Abstract
Reporting data back to study participants is increasingly being integrated into exposure and biomonitoring studies. Informal science learning opportunities are valuable in environmental health literacy efforts and report back efforts are filling an important gap in these efforts. Using the University of Arizona’s Metals Exposure Study in Homes, this commentary reflects on how community-engaged exposure assessment studies, partnered with data report back efforts are providing a new informal education setting and stimulating free-choice learning. Participants are capitalizing on participating in research and leveraging their research experience to meet personal and community environmental health literacy goals. Observations from report back activities conducted in a mining community support the idea that reporting back biomonitoring data reinforces free-choice learning and this activity can lead to improvements in environmental health literacy. By linking the field of informal science education to the environmental health literacy concepts, this commentary demonstrates how reporting data back to participants is tapping into what an individual is intrinsically motivated to learn and how these efforts are successfully responding to community-identified education and research needs.
Highlights
Biomonitoring efforts are widely used in environmental exposures assessments beyond occupational and clinical settings to help identify and assess chemicals observed in the environment and in humans and to inform public-health decisions and regulations [1]
Using the University of Arizona’s Metals Exposure Study in Homes (MESH) extensive report back effort as an example, this commentary highlights how reporting back environmental exposure data is carving out a new informal education setting and is stimulating free-choice learning learning that is occurring within these settings and that is driven by the needs and interests of the learner rather than an external authority [3]
By taking an in-depth look at exposure study participants’ understanding of results and their resulting actions, this commentary contributes to exposure science and expands the concept of environmental health literacy (EHL) and science education by viewing report back as a free-choice learning experience
Summary
Biomonitoring efforts are widely used in environmental exposures assessments beyond occupational and clinical settings to help identify and assess chemicals observed in the environment and in humans and to inform public-health decisions and regulations [1]. Using the University of Arizona’s Metals Exposure Study in Homes (MESH) extensive report back effort as an example, this commentary highlights how reporting back environmental exposure data is carving out a new informal education setting (learning outside of school classrooms) and is stimulating free-choice learning learning that is occurring within these settings and that is driven by the needs and interests of the learner rather than an external authority [3].
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