scholarly journals Knowledge and Beliefs Associated with Environmental Health Literacy: A Case Study Focused on Toxic Metals Contamination of Well Water

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9298
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Gray ◽  
Victoria Triana ◽  
Marti Lindsey ◽  
Benjamin Richmond ◽  
Anna Goodman Hoover ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Toxic Metals ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Well Water ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy

Environmental health literacy (EHL) is developing as a framework that can inform educational interventions designed to facilitate individual and collective action to protect health, yet EHL measurement poses several challenges. While some studies have measured environmental health knowledge resulting from interventions, few have incorporated skills and self-efficacy. In this study, a process-focused EHL instrument was developed, using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) health literacy instrument as a model and tailoring it for the context of private well contamination with toxic metals. Forty-seven (47) participants, including undergraduate students and residents of communities with contaminated well water, piloted a prototype EHL instrument alongside NVS. Results suggested a moderate degree of correlation between NVS and the EHL prototype, and significant differences in scores were observed between students and residents. Responses to a self-efficacy survey, tailored for drinking water contaminated with arsenic, revealed significant differences between students and residents on items related to cost and distance. In response to open-ended questions, participants identified a range of potential environmental contaminants in drinking water and deemed varied information sources as reliable. This study highlights differences in knowledge and self-efficacy among students and residents and raises questions about the adequacy of EHL assessments that mimic formal education approaches.

scholarly journals Increasing Environmental Health Literacy through Contextual Learning in Communities at Risk

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leona Davis ◽  
Mónica Ramirez-Andreotta ◽  
Jean McLain ◽  
Aminata Kilungo ◽  
Leif Abrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Environmental Health Risk ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy

Environmental health literacy (EHL) has recently been defined as the continuum of environmental health knowledge and awareness, skills and self-efficacy, and community action. In this study, an interdisciplinary team of university scientists, partnering with local organizations, developed and facilitated EHL trainings with special focus on rainwater harvesting and water contamination, in four communities with known environmental health stressors in Arizona, USA. These participatory trainings incorporated participants’ prior environmental health risk knowledge and personal experiences to co-create training content. Mixed methods evaluation was conducted via pre-post participant surveys in all four trainings (n = 53). Participants who did not demonstrate baseline environmental science knowledge pre-training demonstrated significant knowledge increase post-training, and participants who demonstrated low self-efficacy (SE) pre-training demonstrated a significant increase in SE post-training. Participants overall demonstrated a significant increase in specific environmental health skills described post-training. The interdisciplinary facilitator-scientist team also reported multiple benefits, including learning local knowledge that informed further research, and building trust relationships with community members for future collaboration. We propose contextual EHL education as a valuable strategy for increasing EHL in environmental health risk communities, and for building academia-community partnerships for environmental health research and action.

scholarly journals What Do Childcare Providers Know about Environmental Influences on Children’s Health? Implications for Environmental Health Literacy Efforts

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5489
Author(s):  
Brenda D. Koester ◽  
Stephanie Sloane ◽  
Elinor M. Fujimoto ◽  
Barbara H. Fiese ◽  
Leona Yi-Fan Su
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy ◽  
Childcare Providers

Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxicant exposures in their environment, which can have long-lasting impacts on their health. Childcare providers are an important population to target for environmental health literacy, as most children in the United States under five years of age spend a significant number of waking hours in non-parental care. There is an increasing body of evidence that children are exposed to toxicants in the childcare environment, and yet little is known about what childcare providers know about environmental influences on the health of children in their care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 home- and center-based Illinois childcare providers to better understand their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to environmental influences on children’s health. We found that the majority of providers had a low level of understanding of potential sources of exposure in the childcare environment, and they did not feel that environmental exposures posed a significant risk to children. Future efforts to increase environmental health literacy should focus on raising awareness and knowledge of environmental health issues for childcare providers before addressing ways that providers can reduce or prevent toxicant exposures to children in their care.

scholarly journals Advancing Environmental Health Literacy: Validated Scales of General Environmental Health and Environmental Media-Specific Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (21) ◽  
pp. 4157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lichtveld ◽  
Covert ◽  
Sherman ◽  
Shankar ◽  
Wickliffe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Three Factor

Environmental health literacy (EHL) involves understanding and using environmental information to make decisions about health. This study developed a validated survey instrument with four scales for assessing media-specific (i.e., air, food, water) and general EHL. The four scales were created as follows: 1) item generation: environmental health scientists and statisticians developed an initial set of items in three domains: knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; 2) item review: items were reviewed for face validity; 3) validation: 174 public health students, the exploratory sample, and 98 community members, the test sample, validated the scales. The scales’ factor structure was based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and model fit was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). For each scale, the final EFA resulted in an independent three-factor solution for knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Good fit for the three-factor structure was observed. Model fit for CFA was generally confirmed with fit indices. The scales showed internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha from 0.63 to 0.70. The 42-item instrument represents an important contribution towards assessing EHL and is designed to enable meaningful engagement between researchers and community members about environmental health. The intended outcome is sustained community–academic partnerships benefiting research design, implementation, translation, dissemination, and community action.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of an Environmental Health Literacy Assessment Screening Tool for Domestic Well Owners: The Water Environmental Literacy Level Scale (WELLS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 881
Author(s):  
Veronica Irvin ◽  
Diana Rohlman ◽  
Amelia Vaughan ◽  
Rebecca Amantia ◽  
Claire Berlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy ◽  
Literacy Level ◽  
Level Scale ◽  
Kappa Agreement

In the U.S., privately owned wells are not subject to any regulatory testing requirements. Well owners must have sufficient environmental health literacy (EHL) to understand and interpret information that contain complex terms and labels to manage their water quality. The objective of this paper is to assess the performance and validity of a new EHL screening tool. The Water Environmental Literacy Level Scale (WELLS) is based on the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) and contains six questions on comprehension, calculations and application of information. Content validity was assessed from expert review. Criterion-related and construct validity were evaluated using an online, convenience sample of adults (n = 869). Percent of correct responses for items ranged from 53% to 96% for NVS and from 41% to 97% for WELLS. Completion time, mean scores, distributions, and internal consistency were equivalent between both scales. Higher scores suggest higher EHL. The scales were moderately correlated (ρ = 0.47, p < 0.001). Kappa agreement was 74%. Bland-Altman plots depicted little mean difference between the scales. Education and income level were positively associated with EHL. WELLS showed criterion-validity with NVS and construct validity with education and income. In practice or research, WELLS could quickly screen individuals for low EHL.

scholarly journals Improving Environmental Health Literacy and Justice through Environmental Exposure Results Communication

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Ramirez-Andreotta ◽  
Julia Brody ◽  
Nathan Lothrop ◽  
Miranda Loh ◽  
Paloma Beamer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Environmental Exposure ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy

scholarly journals Media Reporting on Air Pollution: Health risk and precautionary measures in national and regional newspapers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Ramondt ◽  
A. Susana Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
News Media ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
Environmental Health Literacy ◽  
Precautionary Measures

Abstract Background Exposure to air pollution is one of the primary global health risk factors, yet individuals lack the knowledge to engage in individual risk mitigation and the skills to mobilize for change necessary to reduce such risks. The news media are an important tool for influencing individual actions and support for public policies to reduce environmental threats; thus, a lack of news coverage of such issues may exacerbate knowledge deficits. This study examines the reporting of health risk and precautionary measures regarding air pollution in national and regional print news using an environmental health literacy perspective.Methods We conducted a content analysis of two national (New York Times and Washington Post) and two local newspapers (Fresno Bee and Bakersfield Californian) newspapers covering the country’s most polluted region, California’s San Joaquin Valley, during a 5-year period (2011-2015). Using a constructed week sampling approach, 276 newspaper articles were coded for information on threat, efficacy information, and information sources.Results News coverage of air pollution mostly failed to mention human health risks. Moreover, fewer than 10 percent of news stories about air pollution provided information on the precautionary measures necessary for individuals to take action to mitigate their risk. Despite being located in one of the most polluted areas in the US, local newspapers did not report significantly more threat and efficacy information. News coverage of air pollution consistently missed opportunities to raise environmental health literacy.Conclusions Although air pollution levels are high and continue to rise at alarming rates, our findings suggest that news media reporting is not conducive to raising environmental health literacy. Public health advocates and health promotion experts must develop more effective strategies for disseminating information about the health risks of air pollution, balancing the need for recognizing the structural causes of poor air quality and the actions individuals and communities can take to reduce air pollution related morbidity and mortality. National and local news media may be useful partners for such dissemination.

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