EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A HEALTH PROMOTION CAMPAIGN ON 6 MAJOR PREVENTATIVE ACTIONS FOR INFANT HEALTH: AN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT

Key words: Health promotion, Back to sleep, Breast feeding, Immunizations, Folic acid, Safe transport, Environmental tobacco smoke, Behaviour change, Evaluation

A study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a health promotion campaign on 6 major preventative actions for infant health is presented. The study is financed by the italian Ministry of Health within the National Health Plan 1998-2000 research framework. The 6 preventative actions were chosen as those where the evidence for the effect of behavioural change is stronger and include: periconceptional administration of folic acid, avoidance of smoking during pregnancy and at home, back to sleep position, exclusive and prolonged breast feeding, safe transport in car and immunizations. Young couples and parents are addressed through both health professionals (family doctors and perinatal health services) and the media. The study design is based on a comparison of the prevalence of preventative behaviours among the target population before and after the intervention. The study area includes three different italian Regions for a total population of almost 3 millions. Expected outcomes of the study include information on baseline attitudes and behaviours of parents and on health promotion strategies which address infant and child health.