The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71956

Gina Ann Margillo, MA, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Health Services, 1515 Clay Street Suite 1700, Oakland, CA 94612, 213-620-2586, gmargillo@dhs.ca.gov

Due to historical DDT and PCB pollution in the Santa Monica Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula area, the State of California issued a health advisory for certain fish in 1991. In response, the Department of Health Services has coordinated the development of a multi-agency outreach and risk communication plan. Through a one-year pilot project concluded in December 2000, a multicultural, multi-agency advisory group developed culture-specific informational materials and partnered with community-based organizations (CBOs) to directly educate diverse Asian immigrant communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The project has involved staff from over 30 federal, state, and local agencies and CBOs involved in public health, including representatives from CA Department of Health Services, USFDA, USEPA, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the CA Department of Fish and Game, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Los Angeles County Health Department. The pilot project included development of an eight-module curriculum, covering the history of the contamination in the Palos Verdes Shelf, chemical and bacterial fish contamination, safe purchasing, preparation, and cooking methods, as well as information and referral. The curriculum provides a flexible framework for presenting information in ways that are most culturally relevant to a variety of audiences. The curriculum was used as the basis for training representatives from local health departments and CBOs to conduct their own workshops in their communities. Following the successful completion of the pilot project, agencies and CBOs have entered into an ongoing follow-up partnership.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn:
• The results of a pilot project to communicate health risks from fish contamination in the Palos Verdes shelf region of Southern California; and
• How federal, state, and local government agencies and community-based organizations can form effective and lasting partnerships for risk communication to diverse populations.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.