Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114226

Rebecca T. Parkin, PhD, MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health, The George Washington University Medical Center, 2100 M Street, NW, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20052, 202-994-5482, parkinr@gwu.edu, Lisa J. Ragain, MAT, Env. and Occ. Health, George Washington University, 2100 M St., NW, Ste. 203, Washington, DC 20052, Heidi Urquhart, MA, National Association of County and City Health Officials, 1100 17th Street, NW, 2nd floor, Washington, DC 20036, and Paula Wilborne-Davis, MPH, CHES, AOEC, Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, 1010 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 513, Washington, DC 20005.

Public awareness about water quality issues is growing, but local environmental and public health organizations and professionals typically do not have the capacity or knowledge to address the public's numerous and diverse issues. Many organizations lack information about which communication sources different members of the public view as useful and credible for drinking water-related health concerns. To address the public's interests, organizations and practitioners will need strong partnerships with other experts. The goal of this evidence-based, AwwaRF/EPA-funded project is to increase the capabilities of water utility, local public health and clinical personnel for addressing current, emerging and emergency water-related health issues. The authors conducted surveys of local public health officials, water utility managers, and clinicians; these revealed that professionals in each sector would like greater collaboration but experience barriers in achieving their shared goal. Barriers included financial issues, scheduling problems, and priority relative to other responsibilities. All three surveys indicated that professionals need to understand more about their colleagues' respective duties and roles for effective collaboration. Following the surveys, a two-day workshop including representatives of five U.S. cities identified more specific issues and recommendations, including the need for local public health agencies to serve as the bridge between utilities and clinicians. Onsite tabletop exercises in the five participating locations produced additional insights about steps that can be taken to strengthen collaborations in the interests of addressing water-related health risks. Finally, tools to aid decision-making processes for building effective collaborations have been designed and will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identify at least 3 factors that influence water-related health risk communications among professionals.
• 2. Describe steps that can be taken to improve collaborations among water utility, health department and clinical personnel in their service to the public.
• 3. Explain how implementation of these steps can be expected to improve communications with the public.

Keywords: Risk Communication, Water

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation