Dataset Information

Environmental, public health, and economic development perspectives at a Superfund site: A Q methodology approach.

ABSTRACT: Environmental remediation and restoration at hazardous waste sites is important for reducing risks and sustaining local economies. Navigating trade-offs between diverse and conflicting stakeholder perspectives to identify practical and affordable ways forward is important for sustaining objectives and goals. Differences in stakeholder perspectives are informed by their affiliations and roles and their views towards environmental, economic development, and public health issues. We used Q methodology, an approach that combines priority sorting and interviews, to elicit and interpret the perspectives of 28 stakeholders, representing government entities, non-profits, and industries at a mining-impacted Superfund site in the Coeur d'Alene Basin of Idaho, USA. Four primary perspectives were distinguished by their prioritization of: 1) government intervention, 2) the Superfund remediation, 3) local concerns, and 4) public-private partnerships. Participants' roles and affiliations played an influential role in informing primary perspectives. Overall, collaboration was viewed more favorably when it was associated with concrete implementation pathways.

SUBMITTER: Cooper CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7855937 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Environmental, public health, and economic development perspectives at a Superfund site: A Q methodology approach.

Cooper Courtney M CM Wardropper Chloe B CB

Journal of environmental management 20201107

Environmental remediation and restoration at hazardous waste sites is important for reducing risks and sustaining local economies. Navigating trade-offs between diverse and conflicting stakeholder perspectives to identify practical and affordable ways forward is important for sustaining objectives and goals. Differences in stakeholder perspectives are informed by their affiliations and roles and their views towards environmental, economic development, and public health issues. We used Q methodol ...[more]

PMID: 33172707

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Project description:Global health discipline is of increasing interest for educators and students in public health across the world. Public health education is recently gaining momentum in India, but global health is still at an embryonic stage. Value of students as stakeholders in curriculum development is increasingly recognized but literature about perspectives of public health students regarding global health education is limited. This study aimed to explore Indian public health students' perspectives about global health education and to provide platform for the development of global health education framework for future public health professionals. This study involved a series of focus groups with students and sought to understand perceptions about global health and global health education framework. We recruited public health students at three institutes across India for focus group discussions. Focus groups questions covered current understanding of global health, opinions regarding global health education for public health curriculum and the relevance of global health competency domains for future employment. Recordings were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts were read along with field notes and then analyzed thematically. A total of 36 students participated in four focus groups. There was a general recognition that global health is transnational and that a global outlook is now essential. But there were concerns regarding local and global priorities in public health. Global health was regarded as being wider than public health by some, but others viewed public health being the umbrella term with global health as a specialization. Global health competencies were viewed as a "step up" from the public health competencies but core public health competencies were considered essential. International experiences and use of technology were key themes for delivery of global health education. Employability and career progression for global health graduates were of concern for many participants. This study provides insight into the student perspectives regarding global health education for public health programs in India. Clear direction in terms of curriculum and its utility for career growth and employability as a global health professional needs to be established for global health education in India and other similar settings.

Project description:The southern branch of the Elizabeth River near Portsmouth, Virginia, USA, is one of the most creosote-polluted subestuaries in North America and the former location of the Atlantic Wood US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site. We previously demonstrated that adult Atlantic Wood killifish collected in situ had severe hepatic lesions, including hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as suppressed circulating antibody responses compared to a historical reference site. Moreover, several innate immune functions were higher in Atlantic Wood fish, including elevated expression of hepatic cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), suggesting a proinflammatory environment. To further examine the potential of Atlantic Wood contaminants to modulate innate immune function(s), the present study used RAW264.7 mouse macrophages as an in vitro model to develop new approach methodologies for rapid screening. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide secretion by macrophages is a rapid, sensitive, and predictive in vitro system for screening potentially immunotoxic contaminants as single compounds or as complex mixtures. Compared to the reference site, filter-sterilized Atlantic Wood sediment extracts (water accommodated fractions) induced nitric oxide and IL-6 secretion as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase and COX-2 proteins at levels comparable to or higher than those induced by LPS treatments alone. Extracts also increased phagocytic activity by macrophages. Using a limulus lysate assay, we show that bacterial endotoxin levels in Atlantic Wood extracts are higher than in reference extracts and that polymyxin-B chelation ameliorates proinflammatory effects. These findings illuminate the reality of sediment constituents other than toxic compounds previously associated with developmental abnormalities and carcinogenesis in killifish from the Atlantic Wood site. Perhaps these data also suggest the presence of contaminant-adapted consortia of sediment microbes at many heavily polluted sites worldwide compared to less contaminated sites. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1576-1585. © 2021 SETAC.

Dataset Information

Environmental, public health, and economic development perspectives at a Superfund site: A Q methodology approach.

Publications

Environmental, public health, and economic development perspectives at a Superfund site: A Q methodology approach.

Similar Datasets

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