Pregnant Women and Listeriosis: Preferred Educational Messages and Delivery Mechanisms
Abstract
Objective
To characterize pregnant women's food safety practices, to evaluate the impact of existing educational messages on the risks and prevention of listeriosis, and to identify preferred delivery methods for educational initiatives.
Design
Eight focus group discussions conducted with pregnant women in 4 locations.
Setting
Focus group discussions led by moderators using a prepared moderator guide.
Participants
Purposeful sampling was used to select the 63 pregnant women who participated in this study. The focus groups were segmented by location and education level.
Phenomenon of Interest
Food safety knowledge and food-handling practices, food safety practices during pregnancy, attitudes toward listeriosis brochure, and preferred delivery methods.
Analysis
Focus group discussions were videotaped and audiorecorded. Detailed summaries of each discussion were prepared and systematically analyzed to identify common themes within and across groups.
Results
Participants were not aware of the risks of listeriosis and recommended practices for listeriosis prevention; thus, they were not taking precautions during their pregnancy to prevent listeriosis.
Conclusions and Implications
The study identified the need to develop educational materials on listeriosis targeted specifically to pregnant women and to partner with obstetricians and other health care providers to deliver these materials to pregnant women.
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aRTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
bFood Safety and Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC
Address for correspondence: Sheryl C. Cates, BA, Research Policy Analyst, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Rd, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; Tel: (919) 541-6810; Fax: (919) 541-6683
This research was made possible by funding from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (contract no. 53-3A94-00-06 and 53-3A94-98-03).
ABSTRACT