Identifying Issues and Priorities in Reporting Back Environmental Health Data

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Experts recommend returning environmental exposure results to research participants and communities.
• Environmental health researchers require improved guidance for effective result reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key issues and actionable areas for reporting back environmental health research findings.
• To develop a collective understanding of challenges in communicating research results to communities.

Main Methods:

• A workshop was conducted with 35 attendees to brainstorm and rate issues related to reporting back research results.
• Concept mapping, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to analyze participant responses.
• Grounded theory and qualitative content analysis provided the theoretical foundation for data interpretation.

Main Results:

• Five distinct issue areas were identified and mapped: Effective Communication Strategies, Community Knowledge and Concerns, Uncertainty, Empowering Action, and Institutional Review and Oversight.
• The highest-rated issue area was Effective Communication Strategies.
• Engaging community partners emerged as a unifying theme crucial for improving reporting back practices.

Conclusions:

• Understanding community context is vital for developing effective communication methods.
• Addressing uncertainty, enabling community action, and navigating institutional concerns are critical components of reporting back.
• Community partner engagement can enhance the beneficence and justice of environmental health research reporting.