An international campaign to raise awareness of the risks of drinking in pregnancy

Abstract

Bazzo, S., Marini, F., & Black, D. (2014). An international campaign to raise awareness of the risks of drinking in pregnancy. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 3(1), 113-116. doi:10.7895/ijadr.v3i1.175

Prenatal exposure to alcohol is a major cause of birth defects and developmental disorders around the world. Prevention is a complex issue, with one factor being poor understanding of the risks of drinking during pregnancy. Awareness campaigns have emerged as an effective tool to increase knowledge of the risks in a manner which embraces the whole public and avoids creating stigma. Unfortunately many organizations lack the expertise or resources to develop, carry out, and evaluate such campaigns. The EUFASD Alliance, in collaboration with partners in health education from the Local Health Authority of Treviso, Italy, and a creative partner, Fabrica, propose to develop a campaign which can be adapted to countries and cultures around the world. A key goal is empowerment of individuals and local groups to make choices and change behaviors. A network of partners around the world is being developed to carry out the campaign. Most importantly, the effectiveness of the campaign will be evaluated in several key centers around the world.