ENHANCING ETHIOPAN YOUTHS LITERACY ABOUT THE GENE X ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO

描述（由申请人提供）：对基因环境对健康状况的影响了解不足，可能导致公众误解仅基因决定健康结果。这些误解可能会降低公众对改变行为以减少危险健康行为和参与基因组学研究的好处的热情，因为担心研究结果可能会招致社会耻辱。足癣病是一个很好的具体例子，可以用来确定提高对遗传和环境因素如何影响健康状况的认识的最佳做法。足锥病是象皮病的一种形式，常见于埃塞俄比亚高地。这种情况是由于基因易感的个体通过赤脚走路和耕种接触到火山土壤中的刺激性颗粒而引起的。如果易感人群从小就开始穿鞋并坚持这样做，这种情况是可以预防的。拟议项目的目标是探索提高对足癣病基因环境因素的认识的方法和环境，将其作为其他可预防的健康状况的模型。将利用定性活动（如观察和访谈）和定量活动（如调查）的结果制定互动式学习战略，培养青年的概念理解、信心和技能，以便向同龄人、家庭成员和其他社会群体传达关于基因-环境因素如何影响健康的信息。第一步，将比较专家和外行人对遗传和环境如何导致健康状况的理解，以确定可以改进的误解领域。第二步，将对200名青年进行调查，以确定最常见的误解，并将其列为扫盲活动的重要目标。第三步，将开展扫盲活动，并以青年为样本（N=30）进行试点，以评估这些活动对青年的影响：了解导致足癣病的基因环境因素，对这种疾病的可预防性、社会距离和其他污名化行为的态度，以及向他人传达基因环境概念的信心。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Poor understanding of gene-environment contributors to health conditions can lead the public to misinterpret that genetics alone determines health outcomes. These misunderstandings could diminish public enthusiasm about the benefits of changing behaviors to reduce risky health behaviors and for participating in genomics research due to concerns that findings might invite social stigma. A condition called podoconiosis is an excellent and concrete example to use to identify best practices for improving literacy about how genetic and environmental factors contribute to health conditions. Podoconiosis is a form of elephantiasis that is common in highland Ethiopia. The condition is caused when genetically susceptible individuals are exposed to irritant particles in volcanic soil via walking and farming barefoot. The condition can be prevented if susceptible individuals wear shoes beginning at an early age and do so consistently. The goal of the proposed project is to explore approaches and settings for improving literacy regarding gene-environment contributors to podoconiosis as a model for other preventable health conditions. Results of qualitative (e.g., observations and interviews) and quantitative activities (e.g., surveys) will be used to develop interactive learnin strategies to build youths' conceptual understanding, confidence and skills to convey information to peers, family members and other social groups about how gene-environment factors influence health. In a first step, expert- and lay-understandings of how genetics and the environment lead to health conditions will be compared to identify areas of misunderstanding that could be improved. In a second step, a survey will be conducted with 200 youth to identify the most common misunderstandings and rank them in importance as targets for the literacy-building activities. In a third step, literacy-building activities will be developed and piloted wih a sample of youth (N=30) to assess their effects on youth's: understanding of gene-environment contributors to podoconiosis, attitudes about the preventability of the condition, social distancin and other stigmatizing behaviors, and confidence to convey gene-environment concepts to others.