The "Pebble in your shoe" model of effectiveness: Laurentien University Undergraduate students' perspectives on campaigns regarding alcohol use during pregnancy

Abstract

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is the diagnostic term for the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy and is one of the leading causes of developmental disability. Both individuals with FASD and pregnant people require information and supports to promote their health. Currently, in Canada, these two needs are not being adequately or consistently met.

Health promotion campaigns reach their highest barrier in the form of reactance, a reaction to advertising wherein individuals dismiss and reject messaging. This common occurrence is exacerbated during the experience of pregnancy when individuals are receiving a higher amount of health advice than the general population.

While many health promotion campaigns about alcohol use during pregnancy exist, these campaigns have been criticized for their contribution to stigma due to their reliance on fear, blame and shame to deliver their message. This type of messaging also contributes to reactance, strengthening the barriers to receiving information about alcohol use during pregnancy. This type of education is essential to allow for pregnant people to make informed choices, which are currently complicated through misinterpretation of safe alcohol use by the media, anecdotal stories wherein friends or family drank alcohol during pregnancy and produced healthy children, and the cultural norm of using alcohol. Therefore, development of a new type of campaign that effectively informs pregnant people about the dangers of using alcohol during pregnancy, without contributing to the current stigma surrounding the disorder, should be explored.

The first step in creating this type of campaign is to receive community input on previous worldwide campaigns. As such, this dissertation sought to understand the thoughts, opinions and perspectives of individuals of childbearing age on previous Level 1 FASD prevention campaigns. Using intersectionality theory, basic qualitative design, thematic analysis and focus group discussion, the “Pebble in Your Shoe” Model of Effectiveness was developed based on community perspectives. This model could be utilized in the development and evaluation of future Level 1 FASD Prevention campaigns.