How to Educate Pregnant Women about Endocrine Disruptors?

Abstract

Background: Despite mediatization, only half of pregnant women are informed about endocrine disruptors (EDs). We wished to inquire about appropriate environmental health education procedures during pregnancy: Who, when, and how? Methods: The question stems from a comprehensive population health intervention research project. It includes qualitative studies aimed at constructing an educational program in environmental health and an accompanying assessment tool. The validation of a customized questionnaire (PREVED© for Pregnancy Prevention Endocrine Disruptors) about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of pregnant women regarding exposure to EDs was carried out in a quantitative study. Results: Health education by a prenatal professional with communication skills should take place as early as possible, during the preconception period or early pregnancy, as part of individual consultation or group workshops. In order to customize the discourse and to develop women’s empowerment, concomitant presentation of the risks by the products used in each room and of previous solutions is recommended. Conclusion: Appropriate health education procedures on EDs should be done at every contact but taking the KAP of pregnant women into account first. We propose all educational actions should be accompanied by questioning of the KAP of pregnant women; for example, with questions from the PREVED© questionnaire.

Perinatal Environmental Health Education Intervention to Reduce Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors: The PREVED Project

“…PREVED project is a population health intervention research (PHIR) on environmental health education for pregnant women carried out in France from 2015 to 2021, with three phases: development, implementation, and evaluation according to the “Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance” (RE-AIM) method [ 14 ]. The entire PREVED methodology is described elsewhere [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Secondary outcomes were mean score evolution of psychosocial dimensions such as risk perception, self-esteem, sense of coherence, locus of control. These scores were determined through a psychosocial questionnaire (Q2) also developed by our research team: the PREVED© questionnaire [ 15 ], and administered at t0, t + 2 months, and t + 14 months. Q2 was structured on the basis of the Health Belief Model (HBM) [ 20 ] and explores: (i) ED knowledge; (ii) Risk from EDs; (iii) Risk Assessment of EDs; (iv) Perceived Ability to avoid ED exposure.…”

“…We have previously recommended to educate pregnant women using simple words, taking the time to understand their representations, and questioning them about their knowledge, risk perception, and behavior (pre/post-test). This exchange could employ an educational tool, which could be part of the PREVED© questionnaire to help health professionals [15]. This new tool, which has been informatized in a smartphone via QR code available in general practitioners' (GP) waiting rooms, has been tested and perceived by GPs as useful to initiate a discussion about environmental health with patients [62] That said, we have described and reported on our public health interventions with the TIDieR tool, which like other tools (Astaire, Trend), does not make the distinction between key function (potentially transferable dimensions) and form (dimensions associated with translation with a specific context) proposed by Villeval, who introduced a "key function/implementation/context" model, which makes a distinction between transferable element assessment and context-specific element assessment [63].…”

Perinatal Environmental Health Education Intervention to Reduce Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors: The PREVED Project

“…We have previously recommended to educate pregnant women using simple words, taking the time to understand their representations, and questioning them about their knowledge, risk perception and behavior (pre/post-test). This exchange could use an educational tool, which could be part of the PREVED© questionnaire to help health professionals [15]. This new tool, which has been informatized in a smartphone via QR code available in general practitioners' (GP) waiting rooms, has been tested and perceived by GPs as useful to initiate a discussion about environmental health with patients [62]…”

Potential Risks and Factors of Women’s Health Promotion

“…Rouillon et al highlighted the importance of health education on endocrine disruptors for pregnant women, taking knowledge, attitudes, and practices into account [ 21 ].…”