Evaluating the reach and impact of Still Six Lives: A national stillbirth public awareness campaign in Australia

BACKGROUND

The Still Six Lives campaign aimed to increase awareness of stillbirth among Australian women and educate people about three modifiable behaviours that pregnant women could take to reduce the risk of stillbirth. The campaign used earned media, digital advertising and social media.

AIM

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the campaign on Australian women's awareness of stillbirth, and knowledge of the three modifiable behaviours.

METHODS

The study collected process evaluation data about campaign implementation from digital platforms. The impact evaluation comprised of two components: a three-wave community survey of Australian women aged 18-50 years old, and a pre-post cross-sectional maternity service survey of pregnant women.

RESULTS

The campaign gained significant reach, including 2,974,375 completed video views and 910,000 impressions via social media influencers. The community surveys had 1502 participants at baseline, 1517 mid-campaign and 1598 post-campaign. Participants were slightly more likely to have encountered messages about stillbirth after the campaign (aOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.09-1.55). There were increases in awareness of each behaviour after the campaign: be aware of baby's movements (aOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08-1.47), quit smoking (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47) and going-to-sleep on side (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32-1.82). The antenatal clinic survey had 296 participants at baseline and 178 post-campaign. Post-campaign, there was an increased likelihood that women were aware of side-sleeping (aOR 3.11, 95% CI 1.74-5.56).

CONCLUSIONS

The national campaign demonstrated some evidence of change in awareness of three modifiable behaviours that can reduce the risk of stillbirth.

Cohort profile: the BABY1000 pilot prospective longitudinal birth cohort study based in Sydney, Australia

PURPOSE

The health of parents prior to conception, a woman's health during pregnancy and the infant's environment across their first months and years collectively have profound effects on the child's health across the lifespan. Since there are very few cohort studies in early pregnancy, gaps remain in our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning these relationships, and how health may be optimised. 'BABY1000', a pilot prospective longitudinal birth cohort study, aims to (1) identify factors before and during pregnancy and early life that impact longer-term health and (2) assess the feasibility and acceptability of study design to inform future research.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were based in Sydney, Australia. Women were recruited at preconception or 12 weeks' gestation, and data were collected from them throughout pregnancy and postpartum, their children until the age of 2 years, and dietary information from a partner (if able) at the last study visit. The pilot aimed to recruit 250 women. However, recruitment ceased earlier than planned secondary to limitations from the COVID-19 pandemic and the final number of subjects was 225.

FINDINGS TO DATE

Biosamples, clinical measurements and sociodemographic/psychosocial measures were collected using validated tools and questionnaires. Data analysis and 24-month follow-up assessments for children are ongoing. Key early findings presented include participant demographics and dietary adequacy during pregnancy. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health and research restrictions affected recruitment of participants, follow-up assessments and data completeness.

FUTURE PLANS

The BABY1000 study will provide further insight into the developmental origins of health and disease and inform design and implementation of future cohort and intervention studies in the field. Since the BABY1000 pilot was conducted across the COVID-19 pandemic, it also provides unique insight into the early impacts of the pandemic on families, which may have effects on health across the lifespan.

�rztliches Erstgespr�ch bei Patientinnen mit chronischen Gesichtsschmerzen

BACKGROUND

For various reasons, the initial medical (dental) consultation with patients suffering from chronic pain often does not meet the needs of a "medical dialogue." The aim of this study was to determine whether additional, diagnostically relevant information could be gained from a nonmedical interview.

METHODS

The initial dental consultation and an additional conversation with a linguist were taped, transcribed, and compared regarding information obtained.

RESULTS

During the interview with the linguist, additional information was provided pertaining to all important aspects of the patient's history that had not been mentioned during the consultation with the physician. This was particularly prominent with regard to the subjects of "complaint history," "impairment/extent of distress," and "biopsychosocial history," for which four to ten times more keywords were mentioned to the linguist than to the physician.

CONCLUSION

The result of this study emphasizes the need for improvement of the dentist's method for taking history to diagnose chronic pain and if necessary arrange an additional interview with a medical layman.