Impact Evaluation Findings from Project Choices in Manitoba

Project CHOICES is a program in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that works with girls and women of any age who are not currently pregnant, drink alcohol, and are sexually active. The goal of the program is to reduce the risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy through choosing healthy behaviours around alcohol and birth control use.

This infographic summarizes changes for participants three months after completing the program.

Project CHOICES is based on motivational interviewing which is a counseling approach that is respectful, non-judgmental and client-centred. Motivational interviewing allows health care providers and clients to explore possible areas of change, discuss strategies that make sense for the client and their life circumstances, and provides encouragement and support.

The program considers three different routes to reducing the risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy: (1) reducing alcohol use (2) using effective contraception (3) reducing alcohol use and using effective contraception.

Learn more about the evaluation from Healthy Child Manitoba. Check out the program website to learn more about the program, how to make a referral, and for resources on alcohol, pregnancy and birth control.

“With Child Without Alcohol” Website and Resources from Manitoba

The With Child Without Alcohol website was developed by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries with the support of Healthy Child Manitoba. (Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries is part of the provincial government and responsible for the distribution and sale of alcohol, including social responsibility initiatives).

The website describes FASD as a shared responsibility with an emphasis on the idea that “It takes a village to have a healthy pregnancy.”

Be With Child Without Alcohol was developed to provide women and the villages in their lives with information about alcohol use during pregnancy to help them prevent alcohol-related disabilities like Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Together we can help prevent FASD.

The website includes information about alcohol and pregnancy, FASD, pregnancy and addiction, and where to find support.

Information on the website is available as a downloadable guide – in four languages: English, French, Cree and Ojibway.

Living Well: FASD and Mental Health Conference (Nov 5-7, 2014 )

Program and Registration Information now available

The Living Well: FASD and Mental Health conference will be held November 5-7, 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conference is an initiative of the Canada Northwest FASD Partnership Conference and hosted by Healthy Child Manitoba.

The Living Well: FASD and Mental Health conference will delve into the interconnection between mental health and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder spanning the areas of prevention, intervention, support, evaluation and research. This multidisciplinary event will cover topics such as how individuals with FASD and mental health concerns can be better understood and supported, how caregivers can support their mental health and how mental health concerns influence FASD prevention work.

Keynote Presentations include:

• Dan Dubovsky — Working with Individuals Living with FASD and Mental Health Concerns: Best and Promising Practices
• Nancy Poole — Working with Pregnant Women with Mental Health and Substance Use Concerns: Best and Promising Practices
• Dr. Ana Hanlon-Dearman — FASD Diagnosis: Mental Health Considerations
• Dr. Mansfield Mela — FASD and Mental Health Disorders: Exclusive or Mosaic?
• Brenda Knight — Responding to the Complex Issues of Families Living with FASD
• Momenta and the FASD Family Network — Feeling Success: The Camp Experience

Some of the workshops included in the program are:

• FASD Assessments: From the Clinic to the Court Room — Jonathan Rudin and Panel
• Evaluation: What’s All the Fuss About? — Jacquie Pei and Panel
• We’ve Only Just Begun: Advances in FASD Prevention — Nancy Poole and Colleen Dell

Visit the conference website here. View the full program here.

Living Well: FASD and Mental Health Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 5-7, 2014

The Living Well: FASD and Mental Health Conference will delve into the interconnection between Mental Health and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, spanning the areas of prevention, intervention, support, evaluation and research.

This event is a Canada Northwest FASD Partnership Conference, hosted by Healthy Child Manitoba. Program and registration updates coming soon.