TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental research translation
T2 - Enhancing interactions with communities at contaminated sites
AU - Ramirez-Andreotta, Monica D.
AU - Brusseau, Mark L.
AU - Artiola, Janick F.
AU - Maier, Raina M.
AU - Gandolfi, A. Jay
N1 - Funding Information:
The significance and relevance of incorporating public participation methods into ERT is reflected in the recent significant increase in associated grant opportunities. Public participatory methodologies have been incorporated into many federal funding programs and announcements from the US EPA (e.g. Brownfields Area-wide Planning grants) and the NIEHS (e.g. Superfund Research Program, Children's Environmental Health Center grants, Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants, and Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy). As a case in point, between 1994 and 2007, under the “Partnerships for Communication” program, NIEHS, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and US EPA funded a total of 54 projects and 27 were led by community-based organizations. These grants required the collaboration of multiple partners, and based upon program evaluations, these projects increased environmental health literacy by raising community awareness, building community capacity, improving community health behaviors, and reducing exposures ( Baron et al., 2009 ).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by grant number P42 ES04940 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences , National Institute of Health. We also thank Phil Brown, Director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University for his comments on this manuscript. Finally, we thank the reviewers for their constructive comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2014/11/1
Y1 - 2014/11/1
N2 - The characterization and remediation of contaminated sites are complex endeavors fraught with numerous challenges. One particular challenge that is receiving increased attention is the development and encouragement of full participation by communities and community members affected by a given site in all facets of decision-making. Many disciplines have been grappling with the challenges associated with environmental and risk communication, public participation in environmental data generation, and decision-making and increasing community capacity. The concepts and methods developed by these disciplines are reviewed, with a focus on their relevance to the specific dynamics associated with environmental contamination sites. The contributions of these disciplines are then synthesized and integrated to help develop Environmental Research Translation (ERT), a proposed framework for environmental scientists to promote interaction and communication among involved parties at contaminated sites. This holistic approach is rooted in public participation approaches to science, which includes: a transdisciplinary team, effective collaboration, information transfer, public participation in environmental projects, and a cultural model of risk communication. Although there are challenges associated with the implementation of ERT, it is anticipated that application of this proposed translational science method could promote more robust community participation at contaminated sites.
AB - The characterization and remediation of contaminated sites are complex endeavors fraught with numerous challenges. One particular challenge that is receiving increased attention is the development and encouragement of full participation by communities and community members affected by a given site in all facets of decision-making. Many disciplines have been grappling with the challenges associated with environmental and risk communication, public participation in environmental data generation, and decision-making and increasing community capacity. The concepts and methods developed by these disciplines are reviewed, with a focus on their relevance to the specific dynamics associated with environmental contamination sites. The contributions of these disciplines are then synthesized and integrated to help develop Environmental Research Translation (ERT), a proposed framework for environmental scientists to promote interaction and communication among involved parties at contaminated sites. This holistic approach is rooted in public participation approaches to science, which includes: a transdisciplinary team, effective collaboration, information transfer, public participation in environmental projects, and a cultural model of risk communication. Although there are challenges associated with the implementation of ERT, it is anticipated that application of this proposed translational science method could promote more robust community participation at contaminated sites.
KW - Community engagement
KW - Contaminated sites
KW - Environmental health
KW - Public participation
KW - Superfund sites
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U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.08.021
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.08.021
M3 - Review article
C2 - 25173762
AN - SCOPUS:84906687701
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 497-498
SP - 651
EP - 664
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -