Pregnancy test dispensers to be installed in two Whitehorse washrooms

Pregnancy tests will soon be available in two women's washrooms in Whitehorse as part of a study on reducing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, says Mike McCann, the outgoing executive director of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society Yukon.

FASSY is funding the Whitehorse portion of the project, which is part of a two-year study led by the University of Alaska Anchorage. 

The pregnancy test dispensers and more traditional posters aimed at awareness will have bar codes that can be scanned with a smartphone, says McCann.

"That will take you to a web page that allows you to do a a survey," he says. "That is, how they're collecting the data as to what medium results in more people responding and the knowledge level gained through those different venues." 

The study will look at whether dispensers in public washrooms are more effective than posters at helping reduce fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

McCann says if they are found to be an effective method of preventing FASD, the society will continue to fund them.

"The way FASSY is approaching this is that it's a sustainable project," he says.
    
The Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program in Dawson City believes pregnancy test dispensers are a good idea, says program coordinator Angela Van Nostrand.

She says she'd like to have one machine in a public washroom in Dawson City and another one in a bar because they would be great for small communities where privacy is at a premium. 

"Some people may be less likely to get tested for pregnancy earlier on because of having to go into a drug store where they know everyone," says Van Nostrand.

McCann says the locations for the dispensers in Whitehorse are still being finalized, but they should be in place later this month. The kits will cost $2 each.