Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
risks of eating contaminated fi sh to inner-city Hmong in
a way that would result in their active consideration of the
issues within the context of their fi shing practices.
The program's main outreach product was a video. To
ensure that the video would be culturally relevant, authen-
tic, and appealing, project partners enlisted the input of a
community focus group of 12 Hmong men and women.
The group took on the role of cultural critic and advisor and
was involved in every step of the video-production process.
Shaped by the group's efforts, the video is titled, “Nyob Paug
Hauv Qab Thu” (“Below the Surface”) and is presented in both
Hmong and English. It includes interviews with community
leaders and presents scientifi cally sound information about
fi sh consumption. It also acknowledges the Hmong tradition
of fi shing, while showing which fi sh are safest to eat and dem-
onstrating ways to prepare fi sh to make them safer to eat.
To help people remember the video's message while
catching or cooking fi sh, each video is packaged with
a laminated tackle box card and a kitchen magnet. Both
items contain summary information about how to safely
catch and prepare fi sh. The video cover, magnet, and card
all contain Hmong-oriented designs or artwork.
After producing the materials, the next step was to dis-
tribute them to the target community. Project partners did
this through local stores, doctors' offi ces, and at Hmong fes-
tivals, where the video was showcased. Finally, they assessed
the video's impact on consumption behaviors through
pre-video-viewing and post-video-viewing evaluations.
According to the evaluation, after viewing the video, 71%
of respondents said they would change the type of fi sh they
catch, 76% said they understood which parts of fi sh are safer
to eat, and 84% said they would alter how they prepare their
fi sh (David Petering, personal communication).
the NIEHS CEHSC and the Chippewa-Ottawa Resource
Authority. The fi rst part of the title means, “We are eating
fi sh.” The video features community experts who give sci-
entifi cally sound advice on fi sh consumption and contains
cultural images and music. It is narrated by Ada Deer, who,
as the fi rst Native American woman to lead the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and the director of Native American Studies
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is widely recog-
nized by the target population.
Feedback from focus groups was also used to guide the
development of an informational brochure and poster
(Dellinger, 2007). Both the brochure and the poster incor-
porate culturally relevant illustrations and/or designs, ele-
ments that focus-group participants suggested would make
the materials more appealing to tribal members. The bro-
chure and poster simplify fi sh-consumption advice by out-
lining the three major “S” factors that affect the level of
risk associated with eating fi sh: the source, size, and species
of fi sh. They also provide guidelines for preparing fi sh in a
way that reduces the intake of contaminants.
Following production, the video, brochure, and poster were
distributed to the target community through tribal health
clinics and other community outlets, and evaluated for their
impact on consumption behaviors through pre-video-viewing
and post-video-viewing surveys (Dellinger, 2007). According
to the evaluation, after viewing the video, most respondents
said they would not change the amount of fi sh they eat, but
about half said they would probably or defi nitely eat differ-
ent fi sh species. In addition, 88% of respondents said the
video helped them to “learn which pollutants cause problems
for people who eat fi sh,” and 83% said it helped them “learn
which fi sh parts should not be eaten” (Dellinger et al., 2008).
Conclusion
EXAMPLE 2: THE ANISHNAABE
Fish consumption can both expose consumers to mercury-
related health risks and provide them with nutritional
health benefi ts. The objective of fi sh-consumption guide-
lines is to help consumers make informed, healthy choices
about the fi sh they eat so that they can minimize the risks
and maximize the benefi ts of eating fi sh.
As such, ideal fi sh-consumption advisories should be
developed through a process that recognizes and carefully
weighs both the risks and benefi ts of eating fi sh. The process
should also recognize that specifi c risks and benefi ts vary
among populations, and account for this accordingly. This is
especially important in the case of vulnerable populations—
such as developing fetuses or traditional peoples—for whom
fi sh provide unique benefi ts, and for whom fi sh restrictions
or avoidance have potential to introduce risks.
Fish adv isories should be caref ully and thoughtf ully devel-
oped and communicated. To impact consumption behavior
as intended, fi sh advisory information must be received,
understood, and trusted by the targeted population.
Community-based participatory research, which involves
community members as partners in the research process, is
The Anishnaabe (or Ojibwe or Chippewa) comprise several
Native American tribes that reside in the upper Great Lakes.
The Anishnaabe people have a rich tradition of subsistence
fi shing that dates back hundreds of years. Since European
contact, they also have been highly involved in commercial
fi shing, and many tribal members make a living from fi shing
in the Great Lakes.
In order to assess the Anishnaabe's awareness of safe fi sh-
consumption practices, the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
conducted several focus groups with men and women from
the community (Dellinger, 2007). Focus-group participants
completed surveys about fi sh consumption and fi sh adviso-
ries, and then discussed these topics in a traditional Native
American “talking circle” format. They also participated in
a traditional fi sh dinner. Information gathered from the
focus groups was combined with risk-assessment data and
used to guide the creation of various outreach products.
One of the products that resulted from the project was a
video, titled “Nindamwaa Giigoon: An Anishnaabe Guide
to Eating Fish,” which was produced in collaboration with
