The Consortium for the Health Assessment of Great Lakes (GL) Sport Fish Consumption has developed a GL basin-wide outreach program to distribute sport fish advisory information to women of childbearing age and minority groups. Previous studies conducted by the Consortium have shown that these target groups are not receiving the message about what sport fish they should and should not consume. High consumption of PCB-contaminated fish has been linked to slower development and learning disabilities in infants and children borne to women who regularly have eaten highly contaminated fish for many years before becoming pregnant. A two-day risk communication workshop was held in December 1998 with the Consortium states (IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH and WI) to discuss the problem and brainstorm ways of communicating the fish advisory message to women and minority groups. Speakers were recruited from a variety of disciplines and arenas, including risk communication and psychology. Since the workshop, the states have collaborated and developed several outreach "tools", such as fish magnets, recipe cards, and posters, to convey the fish advisory message to women and minorities. Each state has developed their own awareness message and selected outreach products based on their state-specific strategy. Outreach materials will be distributed throughout the Great Lakes basin in a variety of places such as WIC clinics, Ob/Gyn clinics, pediatric clinics, health fairs, state fairs, and fishing shows. The outreach products will aim to encourage women and minorities to follow their state`s fishing advisory when they decide to eat sport fish.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: 1) Identify what groups are not receiving sport fish advisory information and why they are at risk 2) Identify several means of outreach to these target populations
Keywords: Environmental Health, Outreach Programs
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.