she said.

In addition to giving presentations on folic acid, Sylvester also incorporates folic acid in her studies. "Right now, I am in a class that focuses on chronic diseases, their origins and prevention. Part of the class is to get together with members from a gender and sexuality based sociology class to create a project that is about gender bias, as well as health related. We have focused on how folic acid is not being targeted toward men even though there are benefits for them as well, such as aiding in depression and Alzheimer’s. We are promoting folic acid with a view that strays away from being gender biased."

Even after college Sylvester hopes to continue her work in folic acid education. "I would love to stay involved and do something related to the folic acid awareness campaign for years to come. Even if there is no formal campaign program, I see myself still giving presentations to people around me."

Now, that truly is a legacy.

2008 NC Folic Acid Campaign Program Accomplishments

2009-04-09T13:57:00.006-04:00

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 and 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

North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign Launches New Women’s Health Website

2009-01-05T09:55:00.006-05:00

Happy National Folic Acid Awareness Week! In recognition of National Folic Acid Awareness Week the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign (NCFAC) launched a completely redesigned website, http://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 http://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.

Fall issue of the Folic Acid Forum newsletter is here

2008-11-06T10:39:00.004-05:00

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.

Please read our newsletter here: http://www.marchofdimes.com/files/Newsletter_Fall_2008-Final_for_Web.pdf

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

New folic acid photos for our stock library

2008-10-03T10:47:00.002-04:00

One of the projects that the NC Folic Acid Campaign worked on this summer was taking photos for our stock photo library. On all those fancy brochures that you see, most of those pictures are purchased from a stock photography site. Pictures purchased on those sites can cost anywhere from $1 to $1,000! The other down side of purchasing photo rights is that you are limited in how you can use them and what pictures are available. And hiring a photographer is even more costly.

When the Folic Acid Campaign realized that we weren't find the pictures we needed at an affordable price, we decided to take the pictures ourselves. Now we (including the March of Dimes) have full ownership of these photos. And we got to hand-pick the subjects! It saved us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. All we needed was a nice camera, a sunny day and lots of cute kids!

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

2008-10-03T10:02:00.003-04:00

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 parents attended. “It went really well. It was amazing to see the parents interact,” Romanosky said.

The group decided that it would focus on starting 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.

Partners in Education

2008-09-10T17:13:00.016-04:00

Greetings!! I am the eastern regional coordinator for the NC Folic Acid Council. I am very excited that we now have this great new way to share information with you! I wanted to take this opportunity to update all of you on what is going on in the eastern region as I continuously try to find new ways to reach out to women in my area.

I work with health care providers, community agencies, churches and schools to educate women about the importance of folic acid. One program that we have is called the Community Ambassador (CA) program. This important program is a basic health promotion program in which regional coordinators, like myself, train community members to give presentations about folic acid. Through this program we are able to reach thousands of women each year.

One way the CA program works in Eastern NC is through Student Dietetic Association (SDA) at East Carolina University, located in Greenville, NC. The SDA is a campus organization and its members are asked to raise money each year to help benefit their organization. In 2007 they decided to get involved with our CA program as a great way for them to educate women while being able to raise the funds that they need. I ended up training about 10 SDA members that year and they went on to reach hundreds of women with our folic acid message.

One of the young women that I trained, Lee Lamb, had this to say about her involvement in the program, "The SDA is an organization seeking to deliver nutritional education to the community. We thought getting involved with the CA program, through the NC Folic Acid Council, would be a great way to do this. I really enjoy going out into the community and educating others about the importance of folic acid. I can tell that we are really making a difference in the lives of people everywhere, especially young girls. By getting out the message about folic acid to just one person, that person is likely to tell ten others about what they heard. Not only is this an opportunity to help others, it is also an opportunity for me to do what I love which is educating people about the importance of making healthy choices."

I am very excited to announce that in a couple of weeks I will be training another group of students from the SDA. I hope this is a tradition that continues at East Carolina University for many years to come.

Engage and Deliver

2008-08-21T16:12:00.007-04:00

Wow! I just came back from my first national conference and I had a great time. The conference was sponsored by the CDC and it focused on Health Communication, Marketing and Media. Just my cup of tea! The theme of the conference was Engage and Deliver and it was located in downtown Atlanta near the Olympic Park.

This conference was especially important to me because I gave my first presentation to a national audience. The presentation, entitled "North Carolina's Folic Acid Campaign: The Development of a Social Marketing Campaign," was lumped into a session called Social Marketing Campaign Development. This was a part of Track III: Dissemination of Public Health Programs and Information. I presented with Mekkla Thompson, MPH, who talked about the development of a Zinc promotion campaign in the Philippines, and Donna Vallone, PhD, who presented on Legacy's Ex Campaign, a smoking cessation program. The presentation went really well and it was great to see so many engaged people.

The sessions that I attended were nice as well. I always had a hard time deciding which ones to go to and I often chose between two of them at the last minute. I could have gotten up and moved around throughout, but I didn't want anyone to do that to me, so I stayed put.

I mostly stuck to Track III and Track I: Innovations in Health Communication, Marketing, and Media. My favorite presentations were the plenary session on Aug 13, the Social Networks and Online Resources for Public Health Professionals, and New Technologies in Health Communication Campaigns. I really liked the presentation from the AIDS.gov group about their blog and that gave me some ideas on how to get this blog working.

All in all, it was a great trip. There were over 1,000 attendees there! I was grateful that I knew one person there, a member of our executive committee. She really showed me the ropes (and great Indian food!). There were some stressful moments and some boring moments, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. Five years into my professional career and I gave a national presentation among Masters and PhDs. Woo hoo!

Welcome to the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign!

2008-07-31T17:41:00.000-04:00

We love trying new technology and we thought we'd give this blog thing a try. There are lots of awesome things going on here at the Campaign and we are going to use this blog to share them with you. Stay tuned for more!