Browsing by Author "Draeger, Kathryn J"
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Item Mothers’ Concerns about Children’s Exposure to Pesticide Drift in the Red River Basin of the North: A Novel Application of Photovoice, Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care 12(2)(Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 2012-11) Stedman-Smith, Maggie; McGovern, Patricia M; Peden-McAlpine, Cynthia J; Kingery, Linda R; Draeger, Kathryn JWomen of childbearing age and children living in agricultural regions are at-risk for pesticide exposure from many pathways, including occupational track-in from parents, residential use, dietary intake, and drift from farming. Little is known about mothers’ concerns regarding the potential for their children to become exposed to pesticides in these regions. Photovoice was used as a community needs assessment to learn mothers’ perceptions of exposure pathways to pesticides and other environmental health concerns. This article reports the perceptions of women raising children regarding children’s potential for exposure to pesticide drift. Recruitment occurred among three distinct groups living in the Red River Basin of the North: Caucasians living adjacent to actively treated farmland, enrolled in the Women, Infant and Children’s nutrition program (WIC); Native Americans surrounded by active farmland, affiliated with a local tribal college; and new American Immigrants from East Africa affiliated with a local immigrant development center. Perceived sources of exposure included agricultural-aerial and tractor spraying, and truck fogging for mosquito control. Mothers wanted advanced notice of spraying or fogging so they could take their children and toys indoors as protective measures, and education to prevent pesticide exposure, delivered in tailored formats for each group. The findings provide real-world insights from mothers and prevention strategies that can be utilized by public health professionals, extension educators, and primary care providers with the aim of reducing pesticide exposure to children in agricultural regions. Contents are solely the authors' responsibility and do not represent the official views of any funding source.Item Using scenario visioning and participatory system dynamics modeling to investigate the future: Lessons from Minnesota 2050(2010) Schmitt Olabisi, Laura K; Kapuscinski, Anne R; Johnson, Kris A; Reich, Peter B; Stenquist, Brian; Draeger, Kathryn JBoth scenario visioning and participatory system dynamics modeling emphasize the dynamic and uncontrollable nature of complex socio-ecological systems, and the significance of multiple feedback mechanisms. These two methodologies complement one another, but are rarely used together. We partnered with regional organizations in Minnesota to design a future visioning process that incorporated both scenarios and participatory system dynamics modeling. The three purposes of this exercise were: first, to assist regional leaders in making strategic decisions that would make their communities sustainable; second, to identify research gaps that could impede the ability of regional and state groups to plan for the future; and finally, to introduce more systems thinking into planning and policy-making around environmental issues. We found that scenarios and modeling complemented one another, and that both techniques allowed regional groups to focus on the sustainability of fundamental support systems (energy, food, and water supply). The process introduced some creative tensions between imaginative scenario visioning and quantitative system dynamics modeling, and between creating desired futures (a strong cultural norm) and inhabiting the future (a premise of the Minnesota 2050 exercise). We suggest that these tensions can stimulate more agile, strategic thinking about the future.