The Role of Understanding, Trust, and Access in Public Engagement with Environmental Activities and Decision Making: A Qualitative Study with Water Quality Practitioners.

Autor: Altman K; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health and NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA., Yelton B; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA., Porter DE; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health and NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA., Kelsey RH; University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, USA.; NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA., Friedman DB; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health and NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. dbfriedman@sc.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental management [Environ Manage] 2023 Jun; Vol. 71 (6), pp. 1162-1175. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Mar 03.
DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01803-2
Abstrakt: Advancing environmental health literacy in support of environmental management requires inclusive science communication, especially with environmental justice communities. In order to understand experiences of environmental practitioners in the realm of science communication, the Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions at the University of South Carolina conducted two studies on science communication and research translation with the center's researchers and partners. This qualitative case study follows up with a select group of environmental practitioners on emergent themes from the initial work. It explores the specific topics of understanding, trust, and access and how those can become barriers or facilitators of public engagement with environmental activities and decision making. The authors conducted seven in-depth qualitative interviews with center partners whose work focuses on environmental water quality and impacts on human and environmental health. Key results indicate that the public may have limited understanding of scientific processes, establishing trust takes time, and access should be incorporated into the design of programs and activities to ensure broader reach. Findings from this research are relevant to other partner-engaged work and environmental management initiatives and provide insights on experiences, practices, and actions for equitable and effective stakeholder engagement and collaborative partnerships.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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