DURHAM, N.C. (March 13, 2024) — University of Kentucky faculty made the presentation last month at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Partnership for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) Network conference in Durham, North Carolina.
NIEHS is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is dedicated to expanding and accelerating scientific knowledge about human health and the environment.
One of the ways the agency fulfills its mission is through the PEPH network. The network brings together scientists, community members, educators, health care providers, public health officials, and policy makers to advance the effectiveness of environmental public health research at the local, regional, and national levels.
This year's conference focused on engaging diverse teams to address climate change and environmental justice. It was held from February 20th to 22nd at the NIEHS main campus in Durham.
“Taking a multidisciplinary approach to environmental public health research is fundamental to progress not only for our communities but also for this country,” said Erin, interim PhD at the UK Appalachian Center for Environmental Science Research (UK-CARES). Dr. Haynes said. She is chair and dean of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health in the College of Public Health.
“Presenting at the NIEHS PEPH conference, our team brings together a variety of disciplines to better understand the interaction between human health and the environment, while deriving innovative solutions to Kentucky’s most pressing problems. “It demonstrated the importance of bringing together experts and community partners and other key stakeholders. It's a challenge,” Haynes said.
The UK delegation attending the meeting brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers from Nursing, Public Health, Medicine, the Stanley and Karen Pigman School of Engineering, the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and the UK Markey Cancer Center. Participated as a representative.
Dr. Stacey Stanifer, an advanced practice nurse and assistant professor of nursing, led the group's presentation titled “Community Engagement Tools for Climate and Health for Hard-to-Access Populations.”
“Rural and resource-poor communities are especially vulnerable to climate change. Without action, the health of people living in these communities will be disproportionately affected,” Stanifer said. said.
Stanifer's team includes Kelly Kenoy of the College of Nursing; Dr. Robin Ray, School of Medicine; Dr. Jessica Thompson of Marquee Cancer Center; and Dr. Luz Huntington-Moskos of the University of Louisville School of Nursing and Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences.
The group's presentations included a breakout roundtable discussion that focused on the various community engagement methods and tools available to combat climate change. Teams shared strategies including key informant interviews, digital storytelling, climate conversation cards, environmental public health advocacy and policy, and concept mapping.
“Our goal with this presentation was to provide an innovative approach to engaging and empowering community members in advancing health and climate action,” Stanifer said.
Dr. Anna Huber, associate professor in the School of Public Health, co-led the workshop “The Values and Limitations of Applying the Environmental Health Literacy Framework” with colleague Katie May of the North Carolina State University Center for Human Health. and Dr. Kathleen Gray of the University of North Carolina Environmental Research Institute.
Environmental health literacy (EHL) consists of the knowledge, skills, and tools that individuals and communities need to make informed and effective decisions about environmental health issues.
“As we mark the 10th anniversary of the first PEPH conference focused on EHL, our team is proud to announce the implementation and evaluation of community-based approaches and interventions to build community capacity for EHL. We wanted to engage both veterans and newcomers on important issues in the field,” said Huber. “We also shared how Kentucky has contributed to the advancement of both the science and practice of EHL, with more than a decade of research and support through the UK Superfund Research Center, UK-CARES, and multiple extramural grants. By sharing the lessons learned from our partnership, we hope that the insights from our research will be useful to other communities.”
Dr. Jason Anlin, Director of the Kentucky Water Research Institute (KWRI) and Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, joined Community Research Science Partners to publish the following report: did. A poster about ongoing drinking water research.
The poster, titled “Community-Based Participatory Research on Drinking Water Disinfection Byproducts in Appalachia,” described community-driven research on drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
With funding from NIEHS, Anlin, along with a team of scientists from multiple UK universities, has been working with community partners in Martin and Letcher counties to study patterns of exposure to DBP. Long-term exposure to DBP is associated with urinary tract cancer and birth defects.
“Rural drinking water systems in Appalachia face challenges due to both the complexity of the distribution networks required in remote and mountainous areas and the diminishing resources available to maintain and operate the infrastructure.” Mr. Anlin said. “This project uses citizen science to better understand how seasonal variations in source water chemistry, distribution network location, and household characteristics influence DBP exposure.”
Hoover joins Anglin as co-principal investigator on the study, which also includes UK collaborator Dr. Jay Christian of the College of Public Health. Dr. Lindell Ormsby, Dr. Kelly Pennell, Pigman Institute of Technology. Dr Wayne Sanderson, Martin Gatton University. Dr. Beverly May is retired from the College of Public Health.
Community partners in the study include Dr. Betsy Taylor; Madison Mooney, Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN) representative. Debi Sexton and Courtney Rose and Headwaters Inc. Trial Attorney Mary Cromer of the Appalachian Civil Law Center; Nina McCoy and Martin County Concerned Residents. Mooney, Sexton, and McCoy joined Unlin to present at the PEPH conference.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers P30ES026529 and R01ES032396. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
