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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jane K. Dixon, PhD¹, John P. Dixon, PhD², Elizabeth Ercolano, RN, MSN, DNSc¹, Karrie C. Hendrickson, RN, MSN¹, and Robi Quackenbush, CNM, MSN³. (1) School of Nursing, Yale University, 100 Church Street South, P.O. Box 9740, New Haven, CT 06536-0740, 203-737-2234, jane.dixon@yale.edu, (2) New Haven Environmental Council, 55 Elmwood Rd., New Haven, CT 06515, (3) Family Health Care Network, 1740 W. Lloyd Ave., Porterville, CA 93257

This study evolved from the environmental health education and health promotion efforts of a grassroots environmental justice organization to help collect information for furthering such efforts. Some communities experience a high burden of environmental health hazards. People may act to reduce such hazards or their exposure to them. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure people's engagement in environmental health – the Environmental Health Engagement Profile (EHEP). All data were collected in an urban area chosen as an environmental injustice community with a diverse population. Construction of instrument items was based on qualitative interviews with 41 urban residents. Next, potential items for the instrument were evaluated for relevance and clarity by 28 reviewers. Finally, 433 urban residents completed the instrument and other measures by telephone interviews. Through factor analysis, five subscales were identified -- named Pollution Sensitivity Scale (α=.91), Pollution-Causes-Illness Scale (α=.84), Pollution Acceptance Scale (α=.67), Community Environmental Action Scale (α=.79), and Personal Environmental Action Scale (α=.63). On a 0-10 metric, highest scores were obtained on Personal Environmental Action Scale (M= 5.8) and Pollution-Causes-Illness Scale (M=5.3). Subscales correlated with age and measures of self-reported odor sensitivity, social involvement, and optimism. The instrument was sensitive to variation in environmental burden between census tracts. These results provide beginning evidence of construct validity for EHEP. Residents of a burdened community have concerns about effects of environment on health, and they take actions based on these concerns. Public health professionals should support these actions to protect health.

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

• Articulate the significance of people's engagement in environmnetal health as an aspect of health promotion.
• Identify ways in which people may become engaged in promoting environmental health.
• Discuss how engagement in environmental health may be measured.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No