Reducing the risk of prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD through social services: promising results from the FAR SEAS pilot project

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Psychiatry

Silvia Matrai¹  Fleur Braddick¹  Katarzyna Okulicz-Kozaryn²  Claudia Gandin³  Emanuele Scafato³  Silvia Ghirini³  Luiza Słodownik-Przybyłek⁴  Marta Zin-Sędek⁴  Carla Bruguera⁵  Joan Colom⁵  Lidia Segura-García⁵ 

[1] CLÍNIC Foundation for Biomedical Research (FCRB), Barcelona, Spain;Department of Children and Adolescents Health, Institute of Mother and Child (IMiD), Warsaw, Poland;Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy;National Centre for Prevention of Addictions (KCPU), Warsaw, Poland;Subdirectorate General of Addictions, HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis, Public Health Agency of Catalonia (GENCAT), Barcelona, Spain;

关键词: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD);    prenatal alcohol exposure;    prevention;    intervention;    local community;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1243904

 received in 2023-06-21, accepted in 2023-08-29,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionWithin FAR SEAS, a multi-component evidence-based community intervention was implemented and evaluated in Mazovia (Poland), with the aim of preventing alcohol-exposed pregnancies, and therefore preventing FASD.MethodsMulti-disciplinary professionals from different services (social, addiction, and psychology), recruited women of child-bearing age (pregnant and not pregnant) in local communities, screened them for alcohol risk, and allocated participants (n = 441) to groups for low- (70%), moderate- (23%), or high-risk (7%) of alcohol exposed pregnancy, to provide interventions tailored to their needs. The non-parametric sign test, testing differences between pairs of observations before and after intervention was used to evaluate the outcomes.ResultsFollow-up data (collected from 93% of participants) indicated positive changes in the key outcome variables: risky alcohol consumption dropped by 81%, contraception use increased by 15% and visiting a gynecologist increased by 39%; as well as in associated psychosocial risk factors (decrease in cigarette and drug use, domestic violence and depressive symptoms). No changes were noted in frequency of other service use (medical, psychological, or social). The most prominent changes were observed in the moderate-risk group.DiscussionChanging risky behaviors (alcohol consumption and sex without contraception) to prevent alcohol exposed pregnancies is feasible at the local level, even without engagement of medical professionals. Key challenges, related to engaging professionals and local authorities, must be addressed; and procedures should be adapted to local contexts and needs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Okulicz-Kozaryn, Segura-García, Bruguera, Braddick, Zin-Sędek, Gandin, Słodownik-Przybyłek, Scafato, Ghirini, Colom and Matrai.