University of Cincinnati-Marietta Area: Creating a reciprocal research relationship

Marietta, Ohio is a rural Appalachian community. The area has been home to the only manganese (Mn) refinery in the US and Canada for over 50 years. Using community-based participatory research methods, we have formed a community advisory board and conducted a community-wide survey which has led to identification of a research agenda and identified risk communication seeking behaviors. We found that the community relies upon local media for air quality information, yet these reporters are not trained in science or environmental journalism. The community also uses websites to search for information on industrial emissions and health effects; however, reliable sites are difficult to find, navigate, and interpret. The goal of this project is to create reciprocal research partnerships to determine the health effects associated with the Marietta community's exposure to Mn while engaging the community in the research process to ultimately inform regional and national policy for Mn emissions. Our main objective is to implement and evaluate a multifaceted Community Based Participatory Research program that bridges the gap between an affected community and the research scientists. The following specific aims for the project are: Specific Aim 1: Create reciprocal training and research opportunities for the Marietta community and University of Cincinnati (UC) scientific researchers; Specific Aim 2: Establish a well-defined network among Marietta journalists (radio, newspaper and TV reporters), UC research scientists, and UC environmental journalists; and Specific Aim 3: Evaluate the success of the overall community-research partnership through qualitative research methods.