Consumers' perceptions of preconception health.

Purpose: To inform the development of a preconception health (PCH) social marketing plan, we conducted qualitative research with prospective consumers.

Approach: We present formative findings based on the four Ps of social marketing: product, price, promotion, and place.

Setting: We conducted focus groups with 10 groups of women in Atlanta, Georgia, in fall 2010.

Participants: We classified women aged 18 to 44 into five groups based on their pregnancy plans, and then further segmented the groups based on socioeconomic status for a total of 10 groups.

Method: The focus group guide was designed to elicit participants' responses about the product, price, promotion, and placement of PCH. We used NVivo 9 software to analyze focus group data.

Results: Women planning a pregnancy in the future had different perspectives on PCH as a product than women not planning a pregnancy. Barriers to PCH included lack of social support, addiction, and lack of awareness about PCH. Participants preferred to think of PCH behaviors as "promoting" a healthy baby rather than preventing an unhealthy birth outcome. Many women in the focus groups preferred to hear PCH messages from a health care provider, among other channels.

Conclusion: The results from this research will inform the development of a social marketing plan for PCH and the development of concepts that will be tested with consumers to determine their viability for use in a national campaign.