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Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework

This study addresses healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits in environmental health and genetics, and primarily focuses on student nurses and nurses serving marginalized, low-income communities frequently exposed to environmental toxicants. Our approach to improve public health is unique, combinin...

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Autores principales: Vandiver, Kathleen Mead, Erdei, Esther, Mayer, Amanda G., Ricciardi, Catherine, O’Leary, Marcia, Burke, Kathleen, Zelikoff, Judith T.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8776035/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35055751
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020929
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author Vandiver, Kathleen Mead
Erdei, Esther
Mayer, Amanda G.
Ricciardi, Catherine
O’Leary, Marcia
Burke, Kathleen
Zelikoff, Judith T.
author_facet Vandiver, Kathleen Mead
Erdei, Esther
Mayer, Amanda G.
Ricciardi, Catherine
O’Leary, Marcia
Burke, Kathleen
Zelikoff, Judith T.
author_sort Vandiver, Kathleen Mead
collection PubMed
description This study addresses healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits in environmental health and genetics, and primarily focuses on student nurses and nurses serving marginalized, low-income communities frequently exposed to environmental toxicants. Our approach to improve public health is unique, combining hands-on modeling exercises with case-based lessons in addition to three targeted 40 min lectures on toxicology. These lectures included the team’s community-based environmental health research among Indigenous peoples of the U.S. The hands-on approach employed DNA and protein molecular models designed to demonstrate normal and dysfunctional molecules, as well as genetic variants in world populations. The models provided learners with visuals and an experience of “learning by doing.” Increased awareness of the effects of environmental toxicants is the first step toward improving health care for exposed communities. We measured knowledge gains by pre- and post-tests among student nurses and nurses serving Native Americans living both in urban and rural areas of the U.S. (n = 116). The modeling lessons illustrated genetic variants in liver proteins common in Native peoples and their resulting health vulnerabilities. Participants were engaged and enthusiastic; and pre- and post-test results reported substantial knowledge gains and a greater understanding of genetic susceptibility (p < 0.0001). Our study demonstrates the utility of this framework across diverse populations and remote communities.
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spelling pubmed-87760352022-01-21 Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework Vandiver, Kathleen Mead Erdei, Esther Mayer, Amanda G. Ricciardi, Catherine O’Leary, Marcia Burke, Kathleen Zelikoff, Judith T. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article This study addresses healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits in environmental health and genetics, and primarily focuses on student nurses and nurses serving marginalized, low-income communities frequently exposed to environmental toxicants. Our approach to improve public health is unique, combining hands-on modeling exercises with case-based lessons in addition to three targeted 40 min lectures on toxicology. These lectures included the team’s community-based environmental health research among Indigenous peoples of the U.S. The hands-on approach employed DNA and protein molecular models designed to demonstrate normal and dysfunctional molecules, as well as genetic variants in world populations. The models provided learners with visuals and an experience of “learning by doing.” Increased awareness of the effects of environmental toxicants is the first step toward improving health care for exposed communities. We measured knowledge gains by pre- and post-tests among student nurses and nurses serving Native Americans living both in urban and rural areas of the U.S. (n = 116). The modeling lessons illustrated genetic variants in liver proteins common in Native peoples and their resulting health vulnerabilities. Participants were engaged and enthusiastic; and pre- and post-test results reported substantial knowledge gains and a greater understanding of genetic susceptibility (p < 0.0001). Our study demonstrates the utility of this framework across diverse populations and remote communities. MDPI 2022-01-14 /pmc/articles/PMC8776035/ /pubmed/35055751 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020929 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Vandiver, Kathleen Mead
Erdei, Esther
Mayer, Amanda G.
Ricciardi, Catherine
O’Leary, Marcia
Burke, Kathleen
Zelikoff, Judith T.
Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title_full Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title_fullStr Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title_full_unstemmed Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title_short Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
title_sort building environmental health and genomics literacy among healthcare providers serving vulnerable communities: an innovative educational framework
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8776035/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35055751
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020929
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