The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4121.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 1:00 PM

Abstract #49977

Case study II: The Memphis Depot experience

Dhelia Maria Williamson, MS, Health Investigations Branch, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 1600 Clifton Road, MS E-31, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404-498-0104, dmwillia@email.unc.edu

Citizens living near the Memphis Depot, Memphis, Tennessee, requested that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) evaluate new environmental and health data to address concerns about increased cancer rates in the community and their possible relationship to contamination from the Depot. ATSDR agreed to conduct a public health assessment to evaluate potential environmental exposure to local residents, as well as to examine the cancer rates in the area. In order to include and solicit community participation, several workshops and meetings were held in order to determine specific concerns expressed by the community and to develop workgroups of community and local, state, and federal representatives to address these concerns.

This presentation will provide an overview of the process undertaken to ensure that all activities conducted by ATSDR were in collaboration with community members. Discussion will focus specifically on the challenges encountered with methodologies used to analyze available cancer data and other information, as well as the steps taken to overcome obstacles. Finally, the community response to the results of the environmental and cancer analysis will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant in this sesion will be able to

Keywords: Environmental Health, Community Participation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.

Challenges In Communicating Epidemiologic Methods and Research Results When Addressing Potential Environmental Exposures: From Assessment to Planned Intervention

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA