Grantee Research Project Results

1999 Progress Report: Communicating Strategies to Grocery Consumers to Reduce their Dietary Exposure to Chemical Pesticide Residues While Maintaining a Healthy Diet

EPA Grant Number: R825819
Title: Communicating Strategies to Grocery Consumers to Reduce their Dietary Exposure to Chemical Pesticide Residues While Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Investigators: Zimmerman, Donald E. , Slater, Michael , Kendall, Pat
Institution: Colorado State University
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000
Project Amount: $839,624
RFA: Issues in Human Health Risk Assessment (1997) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health

Objective:

The risk communication research has been designed to identify optimal communication strategies and tools for disseminating and educating consumers. Objectives of this project include seeking answers to the following questions: What communications strategies help consumers increase their understanding of information about the risks and benefits of pesticides in foods? What kinds of information do consumers find most useful, and what motivates them to implement behaviors to reduce their exposure to pesticide residues on and in foods? What key factors ensure the cultural acceptability of the communications to minorities and to potentially susceptible populations? Does an instore public information campaign help provide shoppers with: (1) accurate, pertinent, and useful information about pesticide residues in or on foods; (2) sound nutrition information; and (3) strategies designed to reduce exposures to chemical pesticide residues?

Progress Summary:

For Phase I, data collection was completed and preliminary data analyses were conducted for three usability studies/experiments: line-length, animation, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web Site usability. In-depth interviews of grocery store managers also were conducted to determine the acceptability of copy for posters and their reactions to the EPA's Pesticides and Food brochure. The research design for brochure testing was developed, high-risk and low-risk brochures and the survey instrument were drafted, and data collection was scheduled for late January 2000. For Phase II, the research design was developed for the field testing of an instore public information campaign. In addition, the grocery store president was contacted and arrangements were made for the project. Development of the kiosk and drafts of the brochures have begun.

Future Activities:

In January 2000, a brochure/leaflet/poster experiment will be conducted among subjects and will include parents and nonparents of African Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians. Specifically, the research design calls for participants reading one of four brochures (EPA, high-risk pesticide/food, low-risk pesticide/food, or control) and assessing their perception of risks and risk-reducing behaviors.

In March 2000, the field test of a 5-week, instore public information campaign will begin. For the campaign, the kiosks/poster/brochures will be placed near the produce sections. The experimental design calls for interviewing shoppers prior to, during, and after the campaign using a detailed sampling frame.

In January, detailed analyses will be conducted using data collected from the line-length, EPA Web Site usability, and animation usability studies. In February, data collected on the brochure/leaflet/poster experiment will be analyzed. By June, data collected for the instore information campaign also will be analyzed. From January through November, articles will be written based on the data collected during the instore information campaign.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 15 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

pesticide risk, Food Quality Protection Act, risk communication, pesticides, foods, fruits, vegetables, meats, message design, kiosk design, grocery shoppers, grocery consumers, leaflet design, brochure design, focus groups, usability testing, communication science, formative evaluation, evaluation., Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, pesticides, Risk Assessments, Chemistry, Ecology, genetic susceptability, Environmental Chemistry, Children's Health, Social Science, dietary exposure, epidemeology, environmental hazard exposures, health risks, sensitive populations, public information campaign, pesticide residue, cultural acceptibility, lower income consumers, pesticide exposure, human exposure, nutritional information, grocery consumers, pesticide residues, developmental effects, outreach material, surveys, minorities, exposure, consumer behavior, toxicology, web development, environmentally caused disease, environmental toxicant, ethnicity, developmental disorders, exposure pathways, outreach and education, ethnic

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

1998 Progress Report

Final Report