Eat Safely, Eat Well: An Evaluation of Food Safety Educational Resources for Pregnant Women in British Columbia, Canada

摘要

Certain foodborne pathogens cause infection more commonly in pregnant women than in the general population and can cause unusually severe maternal illness or adverse fetal outcomes. Previous work in British Columbia (BC) identified a need to develop food safety messaging for pregnant women, and targeted educational resources were developed and distributed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the food safety educational resources for pregnant women in BC. The distribution and use of the resources were tracked through Web site analysis and key informant interviews. The impact on knowledge and behaviors was determined through self-administered, pre- and post-intervention surveys among pregnant women in health-care settings. A coordinated distribution of resources using multiple formats and to multiple audiences led to an over 300% increase in access to Web site resources. Knowledge of high risk foods and food safety practices among pregnant women improved significantly (P < 0.001)following the availability of the resources. However, our evaluation was not able todemonstrate a change in behavior that led to a decrease in the consumption of high risk foods. Key informants in BC now refer to the resources as their main source of food safety information in pregnancy. Future plans to distribute educational resourcesrelated to food safety should consider a coordinated and time-focussed distribution and the use of various formats and mechanisms of distribution targeted to their intended audience.