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September 23, 2004 NDSU Extension Service-led Task Force Receives March of Dimes Award The March of Dimes National Office has honored a North Dakota State University Extension Service-led task force with a Best Practice Award for its program about the importance of folic acid in preventing birth defects. The program, “Folic Acid Now: Moving the Message Across the State of North Dakota,” targeted women ages 18 to 24. Julie Garden-Robinson, Folic Acid Task Force leader and food and nutrition specialist for the NDSU Extension Service, accepted the award for the statewide task force at a recent meeting of the March of Dimes North Dakota Chapter’s executive committee in Fargo. “The Best Practices Recognition Program allows March of Dimes to promote excellence in programs, recognize innovative ideas and share best practices across the country and among our 54 chapters,” said Karin Roseland, state director of the March of Dimes North Dakota Chapter. “We are delighted and honored to present this award to Julie and the task force in recognition of the extraordinary work they did to increase awareness and knowledge about folic acid and its role in preventing birth defects,” Roseland said. Garden-Robinson said: “We’re thrilled to be recognized nationally for our role in helping prevent birth defects through our efforts in folic acid education in partnership with the March of Dimes. Folic acid is important for all people throughout their lifetimes. Research is showing it may help prevent certain types of cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. We recently changed the task force name to the North Dakota Healthy Pregnancy Task Force, and we’ll continue to spread the folic acid message.” The task force included NDSU Extension agents, public health nutritionists, WIC (Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program) personnel, pharmacists, nurses/midwives and other statewide partners. As part of its prize-winning effort, the task force:
The task force also developed radio and television ads, indoor advertising and bus signs and placed them where the 18- to 24-year-old target audience would see them. Signs went up inside bathroom stall doors in restaurants, theaters and clubs. The back of a commuter bus on the NDSU campus featured folic acid signs. Direct-mail pieces were put in all on-campus mailboxes at three colleges. Folic acid table tents were placed in the dining halls and bookmarks were placed in the college libraries. Women who attended health fairs, bridal fairs and other events were asked to participate in an eight-question survey about their folic acid knowledge. During a three-month period, women in the targeted demographic area heard radio messages in Fargo (69 percent), Grand Forks (40 percent) and Bismarck (67 percent). The bathroom stall ads reached more than 137,000 females each month. In a Gallup survey commissioned by the March of Dimes after the project was completed, folic acid awareness was higher among North Dakota adults (63 percent), compared with 60 percent nationally. Among women ages 18 to 44, 80 percent were aware of folic acid in North Dakota compared with 70 percent of adults nationally. Data from a survey the North Dakota Department of Health conducted indicated increases in awareness of more than 16 percentage points in the year following the task force’s efforts. In addition, the number of women taking vitamin supplements with folic acid increased from 27.3 percent to 81.2 percent. “This documents the incredible success of the project,” Roseland said. The March of Dimes North Dakota Chapter funded the four-year project through its grants programs. General Mills provided cereal samples and Off the Wall Advertising, Inc. in Fargo provided bathroom stall ad space. The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds research, community services, education and advocacy programs to save babies. In 2003 it launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site www.marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web site, www.nacersano.org. For more information on the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica, visit the Web site www.walkamerica.org. For more information about nutrition, contact your local Extension Service office or visit this Web site www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food. ### Source: Karin
Roseland, (701) 235-8725, ND407@marchofdimes.com |
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