Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services Inc

DESCRIPTION:THIS PROJECT AIMS TO EDUCATE THE REFUGEE COMMUNITY LOCATED IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK ON THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES SURROUNDING LOCAL FISH CONSUMPTION. REFUGEE SUBSISTENCE ANGLERS IN THE ROCHESTER EMBAYMENT AREA OF CONCERN ARE DIFFICULT TO REACH WITH TRADITIONAL FISH HEALTH ADVISORY EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL. THIS MEANS THEY, THEIR FAMILIES AND OTHERS WHO CONSUME THE FISH THEY CATCH ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO THE ILL HEALTH EFFECTS OF MIREX, PCBS, DIOXINS AND OTHER WATER POLLUTANTS FOUND IN THIS AREA WHICH AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH THROUGH FISH CONSUMPTION. ROCHESTER REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT SERVICES WILL ENGAGE HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AGED STUDENTS FROM THE REFUGEE COMMUNITY AS SURVEYORS TO COLLECT DATA ON LOCAL FISH CONSUMPTION AND KNOWLEDGE OF FISH CONSUMPTION HEALTH ADVISORIES. THE SURVEY DATA WILL BE ANALYZED AND USED TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED FISH ADVISORY COMMUNICATIONS WITH THIS COMMUNITY. DIRECT BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT ARE RESIDENTS OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED ARE: TRAIN 12 STUDENT FISH FLASH CARD SURVEYORS AT ONE 3-HR KICKOFF MEETING; CONDUCT 300 FISH FLASH CARD SURVEYS; COLLECT SURVEY RESULTS FROM SURVEYORS AT 6 BIWEEKLY WORKSHOP MEETINGS; ANALYZE FISH FLASH CARD SURVEYS AT 4 BIWEEKLY WORKSHOP MEETINGS; DEVELOP OUTREACH LESSON PLANS AND DESIGN FORMATS/IDENTIFY LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND DEVELOP OUTREACH STRATEGIES AT 6 BIWEEKLY WORKSHOP MEETINGS; EXECUTE THE DEVELOPED EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH STRATEGIES AT 8 EVENTS, REACHING AN AUDIENCE OF 1000 MEMBERS OF THE REFUGEE COMMUNITY; EVALUATE OUTREACH STRATEGIES.SUBRECIPIENT:THERE ARE TWO SUBAWARDS INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT. ONE SUBAWARD, IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,883 WILL GO TO MARY'S PLACE REFUGEE OUTREACH TO PAY FOR 23% OF THE TIME OF ONE EXPERIENCED EDUCATOR AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR TO ASSIST RECRUITING, COORDINATING, AND ASSISTING TWELVE YOUNG ADULTS FLUENT IN ENGLISH AND THEIR FAMILY'S PRIMARY LANGUAGE TO ACT AS SURVEYORS USING THE 'FISH FLASH CARD' SURVEY. THE MARY'S PLACE EMPLOYEE, ALONG WITH TWO RRRS EMPLOYEES AND THE PROJECT MANAGER, JEFF WYATT, DVM, MPH (UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY) WILL ASSIST THE 'FISH FLASH CARD' SURVEYORS IN STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY DATA. A SECOND SUBAWARD, IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,580 WILL GO TO THE SENECA PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY TO PAY FOR 11.5% OF THE TIME OF TWO EDUCATION SPECIALISTS WHO WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON CRAFTING OUTREACH PLATFORMS TO INFORM THE REFUGEE COMMUNITY OF AGE- AND GENDER-SPECIFIC HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSUMING SELECT FISH SPECIES FROM THE ROCHESTER EMBAYMENT AOC AND LAKE ONTARIO. THE TWO SENECA PARK ZOO EDUCATION SPECIALISTS WILL WORK WITH THE TEAM OF SUPERVISORS/MENTORS FROM MARY'S PLACE AND RRRS, THE TWELVE SURVEYORS, DR. WYATT, AND ANTHONY PETRUSO, MD, A PHYSICIAN AT THE CENTER FOR REFUGEE HEALTH (CRH) TO DESIGN AN IMPACTFUL OUTREACH PLATFORM, INCLUDING TARGETED LESSON PLANS, PUBLIC AND WEB-BASED PRESENTATIONS AND PAMPHLETS AND POSTERS FOR THE CRH CLINIC WAITING ROOM ACCESSIBLE TO FAMILIES AND USEFUL FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO SHARE DURING PATIENT VISITS. OUTCOMES:THE DELIVERABLES FROM THIS PROJECT ARE THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DEVELOPED FROM THE SURVEY AND DATA ANALYSIS. OUTREACH STRATEGIES WILL BE DETERMINED BASED ON THE CONCLUSIONS FROM ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY DATA. THEY ARE EXPECTED TO INCLUDE BROCHURES (IN ENGLISH AND IN REFUGEES' NATIVE LANGUAGES) AND COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES ARE: INCREASED REFUGEE COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF SAFE FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES, DECREASED HAZARDOUS FISH CONSUMPTION BY CHILDREN AND CHILDBEARING AGE WOMEN, REDUCED RISK OF LIFELONG COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION FROM CHILDHOOD OR FETAL EXPOSURE TO CONTAMINANTS IN FISH, AND REDUCED CANCER RISK IN WOMEN. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT ARE RESIDENTS OF ROCHESTER, NY.