Addressing Critical and Emerging Safety Issues in Human, Animal and Environmental Health through Extension Outreach

Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
Evidence of PPCPs in the U.S. arose more than 20 years ago, with the discovery of aspirin, caffeine, and nicotine in wastewater treatment plants (Mesner, 2004). In 2002, U.S. Geological Survey scientists studied low-level contamination of streams by pharmaceuticals and other organic chemicals in 30 states and reported that pharmaceuticals were attributing factors to widespread wastewater pollution in the nation (Barber et al., 2002). Since then, numerous investigations have reported that pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been detected in surface and groundwater, soils, biosolids, and drinking water (Barnes et al., 2008) and pose significant risk to human, animal and environmental health. The potential toxicity and persistence of these drugs remain unknown, and uncertainty, poses the biggest threat to animal safety, human and aquatic life, and warrants global concern. Aquatic organisms (due to continual and multigenerational exposure to contaminated water) are also among those adversely impacted by PIE (Bligh, 2009). Major concerns also stem from the fact that humans and animals inadvertently ingest un-prescribed drugs via the consumption of fish from drug-polluted surface water or from crops grown on drug-polluted soil. The presence of unwanted medicines in the home poses even more apparent danger. Although, the human impacts of PIE are not yet definitive; the evidence from these studies substantiates the need for additional education and outreach programs to combat the problem of unwanted pharmaceuticals in the home and the environment. The UANNP unit is committed to providing programming in priority areas, such as water quality, human health, and food safety and recognizes this as a great opportunity to effect change. Although, the project's central focus is on Extension and Outreach, both education and research are incorporated to enhance outreach capabilities. The project involves the collaborative efforts of multiple institutions that collectively epitomize academic strength and excellence, and diversity among faculty, disciplines and specialties; and further leverages new collaborations and partnerships with organizations like a Partnership for a Drug Free Community and the Alabama A&M University Center of Excellence (COE) in Watershed Management to broaden Extension's reach and ensure that increased benefits and impacts are realized. The attainable results and measurable outcomes will strengthen extensions' capacity in outreach; improve environmental sustainability; increase resources to stakeholders, diversify the agricultural workforce, and improve 1890 Extension program delivery via an increase in PIE initiatives and take-back programs in the state and lessen the impact of pharmaceuticals fated to the environment; reduce soil and water pollution by PIE; increase awareness and knowledge gained on environmental issues assessed using pre/post measures; and overall, improve public health. The project also reemphasizes the critical role citizens must play in maintaining a safe, inhabitable environment.
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Approach:<br/>
Science-based knowledge will be delivered to program participants via formal and informal extension outreach education programs, i.e., workshops, seminars and conferences. Promotional materials will be developed and provided to agents, schools, community leaders, partnering organizations, and medical establishments. Dissemination plans include educational training for stakeholders, professionals, and extension personnel; presentations, workshops, seminars, conferences, expos, water festivals and PPCP awareness campaigns; extension publications, news articles, newsletters, internet tools and an extensive multi-institutional collaborative and network of agency partnerships. The WRR, social networking media, and publicizing content and presentations will expand our capability to globally reach diverse audiences. Project impacts will be published in CRIS and Extension annual reports, the Journal of Extension, refereed scientific journals, via eXtension and ACES websites; the NIFA National Project Directors' Meeting and other nationally prominent conferences. Project evaluation will be guided by established standards of the American Evaluation Association and lead by a team of external and internal evaluators [Project Evaluation Teams (PETs)] assembled from diverse areas relevant to the project aims. The evaluation process will engage stakeholders, formulate questionnaires & success indicators, data collection, analysis &interpretation, and use of the findings. Dr. Johnson and the ACES Evaluation Specialist will have responsibility for development of the evaluation tools used for this project. The program evaluation means will utilize double-barreled questions and impact surveys. Follow-up-surveys {six-months and one year later) will measure the number of clientele and behavior changes related to adoption of BMPs derived from curriculum based delivery or other project forums yielding to assessment of behavioral changes. Specific evaluation elements [e.g., building program capacity in delivery & technology utilization (20% weight); learning outcomes (30% weight); increased knowledge gained (30% weight), assessment of participant behavioral changes (20% weight)] will also be measured. Measurable outcomes that are participant driven (i.e., program success and participant learning) include but are not limited to the number of participants involved in training, conferences, seminars/webinars and those participants accessing curricula on the WRR relative to production costs; and increased knowledge gained about PPCPs and One Health concepts associated with the environmental issues will be measured using pre-post-tests of participants. The project's progress will also be evaluated at the end of each year using established criteria.