Grantee Research Project Results

2012 Progress Report: Community Outreach and Translation Core

EPA Grant Number: R834513C004
Subproject: this is subproject number 004 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R834513
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas - UC Berkeley School of Public Health: CHAMACOS Office, Berkeley, CA
Center Director: Eskenazi, Brenda
Title: Community Outreach and Translation Core
Investigators: Eskenazi, Brenda , Rosas, Lisa Goldman , Salvatore, Alicia L. , Bradman, Asa , Barlow, Janice , Minkler, Meredith , Wallerstein, Nina
Current Investigators: Eskenazi, Brenda , Rosas, Lisa Goldman , Salvatore, Alicia L. , Bradman, Asa , Barlow, Janice , Minkler, Meredith
Institution: University of California - Berkeley
Current Institution: University of California - Berkeley , Stanford University , University of Oklahoma , ZERO Breast Cancer
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: August 1, 2009 through July 31, 2014 (Extended to July 31, 2017)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2009 through July 31,2014
RFA: Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (with NIEHS) (2009) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health

Objective:

The Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) permits Center scientists and community partners to communicate study findings in a culturally appropriate manner, raise awareness of children'’s environmental health within and beyond the Salinas Valley, and mobilize groups toward actions that will improve the health of low-income Latino residents in Monterey County.

Progress Summary:

1. To disseminate Center research findings to study participants, the Salinas Valley community, and other stakeholders.

Over the past year, we have conducted several activities to achieve this aim:

• Community forum: Our annual community forum was held on November 19, 2011, with an unprecedented attendance with over 200 participants and family members. The forum included engaging activities to increase interest in study findings, with separate sessions for parents and children. The parents received a presentation on recent Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) findings, highlighting the April 2011 publication, which found an association between Maternal DAPS and IQ in 7-year-olds. The children participated in a discussion on the CHAMACOS study, including a spin-wheel game to test their knowledge of CHAMACOS and of general environmental health.
• Newsletter: Our annual newsletter was mailed in late October 2011 to over 650 study participants, community leaders and other stakeholders and covered recent study findings, what participants could expect at the 12-year visit, and other topics of interest. The newsletter is available both in English and Spanish and can be found on the Center for Environmental Research and Children'’s Health (CERCH) website.
• Electronic Newsletter: We have regularly sent out email announcements about our new publications and activities to a list of 1,100 members. The e-newsletter is only in English and is targeted mainly at researchers but also reaches students, advocates, health professionals, growers, farmworkers and other community members. Interested individuals can sign up for the e-newsletter at presentations and workshops and through the CERCH website.
• Dissemination to larger community and targeted groups: In the Salinas Valley, we conducted nearly 60 community meetings and participated in several health fairs to discuss recent Center findings and other environmental health issues. Through these efforts, we made contact with 933 children; 1,949 women; and 1,249 men. On June 12, 2012, we presented the latest scientific findings to our Community Advisory Board, which includes representatives from the health, agriculture and farmworker communities.
• Dissemination to the scientific community: We have published numerous scientific papers and conducted several presentations at scientific meetings (see lists with each project), including briefings with senior scientific and management staff at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
• Website: Our website (www.cerch.org) broadly presents the work by the Center, including information on the CHAMACOS study, with pages for specific audience groups, including parents, families, children and teens, community groups, and health professionals. We are developing an Online Resource Center with links to environmental health education materials.

2. To increase awareness about children'’s environmental health among low-income Latino communities, clinicians and service providers through widespread dissemination of innovative outreach and educational programs.

• Outreach to pregnant women: We are updating the Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk to reach a wider audience, including translating it to English and adding information on emerging chemical exposure for pregnant women (including BPA, phthalates and flame retardants). English and Spanish versions of the Kiosk are available in the CERCH Online Resource Center.
• Outreach to child-care providers: In collaboration with the California Childcare Health Program (CCHP), we continue to conduct workshops on healthy environments in child-care settings. We presented seven trainings in Alameda and Monterey counties and one for the Los Angeles Office of Education, which provides Head Start preschool services to 28,000 children. We also have worked with CCHP to publish an Integrated Pest Management Toolkit for child-care providers. See http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/html/pandr/trainingcurrmain.htm.
• Outreach to social service organizations: We continue to provide presentations and trainings to community groups in Monterey County on the following topics: Preventing Pesticide Exposure, CHAMACOS Findings Overview, Healthy Homes and Heat Illness Prevention.
• Outreach to farmworkers: Our Farmworker Council of former and current farmworkers in the Salinas Valley met in June 2012 to discuss outreach strategies and provide farmworker input into Center research and health promotion activities. We share Spanish-language summaries of our research with this group before it is published. Additionally, we have conducted a series of trainings on the Worker Protection Standard for farmworkers in the Salinas Valley.
• Outreach to growers and the agricultural industry: Our Agricultural Council, which includes local, state and national organizations involved in agricultural production, research, regulation and marketing, met on June 15, 2011, to review recent and upcoming publications.

3. To build the capacity of Salinas Valley youth to promote healthy environmental policies in their community.

The goal of the CHAMACOS Youth Community Council (YCC) is to build youth capacity to promote healthy environmental policies in Salinas. The group consists of 15 youth from Salinas, CA, and we meet with them twice per month. The YCC took part in a Photovoice Project over the summer of 2011 where they identified elements of their environments that impact health of their community. They have shared these photos on the radio, on local television and in person to community leaders and local public health professionals. From the Photovoice project, two actions projects were identified: (1) reducing garbage in their community by implementing a recycling program at one of the local high schools; and (2) working with other youth groups to plan a 5K Run/Walk (which took place on June 2, 2012) to draw attention to the lack of safe spaces for physical activity in the area.

4. To educate policy makers at the local, state and national levels about Center research findings and children'’s environmental health priorities.

We were invited to present the CHAMACOS study findings on pesticides and children’'s health to the State Senator for the Salinas Valley, Luis Alejo. Mr. Alejo was also very interested in the Center’s work on flame retardants and in sharing the information from the study with other elected officials in the Salinas Valley. Additionally, Salinas City Council member Sergio Sanchez invited us to present our work on flame retardants to the Salinas Fire Chief and Fire Marshall.

Future Activities:

Our plans over the next year include:

• Dissemination of Center research findings: We plan to hold a community forum, continue targeted outreach to community groups, and respond to invitations for presentations. We will be holding a meeting of our Community Advisory Board and Grower and Farmworker Councils. We also will continue our dissemination to the scientific community.
• Education on children'’s environmental health: Once we complete revisions to the Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk, we will develop a guide for its use in additional health clinics and social service agencies. Environmental education to child-care providers and community groups will continue.
• Youth Community Council (YCC): Over the summer, the YCC will engage in another project similar to the Photovoice Project. YCC members will go out into their community and conduct research identifying neighborhood features that affect the health of members of their community. For this project, we will be working with the Monterey County Health Department.
• Policy makers: We will continue to present our research to policy makers as requested.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 334 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

Children's health, children's environmental health, Salinas Valley, low-income Latino communities, pesticide exposure, chemical exposure, prenatal exposure;

Relevant Websites:

Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health Exit
California Childcare Health Program | Training Curricula Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2010

2011 Progress Report

2013 Progress Report

2014 Progress Report

2015 Progress Report

2016

Final

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R834513    Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas - UC Berkeley School of Public Health: CHAMACOS Office, Berkeley, CA

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R834513C001 CHAMACOS Cohort Project: Pesticides and PBDE on Neurobehavior and Puberty
R834513C002 Project B: Exposure Project: Mn, DDT/E and PBDE Exposure to Farmworker Children
R834513C003 Epigenetics Project
R834513C004 Community Outreach and Translation Core