Health And Exposure Research For The Agricultural Community: '^i/uigyaeuce The Agricultural Health Study Kent Thomas3, Michael Alavanjab, Dale Sandler0, Cynthia Hinesd, Joy Piercee, and Charles Lynch' al Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 'National Cancer Institute and 'National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, DHHS; ^National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; "Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation; 'University of Iowa Department of Epidemiology ilssi® Study IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATING RESEARCH RESULTS TO THE COMMUNITY IMPACT OF COMMUNICATING AHS RESEARCH RESULTS HOW IS THE AHS COMMUNICATING RESULTS TO THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY? Partnering to Protect tin nun Health and the Environment PRODUCTS • Participant newsletters (Figure 1) — Prepared for AHS cohort participants • Summaries of individual participant results from exposure measurement sub-studies • Lay fact sheets — Prepared by researchers and communications specialists to describe important study news and research results in lay language • Lay research summaries — Research summaries posted on the AHS web site • Brochures and presentations developed for health and safety professionals • Scientific abstracts and manuscripts • AHS web site: http://www.aghealth.org/ DISSEMINATION £> • AHS web site operated and maintained by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and its contractors describes the study and provides summaries of important findings (Figure 2) • Periodic direct mailings to study participants • Direct pre-publication email or mailing of important results to stakeholders • Periodic reporting to the general agricultural communities through established state agricultural print and electronic communication and during training sessions • Release information to state and local and agricultural trade publications and media • Partnership with the North Carolina The goals for communication and dissemination of research results from the Agricultural Health Study include: Informing participants, stakeholders, and pesticide safety educators about important health and exposure research results. • Providing information that can be used to improve training and work practices to reduce exposures. Reducing potential health risks from agricultural exposures and promoting good health practices in the farming community. Scientists have the opportunity and responsibility to communicate important research findings to the communities they study. A goal of the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is to provide research results that can be used to identify factors that promote good health and ways that members of the agricultural community can more effectively protect themselves against possible risks. Examples of questions that AHS researchers are working to answer: • What factors promote good health in the agricultural community? Are farm pesticide applicators and their families at an elevated risk to some diseases due to agricultural exposures? Research scientists from federal agencies and the Iowa and North Carolina AHS Field Stations have developed plans for communicating with study participants and other stakeholders using a variety of products and dissemination methods to reach a wide audience. These researchers will continue to develop products as the study progresses and plan to develop new opportunities to communicate results. Can we identify key factors that influence exposure in order to help guide development of improved exposure AUDIENCE • AHS study participants (includes thousands of farmers in Iowa and North Carolina) • North Carolina, Iowa, and other state agricultural interests — Cooperative extension services — Agricultural research universities • State Departments of Agriculture • Pesticide safety educators • Farm bureaus and other agricultural interest groups and organizations • State and National Advisory Panels • Health and risk assessment scientists • Agricultural chemical industry ------- |