Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Communicating environmental exposure results and health information in a community-based participatory research study

Authors: Luz Claudio, Jalisa Gilmore, Mohana Roy, Barbara Brenner

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Communicating results to participants is a fundamental component of community-based participatory research (CBPR). However, in environmental exposure studies this is not always practiced, partly due to ethical concerns of communicating results that have unknown clinical significance.

Methods

Growing Up Healthy was a community-based participatory research study that sought to understand the relationship between environmental exposures to phthalates and early puberty in young girls. After in-depth consultation with a Community Advisory Board, study investigators provided group summary results of phthalate exposures and related health information to the parents of study participants. Parents’ comprehension and knowledge of the health information provided was then assessed through questionnaires.

Results

After receiving the information from the research team, responders were able to correctly answer comprehension questions about phthalate exposures in their community, were able to identify ways to reduce exposure to phthalates, and indicated plans to do so. Questionnaires revealed that parents wanted more information on phthalates, and that children’s environmental health was an important concern.

Conclusions

We conclude that effective communication of exposure results of unknown clinical significance to participants in environmental health studies can be achieved by providing group summary results and actionable health information. Results suggest that there was an improvement in knowledge of environmental health and in risk reduction behaviors in our study population.
Literature
1.
Lichtveld M, Goldstein B, Grattan L, & Mundorf C. Then and now: lessons learned from community- academic partnerships in environmental health research. Environ Health 2016; doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0201-5
2.
O’Fallon LR, Dearry A. Community-based participatory research as a tool to advance environmental health sciences. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110(S2):155–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
3.
Morello-Frosch R, Brody JG, Brown, P, Altman RG, Rudel, RA, & Perez C. Toxic ignorance and right-to-know in biomonitoring results communication: a survey of scientists and study participants. Environ Health 2009;doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-8-6
4.
Ohayon J L, Cousins E, Brown P, Morello-Frosch R & Brody JG. (2017). Researchers and institutional review board perspectives on the benefit and challenges of reporting back biomonitoring and environmental exposure results. Environ Res 2017; doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.12.003
5.
Resnik D B. Environmental Health Research and the Observer’s Dilemma. Environ Health Perspect 2009; doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0900861
6.
Sly P D, Eskenazi B, Pronczuk J, et al. Ethical issues in measuring biomarkers in Children’s environmental health. Environ Health Perspect 2009 doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0800480
7.
Dumez B, Van Damme K, & Casteleyn L. Research on ethics in two large human biomonitoring projects ECNIS and NewGeneris: a bottom up approach. Environ Health 2008; doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-7-S1-S7
8.
Haines D A, Arbuckle T E, Lye E, et al. Reporting results of human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals to study participants: a comparison of approaches followed in two Canadian studies. J Epidemiol Community Health 2010; doi.org/10.1136/jech.2008.085597
9.
National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. Bethesda: U.S. Office of Human Subjects Research National Institutes of Health; 1979.
10.
Brown P, Morello-Frosch R, Brody J G, et al. Institutional review board challenges related to community-based participatory research on human exposure to environmental toxins: a case study. Environ Health 2010; doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-9-39
11.
Shalowitz D I, & Miller F G. Disclosing individual results of clinical research: implications of respect for participants. JAMA 2005; doi.org/10.1001/jama.294.6.737
12.
National Bioethics Advisory Commission. Research involving human biological materials: ethical issues and policy guidance. Rockville: U.S. National Bioethics Advisory Commission; 1999.
13.
Goho S A. The legal implications of report back in household exposure studies. Environ Health Perspect 2016; doi.org/10.1289/EHP187
14.
15.
Casteleyn L, Dumez B, Van Damme K, & Anwar W A. Ethics and data protection in human biomarker studies. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2010; doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.03.016.
16.
Svensson K, Ramírez O F, Peres F, Barnett M, & Claudio L. Socioeconomic determinants associated with willingness to participate in medical research among a diverse population. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2012; doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2012.07.014.
17.
Fitzpatrick-Lewis D, Yost J, Ciliska D, & Krishnaratne S. Communication about environmental health risks: a systematic review. Environ Health 2010; doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-9-67
18.
Huerta EE, Macario E. Communicating health risk to ethnic groups: reaching Hispanics as a case study. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1999;(25):23–6.
19.
Kutner M, Greenberg E, Jin Y, Paulsen C. The health literacy of America’s adults: results from the 2003 National Assessment of adult literacy (NCES 2006-483). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education: National Center for Education Statistics; 2006.
20.
Taylor-Clark K, Koh H, & Viswanath K. Perceptions of environmental health risks and communication barriers among low-SEP and racial/ethnic minority communities. J Health Care Poor Underserved 2007; doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2007.0113.
21.
Teitelbaum S L, Mervish N, Moshier E, et al. Associations between phthalate metabolite urinary concentrations and body size measures in new York City children. Environ Res 2012; doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2011.12.006.
22.
Wolff MS, Teitelbaum S L, McGovern K, et al. Environmental phenols and pubertal development in girls. Environ Int 2015; doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.08.008
23.
Claudio L. Centered on breast Cancer. Environmental Health Perspect. 2007;115(3):A132–3.CrossRef
24.
Wolff M S, Pajak A, Pinney S M, et al. Associations of urinary phthalate and phenol biomarkers with menarche in a multiethnic cohort of young girls. Reprod Toxicol 2017; doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.11.009.
25.
Mervish N A, Teitelbaum SL, Pajak A, et al. Peripubertal dietary flavonol and lignan intake and age at menarche in a longitudinal cohort of girls. Pediatr Res 2017; doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.34.
26.
CDC. Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.
27.
28.
Adams C, Brown P, Morello-Frosch R, et al. Disentangling the exposure experience: the roles of community context and report-back of environmental exposure data. J Health Soc Behav 2011; doi.org/10.1177/0022146510395593
29.
Ramirez-Andreotta M D, Brody J G, Lothrop N, Loh M, Beamer P I, & Brown, P. Improving environmental health literacy and justice through environmental exposure results communication. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016; doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13070690.
30.
Buck A J, Vena J E, McGuinness B M, Cooney M A, & Louis GM. Communicating serum chemical concentrations to study participants: follow up survey. Environ Health 2010; doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-9-20
31.
Hernick A D, Brown M K, Pinney SM, Biro FM, Ball KM, & Bornschein RL. Sharing Unexpected Biomarker Results with Study Participants. Environ Health Perspect. 2011; doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1001988.
32.
Brody, J. G., Dunagan, S. C., Morello-Frosch, R., Brown, P., Patton, S., & Rudel, R. A. (2014). Reporting individual results for biomonitoring and environmental exposures: lessons learned from environmental communication case studies. Environ Health, 13(40). http://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​1476-069X-13-40
33.
Harley KG, Kogut K, Madrigal D S, et al. Reducing phthalate, paraben, and phenol exposure from personal care products in adolescent girls: findings from the HERMOSA intervention study. Environ Health Perspect 2016; doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510514
34.
Ramirez-Andreotta MD, Brody JG, Lothrop N, Loh M, Beamer P I, & Brown P. Reporting back environmental exposure data and free choice learning. Environ Health 2016; doi.org/10.1186/s12940-015-0080-1
Metadata
Title
Communicating environmental exposure results and health information in a community-based participatory research study
Authors
Luz Claudio
Jalisa Gilmore
Mohana Roy
Barbara Brenner
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5721-1

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

BMC Public Health 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research article

Combined effects of reproductive and hormone factors and obesity on the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis and knee pain among middle-aged or older Chinese women: a cross-sectional study

Research article

The relationship between socioeconomic status and risky drinking in Denmark: a cross-sectional general population study

Research article

Public health response to large influx of asylum seekers: implementation and timing of infectious disease screening

Research article

Pneumococcal meningitis outbreak and associated factors in six districts of Brong Ahafo region, Ghana, 2016

Research article

Integrated motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy can increase physical activity and improve health of adult ambulatory care patients in a regional hospital: the Healthy4U randomised controlled trial

Research article

Follow-up of the manganese-exposed workers healthy cohort (MEWHC) and biobank management from 2011 to 2017 in China