Prenatal Care Campaign
About The Project
Prenatal care had drastically dropped throughout Arkansas and East Tennessee in the 1990s. A coalition of private and public healthcare practitioners was formed throughout those states in an attempt to overcome this decline.
Determine emotional barriers and opportunities to getting care through psychological research. Then use that information to develop the "Campaign for Healthier Babies".
THE FINAL
Result
We developed Campaign for Healthier Babies a G2C (gov’t to citizen) outreach program that included a public and private sector coalition of health care practitioners throughout Arkansas and East Tennessee. Key elements of the program included psychological research to determine the emotional barriers and opportunities to getting care. An information booklet, the Happy Birthday Baby Book, that included incentives for getting care (validated by physicians each trimester exam).
Community based events. Annual focus group testing of materials. Public relations. Television, radio, outdoor, mass transit and theater messages. The results were impressive and the program was recognized nationally. The initiative was sustained for over 20 years.
Nearly 60% of pregnant women in our target areas enrolled and at one point the incidence of NO prenatal care dropped by double digits in Shelby County, Tenn.
Our experience in this and over 40 other G2C programs has demonstrated that health behavior can be changed. It takes a blend of traditional and non-traditional message development and delivery that recognizes and treats the intended audience as CUSTOMERS. Not statistics.