Core--Preventing fetal neurotoxicity by reducing local fish consumption

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DESCRIPTION (Taken from application) The proposed Community-based Prevention and Intervention (CBPI) project -- Preventing Fetal Neurotoxicity by Reducing Local Fish Consumption: An Educational Intervention among Women Receiving WIC Services in New York City) -- will translate the scientific findings from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine?s Superfund Basic Research Program into a direct preventive action designed to reduce human exposure to toxic chemicals found in New York City waterways. The goal of this project is to prevent fetal neurotoxicity caused by PCBs and other persistent pollutants by reducing consumption of locally caught fish among women of childbearing age in two low-income communities (East Harlem and the South Bronx) where subsistence fishing is common. Previous SBRP research confirms that fish and shellfish taken from waters near these communities contain unsafe levels of PCBs and other toxins, posing special risks for women of childbearing age even at relatively low doses. Surveys of local anglers show that many are unaware of the hazards to health that result from consumption of local fish; even when informed, many still eat their catch; the catch is shared with friends and families, including women of childbearing age; and some of the catch is illegally sold. The anglers hold inaccurate but deeply felt beliefs about the safety of local fish, and they tend to distrust government advisories. Women of childbearing age in the study communities may be more open than men to information about fetal health, and are also the population at highest risk. Accordingly, the proposed project will work with eight local WIC (Special Supplemental Nutritional Support for Women, Infants and Children) centers to develop and test a theory-based, culturally appropriate, participatory behavioral approach for promoting safer choices and practices related to consumption of local fish and shellfish. The project is being developed in close collaboration with the New York State Department of Health, state WIC administrators and the WIC center directors. Community organizations are linked to the project through the Outreach Core. Consultants associated with the project add multidisciplinary expertise in social and behavioral science, community-based program development and evaluation, and research and intervention in low-income minority communities.