Lead exposure has been linked to neurological, reproductive, and developmental effects, and approximately 3.5% of Chicago children under the age of 3 years have elevated blood lead levels. The aim of this research was to provide outreach opportunities to address the issue of lead exposure in water and soil. A series of seven community-based health fairs were held with a combined approach of screening and education accomplished through partnerships with organizations established within underserved communities that leveraged resources. Community members attending the fairs brought in samples of soil from their yards and tap water for lead testing. Lead concentrations in the soil samples had a mean value of 305.7 parts per million, and 30% of the samples were above the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level for children’s play lots. The mean lead concentration in tap water was 8.3 parts per billion, with 6% of sample testing above the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level. There was no significant correlation between the lead levels in water and soil (p = .21), and there was no significant difference between the average lead concentrations in different areas of the city. A multifaceted approach was utilized to educate and engage and ultimately empower the communities affected by exposure to lead in urban settings.
AdamsA. K.ScottJ. R.PrinceR.WilliamsonA. (2014). Using community advisory boards to reduce environmental barriers to health in American Indian Communities, Wisconsin, 2007–2012. Preventing Chronic Disease, 11, E160. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140014
2.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (2007). Toxicological profile for lead.
AmatoM. S.MooreC. F.MagzamenS.ImmP.HavlenaJ. A.AndersonH. A.KanarekM. S. (2012). Lead exposure and educational proficiency: Moderate lead exposure and educational proficiency on end-of-grade examinations. Annals of Epidemiology, 22(10), 738–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.07.004
BraunJ. M.FroehlichT. E.DanielsJ. L.DietrichK. N.HornungR.AuingerP.LanphearB. P. (2008). Association of environmental toxicants and conduct disorder in U.S. children: NHANES 2001–2004. Environmental Health Perspectives, 116(7), 956–962. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.11177
7.
CampbellC.TranM.GracelyE.StarkeyN.KerstenH.PalermoP.RothmanN.LineL.Hansen-TurtonT. (2011). Primary prevention of lead exposure: The Philadelphia lead safe homes study. Public Health Reports, 126(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549111260S111
8.
CarrollJ. K.YanceyA. K.SpringB.Figueroa-MoseleyC.MohrD. C.MustainK. M.SprodL. K.PurnellJ. Q.FiscellaK. (2011). Successful recruitment and retention strategies for underserved populations? Examining physical activity interventions in primary carea nd community settings. Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research, 1(2), 234–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-011-0034-2
9.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). CDC response to Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention recommendations in “Low level lead exposure harms children: A renewed call of primary prevention.”www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/acclpp/cdc_response_lead_exposure_recs.pdf
10.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey data. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html
11.
ChengL.ZhangB.HuoW.CaoZ.LiuW.LiaoJ.XiaW.XuS.LiY. (2017). Fetal exposure to lead during pregnancy and the risk of preterm and early-term deliveries. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 220(6), 984–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.05.006
12.
Chicago Department of Public Health. (2011). Selected public health indicators by Chicago community area. Chicago Health Atlas, Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics.
CutherbertsonC. A.NewkirkC.IlardoJ.LoveridgeS.SkidmoreM. (2016). Angry, scared, and unsure: Mental health consequences of contaminated water in Flint, Michigan. Journal of Urban Health, 93(6), 899–908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0089-y
16.
EdmondsonM. E.WilliamsonG. C. (1998). Enviornmental health education for health professional and communities: Using a train the trainer approach. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 46(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/216507999804600105
17.
EkengaC. CMcElwainC.SpragueN. (2018). Examining public perceptions about lead in school drinking water: A mixed-methods analysis of Twitter response to an environmental health hazard. International Journal of Enviornmental Research and Public Health, 15(1), 162. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010162
GlanzK.RimerB. K.ViswanathK. (2015). Health behavior: Theory, research and practice (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
23.
GomezH. F.BorgialliD. A.SharmanM.ShahK. K.ScolpinoA. J.OleskeJ. M.BogdenJ. D. (2018). Blood lead levels of children in Flint, Michigan: 2006-2016. Journal of Pediatrics, 197, 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.12.063
24.
GrayK. M. (2018). From content knoledge to community change: A review of representations of environmental health literacy. International Jouranl of Enviornmental Research and Public Health, 15(3), 466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030466
25.
Hanna-AttishaM.LaChanceJ.SadlerR. C.Champney-SchneppA. (2016). Elevated blood lead levels in children associated with the Flint drinking water crisis: A spatial analysis of risk and public health response. American Journal of Public Health, 106(2), 283–290.
IslerM.R.MilesM.S.BanksB.PerrerasL.MuhammadM.ParkerD.Corbie-SmithG. (2015). Across the miles: Process and impacts of collaboration with a rural community advisory board in HIV research. Progress in Community Health Partnerships, 9(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2015.0014
28.
KjellstromT.FrielS.DixonJ.CorvalanC.RehfuessE.Campbell-LendrumD.GoreF.BartramJ. (2007). Urban environmental health hazards and health equity. Journal of Urban Health, 84(Suppl. 1), 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9171-9
29.
KolbA. Y.KolbD. A. (2017). Learning studyles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2005.17268566
30.
KriegerJ.HigginsD. L. (2002). Housing and health: Time again for public health action. American Journal of Public Health, 92(5), 758–768. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.92.5.758
31.
LanphearB. P.MatteT. D.RogersJ.ClicknerR. P.DietzB.BornscheinR. L.SuccopP.MahaffeyK. R.DixonS.GalkeW.RabinowitzM.FarfelM.RohdeC.SchwartzJ.AshleyP.JacobsD. (1998). The contribution of lead-contaiminated house dust and residential soil to children’s blood lead levels: A pooled analysis of 12 epidemiologic studies. Environmental Reseach, 79(1), 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1006/enrs.1998.3859
32.
LanphearB. P.RoghmannK. J. (1996). Pathways of lead exposure in urban children. Environmental Research, 74(1), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1006/enrs.1997.3726
33.
MacDavittB.BogartL. M.MutchlerM. G.WagnerG. J.GreenH. D.LawrenceS. J.MutepfaK. D.NoggK. A. (2016). Dissemination as dialogue: Buildling trust and sharing research findings through community engagement. Preventing Chronic Disease, 13. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.150473
34.
McClureL. F.NilesJ. K.KaufmanH. W. (2016). Blood lead levels in young children: US, 2009-2015. Journal of Pediatrics, 175, 173–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.005
Mobley-SmithM. A.KoronkowskiM. J.PetersenN. M. (2004). Enhancing student learning through integrating community-based geriatric educational outreach into ambulatory care advanced practice experiential training. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 68(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj680120
37.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Communities in Action: Pathways to health equity. National Academies Press.
OyanaT. J.MargaiF. M. (2010). Spatial patterns and health disparities in pediatric lead exposure in Chicago: Characteristics and profiles of high-risk neighborhoods. The Professional Geographer, 62(1), 46–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330120903375894
40.
PfadenhauerL. M.BurnsJ.RohwerA.RehfuessE. A. (2016). Effectiveness of interventiosn to reduce exposure to lead through consumer products and drinking water: A systematic review. Enviornmental Research, 147(May), 525–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.03.004
41.
PintoR. (2009). Community persepctives on factors that influence collaboration in public health research. Health Education & Behavior, 36(5), 930–947. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198108328328
42.
PrashantV.PrashantA.DevanandD.NarendraN.VivianD.VenkateshT. (2008). Screening of school children for blood lead levels and attempetts to reduce them by nonpharmacological means in a coastal city of India. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences, 62(5), 185–192. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5359.40983
43.
RaymondJ. W.BrownM. J. (2011). Inadequate and unhealthy housing, 2007 and 2009. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report Surveillance Summary, 60(1), 21–27.
44.
SchulzA.NorthridgeM. E. (2004). Social determinants of health: Implications for environmental health promotion. Health Education & Behavior, 31(4), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198104265598
45.
ShahK. K.OleskeJ. M.GomezH. F.DavidowA. L.BogdenJ. D. (2017). Blood lead concentrations of children in the United States: A comparison of states using two very large databases. Journal of Pediatrics, 185(2), 218–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.01.059
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2018). Healthy people 2020. www.healthypeople.gov
49.
WallersteinN.DuranB. (2010). Community-based participatory research contributions to intervention research: the intersection of science and practice to improve health equity. American Journal of Public Health, 100(Suppl. 1), S40–S46. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.184036
50.
WhiteB. M. (2016). Racial/ethnic differences in childhood blood lead levels among children <72 months of age in the United States: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 3(1), 145–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0124-9
51.
WinterA. S.SampsonR. J. (2017). From lead exposure in early childhood to adolescent health: A Chicago birth cohort. American Journal of Public Health, 107(9), 1496–1501. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303903
XieX.DingG.CuiC.ChenL.GaoY.ZhouY.ShiR.TianY. (2013). The effects of low-level prenatal lead exposure on birth outcomes. Environmental Pollution, 175(April), 30–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.12.013
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
