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

Abstract #117664

C. Jeff Jacobson, PhD¹, LaVerne Mayfield², Amy Roe, PhD³, Gregory Oakley, PhD⁴, and Sheli DeLaney, BA¹. (1) Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 670380, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0380, 5135565784, jeffrey.jacobson@uc.edu, (2) Greater Cincinnati Occupational Health Center, 3030 Reading Rd, Cincinnat, OH 45220, (3) Proctor and Gamble Pharmeceuticals, Inc., 8700 Mason-Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45040-9462, (4) Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, KEettering 418, PO Box 670056, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056

As the first step in a community health-education project designed to promote public understanding of the impact of genetic diversity on responses to environmental agents and the induction of human diseases, 15 focus groups were conducted at sites within 3 urban minority communities in the greater Cincinnati area. Targeted at African American, Appalachian Migrant, and Latino Migrant populations, these focus groups were exploratory and aimed at discerning community awareness of and concerns related to key aspects of environmental genetics. Specifically, focus group sessions addressed 1) community residents' understandings of different kinds of environmental exposures, 2) community residents' understandings of inherited diseases and disease vulnerabilities, and 3) community residents' understandings of the purpose, benefits, and risks associated with genetic testing. Differences in environmental priorities and sense of risk according to local circumstances were considerable. While most groups identified cancers, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases as key examples of environmental genetic risk and vulnerability, there were also wide variations in attitudes towards prevention, screening, and early diagnosis. In this presentation we briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of focus group methods for environmental-health education needs assessment, and we provide examples of how local environmental-genetic knowledge can be incorporated into community-based, environmental-health curriculum design.

Learning Objectives:

• participants will be able to describe some advantages and disadvantages of focus group methodologies in health education needs assessment
• Participants will better understand the importance of "local knowledge" and awareness in the development of community based environmental health curricula
• Participants will have a better understanding of cultural/ethnic variation in the awareness of environmental-genetic illness vulnerability.

Keywords: Community Research, Environmental Health

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