Environmental Health Literacy: What does it mean to you?

Approximately half of the United States population is not considered to be functionally health literate. Poor health literacy has consequences on both personal and public health. Two problems with environmental health literacy (EHL) among the American public are indicated by the mismatch between the public’s misperceptions of risk and the complexity of environmental health information. NIEHS has embraced EHL as being vital to its goal of improving public health by preventing disability and disease from our environment.

This presentation will focus on two recent projects focused on EHL, culture, and community engagement. The first, “Defining Environmental Health Literacy” utilized interviews with 34 environmental health professionals to develop a list of skills and knowledge as being necessary for EHL. The list was compiled into a structured survey, which was ranked by a diverse group of 200 Environmental health professionals. Statistical analysis identified areas of significant agreement to develop an EHL definition, which sets the stage for research that includes identifying the consequences of low versus high EHL, and implementing methods of improving EHL.

The second project, “Tribal Environmental Health Stories,” focuses on the importance of cultural context and EHL. The presenter discusses principles of effective environmental health information discussions with American Indian audiences, and describes their use of storytelling around environmental health issues. The presenter highlights that for public health research, intervention, and prevention strategies to be successful, research partners must acknowledge the unique cultural assets of tribal communities, their environmental public health challenges, as well as their own tribal EHL.