Improving Children's Environmental Health Through Innovative Technologies

Substantial evidence indicates that low-income Latino communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards that adversely affect their health. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to these exposures. Few culturally and language-appropriate environmental health education programs are available. We developed and pilot tested an innovative program, called the “The Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk,” based on empirical research from our Center for Children's Environmental Health Research at UC Berkeley. The program was designed for low-income Spanish-speaking pregnant women with low-literacy using an interactive touch-screen technology and an audio component. It includes approximately 60 screens of information about important environmental health topics for this population, such as exposure to lead and pesticides. Concrete suggestions and skill-building strategies for taking an active role in protecting families from environmental hazards are provided for each topic. The content was reviewed by a panel of nine experts in children's environmental health, staff in a prental clinic that serves low-income Latinas, and a local council of community representatives. All expressed excitement in adopting this program into current health education efforts and felt that the information was greatly needed. Overall, 181 pregnant women participated in a pilot study. Over 90% of women reported that they learned something new while using the kiosk. The majority of the women had never used a kiosk before but only 8% of the women reported needing any help using the kiosk. From women's comments we learned that using the kiosk gave women confidence to use a computer.