This application proposes an empowerment program for Navajo Native Americans concerning radiation and health issues arising from the legacy of former uranium mining and milling operations on the Navajo reservation. Uranium mining and milling has left large areas of the Navajo reservation contaminated with mine and mill tailings and associated radiation. There are well-documented problems with lung cancer and silicosis in former Navajo uranium miners, and there is great concern among uranium millers and other Navajos who reside near contaminated areas about late effects of radiation exposure from these sources. A partnership between the local Navajo community, Navajo Community College, local primary care physicians, the Central Consolidated School district, the University of New Mexico Center for Population Health. and scientists with expertise in radiation health issues will be created to provide information and skills for empowerment among this minority group. The emphasis in the educational program will be on empowering local Navajo community members to assess information needs, to design curricula and video tapes, establish research directions, and to evaluate their educational efforts in their own community with culturally competent modalities. In addition they will strive to establish ongoing community efforts beyond the period of this project.
Five specific aims are proposed. The first is to create a local Radiation Education Center at the Navajo Community College by hiring a full-time Navajo health educator and Navajo community coordinator to train and empower community leaders to effectively address concerns about radiation exposure.
The second aim i s to conduct qualitative and quantitative research in the Navajo community concerning knowledge, attitudes and behavior about radiation to inform the community education efforts.
The third aim i s to produce culturally appropriate materials about cancer, birth defects and radiation.
The fourth aim i s to conduct community programs and training sessions in community-based institutions, schools, local meeting houses and medical institutions, and to encourage community-generated activities leading to greater awareness and knowledge regarding radiation dangers. The last aim is to evaluate the efficacy of the project by measuring changes in knowledge, attitude and behavior concerning radiation. A Community Steering Committee, with local physicians, will coordinate the project with nationally known experts on an Outside Expert Advisory Panel. Due to cultural and language barriers in the Navajo community, little effort has been directed toward assessment of community concerns about radiation, informing the community about radiation, or gathering community input for defining future direction in research and public health outreach. This effort will provide the basis of community empowerment in an area that greatly needs it.
