Misled about lead: an assessment of online public health education material from Australia’s lead mining and smelting towns

نویسندگان

  • Marianne Sullivan
  • Donna Green
چکیده

BACKGROUND This study assesses the accuracy and comprehensiveness of online public health education materials from the three Australian cities with active lead mines and or smelters: Broken Hill, Mount Isa and Port Pirie. METHODS Qualitative content analysis of online Australian material with comparison to international best practice where possible. RESULTS All materials provided incomplete information about the health effects of lead and pathways of exposure compared to best practice materials. Inconsistent strategies to reduce exposure to lead were identified among the Australian cities, and some evidence-based best practices were not included. The materials normalised environmental lead and neglected to identify that there is no safe level of lead, or that primary prevention is the best strategy for protecting children's health. CONCLUSIONS Health education materials need to clearly state health risks from lead across developmental stages and for sensitive populations, integrate a primary prevention perspective, and provide comprehensive evidence-based recommendations for reducing lead exposure in and around the home. Families who rely on information provided by these online public education materials are likely to be inadequately informed about the importance of protecting their children from exposure to lead and strategies for doing so.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Risk factors for children’s blood lead levels in metal mining and smelting communities in Armenia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Children's exposure to lead poses a significant risk for neurobehavioral consequences. Existing studies documented lead contamination in residential soil in mining and smelting communities in Armenia. This study aimed to assess blood lead levels (BLL) in children living in three communities in Armenia adjacent to metal mining and smelting industries, and related risk factors. METHO...

متن کامل

Severe Environmental Contamination and Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children — Zambia, 2014

Lead poisoning can have devastating health consequences, especially for children, with childhood lead exposure estimated to contribute to 600,000 new cases globally of children with intellectual disabilities every year. Lead exposure is entirely preventable, yet is estimated to account for 0.6% of the global burden of disease, with the highest burden in developing regions. Kabwe, the second lar...

متن کامل

Lead exposure from soil in Peruvian mining towns: a national assessment supported by two contrasting examples.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the population of Peru living in the vicinity of active or former mining operations that could be exposed to lead from contaminated soil. METHODS Geographic coordinates were compiled for 113 active mines, 138 ore processing plants and 3 smelters, as well as 7743 former mining sites. The population living within 5 km of these sites was calculated from census data for 2000...

متن کامل

Assessment of students’ perspectives about master of public health program in medical school of Shiraz University

Introduction: Integration of public health and medicaleducation has been thought to have an important role in medicalstudents’ training. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences hasdeveloped an MD/MPH dual degree educational program forthe talented volunteer students. The aim of this study was toassess the students’ viewpoints about various aspects of ShirazMD/MPH program.Methods: This cross-secti...

متن کامل

Disaster-related environmental health hazards: former lead smelting plants in the United States.

OBJECTIVE Natural disasters exacerbate risks of hazardous environmental exposures and adverse health consequences. The present study determined the proportion of previously identified lead industrial sites in urban locations that are at high risk for dispersal of toxic chemicals by natural disasters. METHODS Geographic analysis from publicly available data identified former lead smelting plan...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 15  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2016