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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Kelly E. Harnish, BS, CHES¹, Patricia B. Butterfield, PhD, RN, FAAN², and Wade G. Hill, PhD, APRN, BC¹. (1) College of Nursing, Montana State University, 206 Sherrick Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, 406-994-5098, kellys@montana.edu, (2) School of Nursing, University of Washington, Box 357263, Seattle, MT 98195-7263

Problem: Low-income and rural communities frequently lack knowledge about the health consequences of exposure to environmental agents, despite the fact that these communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Such communities may also lack community-organizing skills, as well as access to community leaders and policymakers. Further, children are vulnerable when exposed to environmental agents due to their smaller size, increased metabolic rate, lung function, and immune response. Children's activity patterns, such as their tendency to place objects in their mouths, increases exposure when environmental contaminants are present. Description of project: The Environmental Risk Reduction through Nursing Intervention and Education (ERRNIE) study is a five-year project designed to test an environmental risk reduction intervention for children in rural, low income Montana families. The initial qualitative phase of ERRNIE examined knowledge about environmental risks and attitudes among rural Montana residents to gain a richer understanding of families' perception of household environmental health issues. Families were asked interview questions derived from Dixon's integrative framework, which includes physiologic, vulnerability, epistemological, and health protection domains (Dixon & Dixon, 2002). Content analysis was used to identify emerging themes from the data transcripts. Findings: Participants voiced concern about molds, mildews, and environmental tobacco smoke. Many participants expressed feeling uninformed about environmental risks and prevention strategies. Lack of time, the monotony of typical education strategies (i.e. brochures), and lack of Internet search skills were identified as barriers to information about environmental health topics. Participants reported feeling “stuck” in substandard housing by poverty. They also reported being concerned about environmental health, but were unsure about specific sources of environmental exposures. Implications: Creating a dialogue with rural Montana parents has allowed the ERRNIE team to focus on areas concerning to the population. By sharing their knowledge and concerns, the population has been an active participant in the ERRNIE project, which has accommodated for feelings of powerlessness. The information gleaned from the qualitative interviews has been used to frame subsequent phases of the ERRNIE project.

Dixon, J. K. and J. P. Dixon (2002). An integrative model for environmental health research. Advances in Nursing Science 24(3), 43-57.

Funding Source: NIH P20RR017670

Learning Objectives:

• Identify two ways in which creating a dialogue with the target community can frame research planning.
• Evaluate the utility of applying existing framworks to questionnaire development.
• List two ideas for educational materials aimed at teaching rural, low-income families about environmental risk reduction.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Rural Health

Related Web page: www.montana.edu/errnie

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No