FISH CONSUMPTION RISK COMMUNICATION IN ETHNIC MILWAUKEE

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DESCRIPTION (Taken from the Applicant's Abstract) Multidisciplinary partnerships have been assembled to address the health risks to Hmong and Hispanic populations in Milwaukee of consuming chemically contaminated fish. These consortia include representatives of the ethnic communities; scientists with expertise in aquatic toxicology and risk assessment from the Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center; the Director of Environmental Health at Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, the major healthcare provider to these residents; and experts in urban survey and mass communications with diverse, inner city ethnic groups. Surveys on the fishing and fish consumption habits of the targeted populations will be done at both the outset and end of these projects to evaluate the program. Communication strategies using native languages and emphasizing cultural awareness will be developed. Because pregnant women and children are at high risk, strategies relating specifically to them will be implemented. Within the Hmong community the primary communication instrument will be a video, featuring Hmong residents speaking to their community within a rich, cultural context that values the centrality of fishing. Content will include information about the nutritional value of eating fish (benefits), the problems associated with eating contaminated fish (risks), how to recognize different species of fish, safe fishing areas and how to find them, and how to prepare fish to minimize exposure to contaminants. The specific aims are (1) to create scientifically sound, culturally attuned risk communication strategies centered around the production of videotapes that address the issues related to the consumption of contaminated fish; (2) to use videos as the centerpiece of an outreach campaign to inform inner city residents about the hazards of eating contaminated fish; (3) to evaluate the success of this approach to risk communication; (4) to complement adult communication strategies with educational modules for middle school Life Science, which will inform inner city students on the problems of eating fish, and (5) to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational modules that will provide students with an understanding of the science and the possible consequences of consuming contaminated fish.