Measuring an Individuals' Environmental Health Literacy Level.
SWEHSC and our partners at The University of North Carolina are currently developing a tool that aims to successfully measure an individuals' environmental health literacy level (MEHL).
- The project features the Lee family who, along with their neighbors, receive their water from a private well. A water well test is conducted at the site which discovers high amounts of arsenic distributed throughout the neighborhood.
- Our MEHL project tool (Figure 1.1) gives the participants a visual of the water report found in the Lee home and their neighbors homes. The participants are then given a series of questions to answer about the water safety and possible health concerns/risks from Figure 1.1.
- After participants have answered these questions we then hand them information about arsenic (Figure 1.2), what arsenic is, routes of exposure, and health risks. These are some of the tools we are using in this project that will allow us to measure an individuals' environmental health literacy level.