Workshop Report: Catalyzing Knowledge-Driven Discovery in Environmental Health Sciences through a Harmonized Language

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Data Science
• Information Science

Background:

• Harmonized language is critical for managing complex environmental health sciences (EHS) data.
• Barriers hinder the widespread adoption of standardized language approaches in EHS research.
• Lack of interoperability impedes data sharing and reuse.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the Environmental Health Language Collaborative (EHLC) to advance harmonized language in EHS.
• To create a community-driven forum for identifying and addressing language harmonization gaps.
• To promote the development and use of EHS data standards and tools.

Main Methods:

• The Environmental Health Language Collaborative (EHLC) was established by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and partners.
• An inaugural workshop focused on sustainable language solutions and community building.
• Attendee surveys were used to gauge the value of harmonized language and commitment to future efforts.

Main Results:

• 91% of workshop attendees found harmonized language solutions highly valuable.
• 60% of attendees expressed willingness to continue contributing to EHLC.
• Future activities will include use-case working groups, education on ontologies and metadata, and a resource portal.

Conclusions:

• The EHLC is a vital initiative for overcoming barriers to harmonized language in EHS.
• Community engagement and targeted working groups are key to sustainable solutions.
• Developing educational resources and a central portal will further support EHS data harmonization.