The proposed Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) will develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to translate the results of the proposed developing Children's Environmental Health Center research projects into information for use by study participants, stakeholders, policy makers, and health care providers to better protect children from the adverse health effects of environmental hazards. The three primary research projects planned for the proposed developing center have a common focus on air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). Our outreach and communication strategy will take advantage of the interest of multiple stakeholders in air quality, asthma, and childhood development to engage them in a dialogue about what information on the health effects of air pollution would be most useful to their efforts. To achieve effective community engagement with the developing Center, we propose to meet the following goals: 1) build relationships with a network of diverse stakeholders with an interest in environmental health outcomes for the SJV;2) obtain guidance and feedback from a stakeholder network on communication and information needs. Center aims, and project activities;3) communicate Center updates, activities, and research findings to the stakeholder network and study participants in accessible, understandable, and timely manner;4) communicate individual and aggregate study results to study participants in an accessible, understandable, respectful, and timely manner. We will accomplish these goals through a) outreach to potential stakeholders using existing relationships with local asthma coalitions, environmental health advocacy groups, local researchers, and others;b) assessment of information and communication needs of Center study participants and other stakeholders through surveys and other needs assessment methods;c) regular communication with stakeholders and study participants through quarterly newsletters and other means;d) communication of individual and aggregate study results to participants by developing culturally and linguistically appropriate fact sheets;and e) obtaining guidance on project activities and communication of project results by convening stakeholder meetings.
This core will facilitate communication between the investigators for each component and interested and affected stakeholders. First, we will build on established relationships with stakeholders in Fresno who are interested in reducing the burden of asthma and air pollution. Next, we will expand our efforts to include stakeholders who address environmental links to adverse birth outcomes and to stakeholders who work on both of these issues in Bakersfield CA.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications
