Developing health communication messaging for a social marketing campaign to reduce tobacco use in pregnancy among Alaska native women

ABSTRACTBackground: Despite the high prevalence of tobacco use during pregnancy among Alaska Native and American Indian (AI/AN) women, few efforts have focused on developing tobacco cessation interventions for this group. This paper describes development of messaging for a social media campaign targeting the entire community to reduce tobacco use in pregnancy (cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use including a homemade product known as Iqmik) among AN women, as part of a multi-component intervention.Method: The study (clinical trial registration #NCT02083081) used mixed methods with two rounds of assessments to develop and refine culturally relevant message appeals. Round 1 used qualitative focus groups and individual interviews (n = 60), and Round 2 used quantitative survey interviews (n = 52). Each round purposively sampled adult AN pregnant women, family/friends, and Elders in Western Alaska, and included tobacco users and non-users. Round 1 also assessed reasons for tobacco use in pregnancy.Resul...