Institute Study on Intervention to Reduce Alcohol-exposed Pregnancy Nominated for Charles C. Shepard Science Award by Centers for Disease Control
"Preventing Alcohol-exposed Pregnancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial," a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and conducted by The Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, a unit of the Center for Social Work Research, has been nominated for the Charles C. Shepard Science Award, the highest award for excellence in science given by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Institute Director Mary Velasquez, Ph.D., associate dean for research and director of the Center for Social Work Research, was principal investigator for the Texas site of the study. School of Social Work Assistant Professor Kirk von Sternberg was co-investigator.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in the United States. In this study, the results of a randomized controlled trial (2002-05; data analyzed 2005-06) showed that a brief motivational intervention can reduce the risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) in preconceptional women by focusing on both risk drinking and ineffective contraception use.
The study participants, 830 nonpregnant women aged 18-44 years and currently at risk for an AEP, were recruited in six diverse settings in Florida, Texas and Virginia. The combined settings had higher proportions of women at risk for AEP (12.5% overall) than in the general population (2%).
Participants were randomized to receive information plus a brief motivational intervention consisting of four counseling sessions and one contraception consultation and services visit or to receive information only. Across the follow-up period, the odds ratios of being at reduced risk for AEP were twofold greater in the intervention group.
"Preventing Alcohol-exposed Pregnancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial," a paper coauthored by the study's research team including Velasquez and von Sternberg, appeared in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 32, Issue 1).
The Charles C. Shepard Science Awards recognize excellence in science achievement by the authors of the most outstanding peer-reviewed research papers published by CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) scientists. Publications in three categories are honored--Assessment and Epidemiology, Prevention and Control, and Laboratory and Methods. The awards are named in honor of Charles C. Shepard, M.D., the internationally recognized microbiologist who was chief of the Leprosy and Rickettsia Branch at CDC for more than 30 years, until his death in 1985. The awards began in 1986 and are presented annually.