The Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) of the Harvard Children's Environmental Health Research Center will work with the investigators from each of the other Projects and Cores as well as an active COTC Advisory Board to translate and apply the scientific findings of the Center into information for the public, policy makers, and clinical professionals to use to protect the health of children. The Advisory Board will include an obstetrician responsible for the majority of births in the study area; a physician responsible for treatment of patients at the local mental health out patient clinic, a public health nurse at the Indian Health Clinic, a health educator at the county health department dealing with lead poisoning prevention, a tribal environmental director, tribal designees, administrator of Integris Hospital, CEO of a mental health facility for youth, Tribal Efforts Against Lead outreach director. The COTC will concentrate its efforts on compiling and summarizing information from the literature and from the findings of Center-sponsored studies pertaining to the health risks to children that are associated with exposures to metals in mining waste; the potential interactions between metals in mining waste and nutritional status; and personal and culture-specific behaviors that may modify exposure to metals. Simple measures for assessing and mitigating risks of exposure to pregnant women and children will be communicated in the form of pamphlets and posters distributed in doctors' waiting rooms, libraries, billboards and other public places. The COTC's website (www.leadagency.org) will be used to communicate progress in each of the Center's research projects. In addition, a newsletter will be published bi-monthly, that will feature interviews and articles of the Center's scientists working on the project. The COTC will sponsor the participation of Center faculty in teaching 12 hours of basic environmental health concepts to local students at NEO A & M College. Center faculty will be invited to guest lecture via distance learning in core classes and the nursing school at NEO and at the local vocational technical school. This Distance Learning program will allow local scholars and NEO students to take the courses for credit, which will be provided by Oklahoma State University. Another component of the COTC is a community scholars program that will recruit and foster the professional growth of local scholars who are interested in learning about environmental health and the Center's research, and who will develop small research projects of their own. These scholars will be recruited within Oklahoma, especially within Ottawa County, and will include individuals from various disciplines to encompass the fields of environmental health, education, environmental sciences and public policy. Finally, the COTC core will work with the Administrative Core to compile and disseminate an Annual Report.
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