269474
Developing an online presence as a strategy for engaging the public in a state biomonitoring program: Successes and limitations
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
: 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Amy Dunn, MPH
,
Safer Alternatives Assessment and Biomonitoring Section, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Cal/EPA, Oakland, CA
Laurie Monserrat, MS
,
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Cal/EPA, Oakland, CA
Sara Hoover, MS, Chief
,
Safer Alternatives Assessment and Biomonitoring Section, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Oakland, CA
Biomonitoring California is designed to generate data on the presence of environmental contaminants in the state's residents, and on how contaminants vary over time and across different populations. Engaging the public is vital to the program's success. Our aim is two-fold: to convey accurate and understandable information, and to enable stakeholders to contribute to the program's development and implementation by engaging in dialogue with them. In California, a large and diverse state, finding effective ways to communicate with stakeholders is a major challenge, especially given limited resources. Stakeholders showing interest in the program include: those biomonitored, public health scientists, environmental and occupational health advocacy groups, epidemiologists, green chemistry researchers, health educators, risk communication specialists, and government and industry scientists. Developing an online presence was one of several strategies the program explored early on, through use of a website, webcasts of workshops and meetings, online surveys and email subscription list tools. Responses were positive, and over time website visits and listserv subscriptions have continued to grow, giving us evidence of the importance of our online presence. Drawing on stakeholder suggestions, we are further developing online materials and the website user interface – to explain the program, provide information on chemicals monitored, and release program results. Despite limitations of the strategy and the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing social media environment, our experience demonstrates that cultivating an online presence is an important element in effectively engaging the public in Biomonitoring California.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Learning Objectives: 1. Identify three benefits an online presence offers to a state biomonitoring program with respect to reaching program stakeholders.
2. Describe at least one method for overcoming limitations of reliance on online tools for engaging stakeholders in a state biomonitoring program.
Keywords: Community Outreach, Communication Technology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been responsible for the development and implementation of the Biomonitoring California website, listserv, and other public contact tools since the program began in 2007. As a research scientist interested in communicating environmental health information to the public, I have conducted outreach activities for California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for more than 20 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
|