Grantee Research Project Results

 

Specific Aim 1: Develop a narrative that communicates the key questions, findings, and trajectory of future research to find the causes and cures for leukemia in children, to be used as the basis for the research translation and community outreach program.

 

Significant progress was made toward the development of substantive elements of this narrative. In addition to the elements about the trajectory of the research process itself, six themes that have been identified are: findings regarding the presence of children in child care settings and possible role of infectious agents; impact of diagnostic x-rays; effects of exposure to chemicals, including second and third hand smoke, during pre-conception and pre-natal periods; significance of home environments and dust as reservoirs for environmental agents; persistence of chemicals in homes; and significance of epigenetic mechanisms. With regard to engagement of the communications consultant, consultation among members of the CIRCLE team resolved outstanding questions during the internal advisory committee meeting in April. We have identified a greater role for social media than originally expected. The substantive scope of work is completed, and the contract will be put in place during Year 2.

 

Specific Aim 2. Engage with two non-governmental organizations that serve parents, health/child care professionals, community leaders, policy leaders, and other advocates interested in children’s environmental health to develop relevant messages and materials about childhood leukemia and opportunities and challenges of research in this field and to convey and distribute this information to key audiences.

 

Core A put in place subawards for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN) and the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) at UCSF. CEHN and the UCSF PEHSU completed initial review of capacities and resources. Potential avenues identified by CEHN far exceed those anticipated. CEHN's Eco-Healthy Child Care Program (ECCP) and Advisory Committee are important assets for communications. Opportunities include American Public Health Association and key sections, members the National Association of City and County Health Officials, members of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, professional associations, youth/parent organizations, and faith-based organizations. CEHN is prepared to include key findings in presentations to upcoming conferences, workshops, and trainings. Factsheets were drafted for health care professionals and for the general public and will undergo review. A new web page with links to key resources was created. New elements were created for ECCP materials. The PEHSU has identified opportunities to present information to clinical audiences in collaboration with the pediatric oncology expert. Professor Kyle has been asked by the Office of Children’s Health Protection at U.S. EPA to lead a work group of the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee to discuss the significance of findings regarding the prenatal period for policies and actions of the agency. This has a wider scope than the work under CIRCLE but is in the spirit of making scientific findings accessible to policy audiences. The group provided recommendations on screening of chemicals to address children’s environmental health including pre-natal and pre-conception exposures in March.

 

Specific Aim 3. Reach out to targeted earned media outlets that report in depth on health, environmental or environmental health topics to generate interest in covering the trajectory of results from research on causes of childhood leukemia, and the promise of future research.

 

No activity was planned for Year 1 or 2.

 

Specific Aim 4. Develop relationships with voluntary organizations, such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, that serve those who have cancer and their families and allies, to increase their awareness of, and possible interest in, research on causes of cancer. Provide resources of value for one or more of these organizations.

 

This was originally scheduled for Year 1 and but will likely occur in Years 3 and 4.

 

Specific Aim 5. Develop and convey briefings and updates about advances in knowledge and potential future benefits of research on childhood leukemia to state and national policy and stakeholder audiences, including the California Department of Public Health and the California Environmental Protection Agency, using web-based communication strategies as well as directly targeted communications.

 

Briefings are now anticipated for Year 3 and Year 5. Professor Kyle conducted several activities with participants in the California Green Chemistry program related to addressing children’s health concerns including, but not limited to, leukemia in chemicals polices including those for testing and assessment of chemicals. She has submitted an abstract for the 2011 meeting of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology to present some of these findings. The PEHSU has also identified opportunities to engage with California state environmental health regulators to create a forum on advances in children’s environmental health, and we are scoping possibilities for such an event to be held in Year 3. The recent ban on travel by state employees in California could prove to be an obstacle and is being assessed.

 

Specific Aim 6. Work with other children’s environmental health research centers to seek opportunities for combined efforts to enhance outreach and research translation for the program as a whole.

 

We have made significant progress. We have met with counterparts at other Berkeley centers (Eskenazi and Tager, PIs) and the center at the University of Washington (Faustman, PI). All four have an interest in working to increase the depth of the synthesis of research findings, to create more consistent messaging across the centers, and to reinforce understanding of the field as a whole. We are investigating methods for synthesis of scientific findings at a thematic level to integrate interpretation and significance of findings from different lines of research. One example of such an approach, at a much larger scale, is the report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Possible unifying themes might be a type of environment for children, such as the home environment, or to a kind of contaminant, such as pesticides. We conducted a session during the fall 2010 meeting of the centers on ways to engage policy audiences.

 

Significance

 

Research translation and outreach can amplify the public benefits of the investment in research by making the results accessible to key audiences that can support both policy and behavioral changes. The health relevance comes from making both immediate results and broader understanding of results achieved through sustained research available to those who can act upon this knowledge for the public good. Our progress this year illustrates the potential in using a networked model of research translation and outreach to reach a more diverse audience using existing channels rather than to try to create such channels de novo.

 

Specific Aim 1: We will focus on tools to convey narrative including a web presence. We are adding to a component for social media and web 2.0. We will investigate opportunities through the YouTube channel at UC Berkeley for content where we can provide definitive expertise.

 

Specific Aim 2: UCB, CEHN, and PEHSU investigators will roll out relevant messages and materials. CEHN is planning a research conference in the spring of 2012, and we plan to contribute as requested. CEHN will incorporate content into webinars for the EHCC community, health care professionals, and public health/child health advocates, address leukemia in its widely distributed “Article of the Month” series, and update content for websites, factsheets, listservs, and pages on Twitter and Facebook.

 

Specific Aim 3: Activity will occur in Year 3.

 

Specific Aim 4: We plan to complete assessments needed to identify the most appropriate partners from among these organizations in light of our capacity to respond to anticipated questions. CEHN plans to prepare staff to be ready for potential inquiries.

 

Specific Aim 5: We plan to schedule briefings in Year 3 unless current events dictate otherwise. CEHN will assist with organizing the policy briefing in Washington and assist with related outreach.

 

Specific Aim 6: We are looking for an opportunity for an initial meeting at low cost. We plan to select one target for higher level synthesis and discussion of research findings, for development of a pilot product and completion of prototypes for communication.