(Press-News.org) State and local health departments face significant barriers and usually do not get involved when confronted with public health concerns resulting from food animal production sites, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The authors of the study, published in PLOS ONE, an open-access publisher of scientific research, examined the role of local and state health departments in responding to and preventing community-driven concerns associated with animal production sites. This study developed when it was brought to the attention of two of the authors that community members may assume that local health departments actively monitor and address potential concerns arising from large animal production sites. Prior experience of the authors indicated that this perception might be misinformed.
For the study, "Investigating the Role of State and Local Health Departments in Addressing Public Health Concerns Related to Industrial Food Animal Production Sites," researchers interviewed officials representing 13 county and eight state health departments and community leaders. Survey participants were selected in areas with high densities or rapid growth of large swine production sites. Researchers asked participants a serious of questions in an effort to find out what health and environmental concerns are reported to health departments, how the health departments respond, and to determine barriers that may prevent increased involvement.
Past studies have shown air near animal production sites to contain hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, and allergens. Exposure to these emissions has been associated with multiple respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological health problems. Health department employees surveyed told investigators that, although some are often contacted by concerned community members living in close proximity to animal production sites, limited staff resources, lack of expertise or training, jurisdictional issues, and political pressures can hinder follow-up.
"Even though health departments are charged with monitoring and responding to the public health concerns of a community, most interviewed for the study said they had no involvement in decisions made about animal production sites," said Jillian Fry, PhD, lead author of the study. Primary regulatory authority over animal production sites, according to a report by the National Council of State Legislatures, frequently falls within the departments of the Environment or Natural Resources. "We believe formal involvement by state and local health departments may better protect the health of individuals in the community," said Fry.
Political and economic pressures were frequently cited as barriers to health departments becoming involved. Similarly, the researchers heard from participants that efforts to establish ordinances regulating animal production sites are often hindered by economic and political power held by agricultural corporations. As a result of the lack of health department involvement with concerns regarding animal production sites, community members surveyed noted they were, in essence, attempting to fill the role of health departments by performing environmental monitoring, and educating and informing the community. Community members said they often sought help and information from other government agencies, researchers, and other groups—on a national or state level—to answer questions about animal production health concerns.
Community members surveyed said engaging a health department about animal production concerns had never led to a resolution. "Health departments generally don't get involved," noted Fry. "When they do, our study found that usually no action is ultimately taken to correct a potentially serious threat to public health." Community leaders contacted in the study unanimously supported an expanded role for health departments to become involved in animal production, equal to that of other state and local agencies. Health departments could be involved with animal production sites through assessment, education, outreach, monitoring, and participating in permitting decisions.
"We believe it is critical for affected communities, health care providers, policymakers, and public health professionals to be aware of the limited engagement on this issue by health departments," said Fry. "Health departments could play a more significant role in addressing community members' health concerns if resources and the political landscape changed."
Fry and the study's coauthors believe health departments with animal production sites in their county or state should be provided with training, educational materials, and additional funding to increase their understanding of the human health concerns surrounding animal agriculture. "Even with these additional resources, or a change in jurisdictional authority, political barriers will likely continue to be a significant challenge to fully addressing animal production and public health."
###
About the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future promotes research and develops and communicates information about the interrelationships among diet, food production, environment and human health. The Center also promotes policies that protect human health, the global environment and the ability to sustain life for future generations.
Study finds health departments hindered in addressing health concerns from animal production sites
2013-02-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Defying the laws of Mendelian inheritance
2013-02-04
In 2005, Susan Lolle and colleagues from Purdue University published a paper in Nature, concluding that Arabidopsis thaliana plants do not obey the laws of Mendelian inheritance (the idea that all genes are inherited from their parents). Instead, Lolle found that these plants were demonstrating genetic traits from older generations, which shouldn't be possible according to our current understanding of how genes are passed on.
At the time of publishing, the paper was recommended by 20 F1000Prime Faculty Members, and it is still one of the all-time top 10 papers on the ...
Scientists notch a win in war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
2013-02-04
Boston, MA, February 4, 2013 – A team of scientists just won a battle in the war against antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" -- and only time will tell if their feat is akin to the bacterial "Battle of Gettysburg" that turns the tide toward victory.
They won this particular battle, or at least gained some critical intelligence, not by designing a new antibiotic, but by interfering with the metabolism of the bacterial "bugs" – E. coli in this case – and rendering them weaker in the face of existing antibiotics, as reported today in Nature Biotechnology.
It's the "kick ...
Does the functionality of your small finger determine your ability to master the violin?
2013-02-04
After the recorder, the violin is the instrument most commonly offered to children by state schools in the UK. The violin is a challenging instrument. Rapid, independent motion of the digital joints in the left hand is desirable. This study was conceived after an 11-year-old patient volunteered that she had given up playing the violin because of difficulty and discomfort manoeuvring the left small and ring fingers independently. On exami¬nation, she was found to have absent FDS (flexor digitorum superficialis) function in the small finger. The research investigated whether ...
Survival of the fittest: Predator wasps breed at the expense of spider juveniles
2013-02-04
Two wasp species, Calymmochilus dispar and Gelis apterus, have been recorded as parasitoids on ant-eating spiders in a study published in the open access journal ZooKeys. The host spider, Zodarion styliferum, belongs to the largest genus of predominantly ant-eating spiders. Their distribution area includes Europe, Asia and North Africa, significantly with at least 35 species reported for the Iberian Peninsula only, marking a record in numbers in Portugal, where this study was conducted.
Available data on the biology of the host spider shows that all species of the genus ...
Taking insulin for type 2 diabetes could expose patients to greater risk of health complications
2013-02-04
Examining the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) - data that characterises about 10% of the UK population - a team of researchers from Cardiff University's School of Medicine looked at the risk of death for patients taking insulin compared with other treatments designed to lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
The team's epidemiological study found people have greater risk of individual complications associated with diabetes such as heart attack, stroke, eye complications and renal disease when compared with patients treated with alternative ...
Into the quantum Internet at the speed of light
2013-02-04
This press release is available in German.
Thanks to the strange laws of quantum mechanics, quantum computers would be able to carry out certain computational tasks much faster than conventional computers. Among the most promising technologies for the construction of a quantum computer are systems of single atoms, confined in so-called ion traps and manipulated with lasers. In the laboratory, these systems have already been used to test key building blocks of a future quantum computer. "Currently, we can carry out successful quantum computations with atoms," explain ...
High-dose Vorinostat effective at treating relapsed lymphomas
2013-02-04
SEATTLE – Patients whose aggressive lymphomas have relapsed or failed to respond to the current front-line chemotherapy regimen now have an effective second line of attack against their disease. Reporting the results of a first-of-its-kind phase 1 clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a new class of drugs to augment standard chemotherapy, a team led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists found that giving patients high doses of Vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) in combination with another round of commonly used second-line drugs resulted in ...
Shame about past alcoholism predicts relapse and declining health in recovering alcoholics
2013-02-04
Feeling shame about past instances of problem drinking may increase the likelihood of relapse and other health problems, according to a new study in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of British Columbia, shows that behavioral displays of shame strongly predicted whether recovering alcoholics would relapse in the future.
Public shaming has long been viewed as a way to encourage people to amend their ways and research suggests that experiences of shame can motivate ...
Beef Up: Middle-aged men may need more to maintain muscle mass
2013-02-04
Ottawa, ON (February 4, 2013) – People tend to lose muscle mass as they age; researchers are investigating ways to delay or counteract age-related muscle loss. A study conducted by the Exercise Metabolism Research Group at McMaster University suggests that current guidelines for meat consumption are based on the protein needed to prevent deficiency without consideration for preservation of muscle mass, particularly for older individuals who are looking to maintain their muscle as they age. This research was published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
Thirty-five ...
President Obama awards nation's top scientists and innovators highest honor
2013-02-04
President Obama today awarded 12 eminent researchers the National Medal of Science and 11 extraordinary inventors the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government upon scientists, engineers and inventors. The recipients received their awards at a White House ceremony. This marks the 50th anniversary of the presentation of the first National Medals of Science in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy.
"I am proud to honor these inspiring American innovators," Obama said when the awardees were announced. "They represent the ...