Reframing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Studying Culture to Identify Communication Challenges and Opportunities

Reframing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Studying Culture to Identify Communication Challenges and Opportunities

Nathaniel Kendall-Taylor and Marissa Fond

Abstract

Implicit cultural understandings challenge those working to increase public awareness and support for programs to prevent and address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Understanding these cultural beliefs reveals key challenges that communicators face; it also helps identify opportunities to foster public engagement and build support for policies and programs that are important for reducing the prevalence of FASD as a public health issue. Through a series of interviews with members of the public in Manitoba, Canada, we identify the cultural models that members of the Manitoban public draw on to make sense of this issue. These models and their implications are used to create a set
of recommendations that can improve understanding of the issue, increase issue salience, and generate support for solutions. While the research presented is specific to Manitoba, findings have significance for those working on FASD in other areas and for those working on other public health and science translation projects.

Keywords: culture and health, qualitative research, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, science translation, cultural models

To read full research report please visit: http://redfame.com/journal/index.php/smc/article/view/2687/2900