Grantee Research Project Results

2013 Progress Report: Community-Based Participatory Research

EPA Grant Number: R834514C001
Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R834514
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions
Center Director: Robinson, Allen
Title: Community-Based Participatory Research
Investigators: Faustman, Elaine
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: October 1, 2010 through September 24, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 25, 2012 through September 24,2013
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:

Since 1998, researchers of the University of Washington Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research (the Center) have been using a multi-disciplinary research approach working in the lab, in the field, and in the community to understand the mechanisms that define childrens susceptibility to pesticides, identify the implications of this susceptibility for development and learning, and partner with our communities to translate our findings into risk communication, risk management, and prevention strategies. The Center is jointly funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Center is administratively housed within the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication, also directed by Center Director Dr. Elaine M. Faustman, which is in the University of Washingtons School of Public Health. The Center includes partnerships with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Yakima Valley community, located in the agricultural center of Washington State, to jointly sponsor a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Project aimed at reducing childhood pesticide exposure.

All Center efforts are highly integrated with two field-based research projects, two laboratory-based research projects, three facility cores, an Administrative Core, and Faculty Development Investigator.

The specific objectives of the two field-based projectsthe CBPR project and the pesticide exposure pathways research projectare:

To improve our understanding of critical pathways of potential pesticide exposure for children; and
To apply culturally-appropriate interventions to reduce childrens exposure to pesticides.

Progress Summary:

A key feature of the Center is the CBPR Project, which identifies the multiple potential pathways that may contribute to pesticide exposure in adults and children living in agricultural communities. Unlike many other studies of potential pesticide exposure, the CBPR investigators have used a group randomized trial design. Advantages of such an approach are the potential to reach large numbers of people, disseminate messages about behavior across a diverse population, change community norms about behavior, and integrate new behavioral practices into existing community structures and organizations. Part of the study design requires early involvement from the communities to guide us in planning intervention activities. The results of this research support the hypothesis that the take-home exposure pathway contributes to residential pesticide contamination in agricultural homes where young children are present.

The highlights of this past year include two Community Forums held in February 2013 in order to share information on the importance of donating specimens to biomedical research. The first was held in English for the Community Advisory Board, and the second was held in Spanish and was open to the community. These forums were a joint effort by Dr. Thompson with the CHC Center and Dr. Thompsons Community Based Participatory Research Project and NCI-funded Community Network Program Center (CNPC). The forums provided an opportunity to be transparent about the knowledge we hoped to gain from this study, and allowed us to gauge the audiences understanding of our work. In the final phase of the study, dissemination tools will be designed with the feedback from these two forums in mind.

Future Activities:

The highlights above illustrate the high volume and quality of the Center's efforts aiming at reducing the adverse effects of environmental pesticide exposures in children. The Center continues to work to understand the mechanisms that define children's susceptibility to pesticides, identify the implications of this susceptibility for health impacts on development and learning, and partner with our communities to translate our findings into risk communication, risk management, and prevention strategies. Center researchers continue to work in the lab, in the field, and in the community to bring a unique and successful approach to the study of children's environmental health.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 24 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Environmental Policy, Biology, Children's Health, Biochemistry, Risk Assessment, biological markers, pesticides, age-related differences, pesticide exposure, agricultural community, children's vulnerablity, community-based intervention

Relevant Websites:

http://depts.washington.edu/chc/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R834514 Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R834514C001 Community-Based Participatory Research
R834514C002 Pesticide Exposure Pathways
R834514C003 Molecular Mechanisms
R834514C004 Genetic Susceptibility

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.