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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Terry A. Greene, MS, Center for Environmental Health Studies, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210, 617-482-9485, tgreene@jsi.com

Community Right-to-Know has largely focused on assembling readily available information on toxic hazards that communities can use to protect themselves. Yet this information is of no use unless the community knows it exists, is able to obtain the data, and can put it to effective use. In a pilot outreach project in environmental justice neighborhoods of Dorchester, MA, Informed Communities train-the-trainer programs provided hands-on experience for youth peer leaders, health providers, librarians, and community advocates so that they were able to access, understand, and apply environmental health information relevant to their neighborhoods. Those trained are asked to serve as local environmental health information providers. These trained community leaders have been supported as they investigate community environmental health and conduct broader outreach to community residents. The project was launched in partnership with the Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition (DEHC). The intent of the project is to strengthen the capacity of this New England inner city, high-risk and under-served community to make use of the valuable online environmental health information resources with an ultimate goal to enable community residents, as end users, to effectively obtain and use the information they need to promote a healthy environment for their families and neighborhoods. Project partners are currently engaged in several important community-based environmental health initiatives across Dorchester furthered by this effort. Included are youth-driven asthma and air quality campaigns, improvements to low-income housing indoor conditions, and efforts with health centers and residents to profile local environmental health conditions.

Learning Objectives: