For example , the CEC partners annually with a local museum to connect environmental health graduate students with grade school youth to educate them on the health implications of environmental exposures . Both the graduate students and grade schoolers benefit from these events : the graduate students gain real-world experience in youth engagement and communication , while the youth are empowered to make decisions that reflect positive environmental health outcomes .
UK , through its Bridging Research Efforts and Advocacy Toward Healthy Environments ( BREATHE )
( https :// www . uky . edu / breathe /) program , brought expertise in addressing radon exposure as a public health issue . Researchers , led by Hahn , tested the e ectiveness of a personalized environmental report back intervention to reduce co-exposures to radon and tobacco smoke in the home . Recently , BREATHE researchers partnered with the Kentucky Geological Survey to create a novel comic book , “ Invisible Enemy : The Rise of Radon ,” which focuses on NIEHS-funded radon research .
The strong relationship between the two universities allowed researchers to access more resources than they had at either institution alone , and this crossinstitutional approach helped the feasibility project ’ s success .
Because radon is colorless , odorless , and tasteless , it is an invisible enemy , so raising awareness can be tricky . Citizen science is a promising approach to increase a community ’ s understanding of radon and to prompt action . Hahn attributes part of the project ’ s success to the teachers ’ leadership and enthusiasm , the students ’ eager participation in the classroom sessions , and the students ’ active and meaningful engagement and interest in the research .
Two Benefits for the Price of One : Increasing Radon Testing and Student Environmental Health Literacy
While radon exposure accounts for 10-15 % of lung cancer cases , U . S . radon testing rates are low . Citizen science approaches have been shown to increase testing rates , and Hahn is hopeful that the feasibility project is just the beginning of a sustained and eective e ort to increase radon testing .
“ Bringing citizen science to high school science classrooms was a feasible approach to increase testing rates in communities where residents had expressed concern about environmental exposures and lung cancer ,” said Hahn . “ But we need more research on the impact of integrating citizen science projects into the school curricula on environmental health literacy and on testing and remediation behaviors .” Are you enjoying the PEPH newsletter ? Are there topics you ' d like to see discussed more often ? Please take a few minutes to provide feedback � ( https :// www . research . net / r / peph _ newsletter s )