Factors Enabling the Utility of Environmental Health Surveillance Information for Environmental Justice Advocacy

Abstract

P-583 Introduction: A major public health issue is the limited utility of environmental health data for communities disproportionately burdened with pollution and disease. In an environmental health surveillance demonstration project examining asthma, birth outcomes, and traffic pollution in a single county, we sought to assess the utility of project results, communication materials, and dissemination strategy for advocacy and public health action in environmental justice (EJ) communities. Methods: We assembled an advisory group (AG) of over 20 stakeholders, including representatives from community-based organizations (CBOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and county agencies, to provide input and feedback on project activities and results in a series of meetings over a three-year period. Through partnerships with a local CBO and NGO, we employed Community Participation methodologies to facilitate a group process to provide participants with the information and skills necessary for comprehending the project results and a setting conducive to generating honest and thoughtful feedback. Meeting activities included building group capacity around basic epidemiology and environmental health principles, presenting background information and results in a comprehensible and thorough manner, and facilitating open and productive discussions about participants’ information needs and the project results. Results: Factors enabling the utility of surveillance information for EJ advocacy included density estimation maps illustrating neighborhood-level rates, health disparities placed in the context of healthcare quality and accessibility, and surveillance data in the broader environmental, economic, and social context. The AG indicated that these forms of information would be useful for identifying impacted communities, targeting outreach and education activities, supporting community organizing, developing and evaluating policies, and confirming community anecdotal evidence. Web-based dissemination, presentation of information in formats accessible and comprehensible to a range of audiences, and community capacity-building to understand and access environmental health data are additional factors that contribute to utility of information. Less relevant was information demonstrating the effects of pollution on health outcomes, which was considered conditionally useful depending on whether the relationship was already generally understood. Discussion and Conclusions: Neighborhood-level data, healthcare context, broad environmental and socioeconomic context, accessibility and comprehensibility of information, and capacity-building to understand and access data are elements that contribute to the utility of surveillance information for EJ advocacy. The AG process was critical for understanding the utility of project results, guiding communication and dissemination activities, and planning for future surveillance activities. The results of our AG process highlight the importance of community input in developing an environmental health surveillance system.