Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume 112, Issue 5, 2004, Pages 636-642

Reporting pesticide assessment results to farmworker families: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a risk communication strategy (Review)

Quandt S.A.* , Doran A.M. , Rao P. , Hoppin J.A. , Snively B.M. , Arcury T.A.
  • a Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, United States
  • b Dept. of Family/Community Medicine, Wake Forest Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, United States
  • c Dept. of Family/Community Medicine, Wake Forest Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, United States
  • d Natl. Inst. of Environ. Hlth. Sci., National Institutes of Health, Department of Health/Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
  • e Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, United States
  • f Dept. of Family/Community Medicine, Wake Forest Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Piedmont Plaza II, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, United States

Abstract

The collection of environmental samples presents a responsibility to return information to the affected participants. Explaining complex and often ambiguous scientific information to a lay audience is a challenge. As shown by environmental justice research, this audience frequently has limited formal education, increasing the challenge for researchers to explain the data collected, the risk indicated by the findings, and action the affected community should take. In this study we describe the development and implementation of a risk communication strategy for environmental pesticide samples collected in the homes of Latino/a migrant and seasonal farmworkers in a community-based participatory research project. The communication strategy was developed with community input and was based on face-to-face meetings with members of participating households. Using visual displays of data effectively conveyed information about individual household contamination and placed it in the context of community findings. The lack of national reference data and definitive standards for action necessitated a simplified risk message. We review the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach and suggest areas for future research in risk communication to communities affected by environmental health risks.

Author Keywords

House dust Health Communication Exposure Children Environmental justice Latino/a Agriculture Community

Index Keywords

education telecommunication household community care agricultural worker human medical research priority journal risk management environmental planning standardization pollution monitoring environmental management pollution control visual display unit family Hispanic occupational exposure environmental impact environmental exposure Review pesticide hazard assessment seasonal variation environmental health occupational hazard
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-16544392544&doi=10.1289%2fehp.6754&partnerID=40&md5=1f30d958c8dc494f108e3b2e5f60dda1
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.6754
ISSN: 00916765
Cited by: 46
Original Language: English