1. Integrated Lead Poisoning Prevention Practice Lab
2. In this assignment, I utilized what I learned about lead and lead poisoning, risk communication, and cultural competence to design an inclusive community education and prevention program. A major public health component of this assignment involved being cognizant of cultural values and practices in a local community and applying this awareness to the design of the lead poisoning education and prevention program.
3. The key study questions were identifying potential lead sources that could affect people’s health in the community, identifying conditions/characteristics/practices in the community – including cultural beliefs, values, and practices – that could affect people’s risk of lead poisoning and how these factors are important to consider when designing a lead poison education program, and why cultural factors in the community are important for effectively communicating lead poisoning information.
4. The strategy used to obtain the information for this practice lab included reviewing the material from lectures in class MPH 613: Environment, Society, and Health.
5. There were multiple findings for potential lead sources that could affect people’s health in the mock community studied.
   • The apartments and single-family homes dated from the 1930s, since preceding 1950, lead-based paint was used on the inside and outside of most homes.
   • A community program this town had called “Renovate it yourself” for neighbors to come together and renovate the older homes can be extremely dangerous due to the age of the homes in the neighborhood and the risk of inhaling lead particles.
   • This community had a tradition of painting Tiro eye cosmetic on children at new residents’ day, but findings from this practice lab showed a link between this eye cosmetic containing lead and its potential risk for exposing children to lead poisoning.
   • It is important to know how to communicate effectively with cultural factors about situations in a diverse community. Cultural differences affect an individual’s health depending on what risk that person may encounter, how much risk, how that risk is perceived, how the potential solutions are viewed, what resources are available, who is seen as credible, and communication.
6. There are multiple public health recommendations from this practice lab if a lead poisoning education program were to be implemented in a community such as the one studied in this practice lab.
   • Research when your home or apartment building was built, and if it was 1950 or before, always use a contractor that is Lead-Safe Certified to check for any sources of lead paint in the building and find a safe way to remove it before living in the space and breathing in the lead particles.
   • Never renovate a building that contains lead if you are not a Lead-Safe Certified contractor.
   • Always check for recalls on toys before giving them to children, they can contain lead poisoning hazard or other potential health concerns.
   • If a community has a tradition that may cause potential harm to children, such as the Tiro eye cosmetic, find a way to communicate the negative effects it can have on children and offer a safe non-toxic option to use.
   • Learn how to individualize the communication strategy with each member of the community. Respecting traditions and providing public health resources to a diverse population is critical.
7. The public health significance of lead poisoning is that according to the CDC, “lead poisoning remains one of the most common and most preventable pediatric environmental conditions in the United States” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Lead is particularly dangerous to young children due to their growing bodies absorbing more than adults, their developing brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to lead, they frequently put their hands and foreign objects into their mouth, and being closer to the ground due to their height makes them more susceptible to breathe in lead-contaminated dust and soil.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). CDC lead poisoning prevention and treatment … Centers for Disease Control Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/publications/refugeetoolkit/pdfs/medicaltechnicalbrief.pdf