A new website with videos that explain cancer cluster investigations from the perspectives of community members and public health professionals has been launched by the Office of Public Health Practice and Training at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The website URL is: http://www.jhsph.edu/clusterinvestigations
Investigations of a potential cancer cluster can be a difficult, even traumatic experience for a community. More than 90 minutes of videos on the website document community member and public health official experiences and challenges in a cluster investigation and serve as a resource for others.
The project began with oral history interviews of 12 Frederick, Md. community members and 9 public health professionals involved in the investigation of a potential cancer cluster near Fort Detrick, U.S. Army base. The professionals interviewed include representatives from the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Frederick County Health Department and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The website is divided into three sections: a case study of the Frederick investigation, advice for community members, and guidance for public health professionals.
The project team includes principal investigator Beth Resnick, MPH, CPH; Brian W. Simpson, MPH; Patti Truant, MPH; Spencer Greer, Jennifer X. Le, MPH; and Emily Trogolo.
More information: practice@jhsph.edu.
For more about the Frederick investigation and community and public health professional perspectives, read “It Would Break Your Heart,” a Johns Hopkins Public Health magazine article at http://magazine.jhsph.edu/2013/death/sections/death-and-data/it-would-break-your-heart/page-1
