Core B - Community Outreach and Translation Core

University Of California Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

ABSTRACT Core B ? Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) The goals of the Community Outreach and Translation Core (COTC) are to transmit research findings that identify risk factors for childhood leukemia (CL) in order to improve environmental health literacy among health care professionals, concerned families, and patient advocacy groups as well as to provide a scientific basis for developing prevention programs for CL. We will communicate findings to health professionals as well as policy and public health authorities. An emphasis will be on developing strategies to reduce environmental exposures that increase the risk of CL and promote children?s environmental health. A special emphasis will be placed on reaching the Latino community. An important focus within these goals is creating awareness of the role of pre- conception and pre-natal exposures in initiating CL and other diseases. We will partner with Commonweal, a non-profit organization, and with the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). We will collaborate with Commonweal to seek additional funding to hold one or more retreats that explore the rationale and options for CL prevention activities. These retreats would include key leaders from the medical, research, public health, childhood cancer advocacy, policy, and other related groups to begin to ?change the conversation?. We will achieve the following specific aims: Aim 1: Develop curricula for health care professionals communicating key findings about childhood leukemia and the environment. This will be presented at regional and national medical conferences, via webinars, and through the ?Story of Health? E-book. A special focus will be adapting these materials specifically for nursing, public health nursing, and nurse practitioner/midwife audiences. Aim 2: Establish a Community Advisory Board that will be representative of the various communities with whom we are partnering. Aim 3: Develop novel training materials in collaboration with Commonweal, CIRCLE investigators, and the Administrative Core that will be used to conduct train-the-trainer sessions with the aim of introducing children?s environmental health into existing pre-marital and pre-family programs for such audiences as religious organizations, community and public health nursing, colleges, and others. Aim 4: Develop specific outreach approaches and materials for the Latino community in collaboration with Commonweal and identify and obtain both traditional and non-traditional media coverage of current childhood leukemia findings. Aim 5: Collaborate with California EPA, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the UCSF PEHSU to conduct symposia that will update state, federal, and other scientists and the public on current research findings of the Children?s Environmental Health Research Centers. Participate in the CDC Workgroup on Cancer Prevention Across the Lifespan.