Dhitinut Ratnapradipa

Examining the Breadth and Depth of Environmental Health Through A Modified Delphi Technique

Abstract Background: Environmental health, a crucial part of our everyday lives, is a multidisciplinary field with many discrepancies as to what encompasses the core areas. Purpose: This study intended to establish core areas and corresponding topics of environmental health as a preliminary step to identifying knowledge, attitude and behavior questions for use in needs assessment and program planning. Methods: Fourteen to sixteen experts in various fields of environmental health participated in a modified three-round Delphi Technique. Results: Experts established 11 core areas and 25 corresponding topic areas, and identified 443 potential questions for environmental health survey development. Discussion: The core areas, topic areas and corresponding survey questions were produced to be applicable for people in all areas of United States. This is important for continuity within the field to have a universal tool to measure awareness across the country. Translation to Health Education Practice: Standardizing the core areas and specific topics of environmental health may assist practitioners in conducting thorough needs assessments and guide program planning and research.

Environmental Health Risk Communication: Assessing Levels of Fish-Consumption Literacy Among Selected Southeast Asians

Limited resources have led to a lack of comprehensive state outreach strategies that are geared for non-English speaking constituencies. The investigators worked with Southeast Asian communities in Rhode Island to determine perceptions and levels of trust with various health authorities providing health messaging about fish-consumption practices. The authors conducted a face-to-face interview tool to determine content, communication channels, and credible surveyors to relay information about environmental pollutants. Only a third reporting having ever seen fish advisories. More trust was placed in doctors and government agencies than in other sources of health information. Less than half of participants reported ever hearing of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl contamination in fish. The information collected here assisted in the modification of state outreach strategies for the local Southeast Asian community.

Bed Bug Epidemic: A Challenge to Public Health.

Abstract In recent years, reported cases of bed bug infestations in the U.S. and throughout the world have escalated dramatically, posing a global public health problem. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit disease to humans, they pose both direct and indirect public health challenges in terms of health effects, treatment, cost, and resource allocation and coordination. Education is an important component of prevention and treatment of infestations and health educators can play a key role in educating the public about this re-emerging problem and in organizing community-based responses. Therefore, the two goals of this paper were to: (1) provide an overview of the public health threat from bed bug infestations, and (2) provide prevention and treatment guidance for health educators to utilize in educating the public about this challenge.

Resiliency in burn recovery: a qualitative analysis

ABSTRACT This phenomenological study engaged an availability sample of eight, long-term, adult burn survivors living a primarily rural burn center catchment area of the U.S. in face-to-face interviews focused on their holistic health since their burn injuries occurred. Criteria for the primary study involved females (n = 1) and males (n = 7) with an age range of 18 to 65 years and a minimum of 20% total body surface area (TBSA) injuries that required hospitalization in a specialized burn center. The mean age of participants at the time of interviews was 54.38 years. Burns ranged between 20% and 98% TBSA and one to 22 years since burn injuries occurred. Thematic data analysis revealed resilient protective factors as contributing to participants’ post-burn health and recoveries. Resilient factors included resourcefulness, achievement motivation, optimism, spirituality, and empathy. Increased understanding of resilient protective factors and how they impacted long-term burn recovery in this sample may aid social workers in development and implementation community-based interventions in rural communities that promote resilience, health/mental health and long-term recovery for this population and others who have experienced trauma.