Prenatal Substance Use Prevention Program
The Prenatal Substance Use Prevention Program (PSUPP) is a three-tier prevention program administered by the Indiana State Department of Health and funded by the Indiana Division of Mental Health, the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, and the Maternal and Child Health Services. The goal of this program is to prevent poor birth outcomes, by assuring that babies born in Indiana are born to women who decrease or eliminate alcohol, tobacco and other drug use during pregnancy.
PSUPP is administered and implemented state-wide through the efforts of a state program director, nineteen local directors, several support staff and an evaluation team. The state director oversees the direction of PSUPP, provides consultation and technical assistance as needed, networks throughout the state to promote the PSUPP goals, and facilitates community mobilization and collaboration. The local directors collectively serve, but are not limited to, constituents from twenty-three Indiana counties that include: Allen, Clark, Dearborn, Dubois, Delaware, Elkhart, Franklin, Grant, Jennings, Lake, LaPorte, Madison, Marion, Ohio, Owen, Putnam, Ripley, Spencer, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vigo, and Warrick. The evaluation team works with PSUPP on a contractual basis, and members are faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine-Bowen Research Center.
There are three primary objectives:
- Identify high risk, chemically dependent pregnant women, provide perinatal addiction prevention education, promote abstinence, provide referrals for treatment , and follow-up.
- Facilitate training and education for professionals and paraprofessionals who do not provide substance abuse treatment, but do work with women of childbearing age, on how to identify high risk, chemically dependent women.
- Provide public education on the possible hazards to a fetus when alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are used during pregnancy. Free posters, brochures, and other materials are available upon request through the Indiana Family Helpline.
The products produced by this program related to PSUPP objectives are: improved birth outcomes; increased community awareness about the hazards of substance use during pregnancy and the need to change unhealthy behaviors; increased involvement from service providers and physicians to assist pregnant women to stop using substances; and increased community and professional networking to capitalize on programs in place already serving the PSUPP target population.
The core public health functions of assessment, policy, and assurance are fulfilled with the data collection that include: demographic information; self reported smoking, alcohol and drug use patterns; frequency of client participation in intervention activities; follow up status of substance use; birth outcome data; and related activities of the PSUPP staff. Implications and recommendations are included in an annual summary of findings. Barriers to meeting goals are identified as well as potential solutions for problems encountered. With these activities, provision of services to the client population is assured.
Indiana State Department of Health, 2 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 317.233.1325
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