Interweaving Knowledge Resources to Address Complex Environmental Health Challenges

Abstract

BackgroundComplex problems do not respect academic disciplinary boundaries. Environmental health research is complex and often moves beyond these boundaries, integrating diverse knowledge resources to solve such challenges. Here we describe an evolving paradigm for interweaving approaches that integrates widely diverse resources outside of traditional academic environments in full partnerships of mutual respect and understanding. We demonstrate that scientists, social scientists, and engineers can work with government agencies, industry, and communities to interweave their expertise into metaphorical knowledge fabrics to share understanding, resources, and enthusiasm.ObjectiveOur goal is to acknowledge and validate how interweaving research approaches can contribute to research-driven, solution-oriented problem solving in environmental health, and to inspire more members of the environmental health community to consider this approach.DiscussionThe National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program (SRP), as mandated by Congress, has evolved to become a program that reaches across a wide range of knowledge resources. SRP fosters interweaving multiple knowledge resources to develop innovative multidirectional partnerships for research and training. Here we describe examples of how motivation, ideas, knowledge, and expertise from different people, institutions, and agencies can integrate to tackle challenges that can be as complex as the resources they bring to bear on it.ConclusionsBy providing structure for interweaving science with its stakeholders, we are better able to leverage resources, increase potential for innovation, and proactively ensure a more fully developed spectrum of beneficial outcomes of research investments.CitationAnderson BE, Naujokas MF, Suk WA. 2015. Interweaving knowledge resources to address complex environmental health challenges. Environ Health Perspect 123:1095–1099; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409525

Greater than the sum of its parts: focusing SRP research through a systems approach lens

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When data justice and environmental justice meet: formulating a response to extractive logic through environmental data justice

“…Broadly, this form of transparency is not about data in the abstract but instead incorporates how participatory knowledge making includes not only the standard scientific and industry perspectives that have historically shaped environmental regulations, but also the diverse, situated perspectives of multiple marginalized communities. Public and environmental health research has shown that in many cases, the incorporation of participant-centred, local knowledge and values has improved scientific design and rigor (Anderson et al, 2015).…”

Community Engaged Cumulative Risk Assessment of Exposure to Inorganic Well Water Contaminants, Crow Reservation, Montana

“…Most relevant to this analysis, Balazs and Ray [ 1 ] developed a drinking water disparities framework which includes the natural, built and sociopolitical environments, interacting at regional, community and household levels, to “explain environmental injustice in the context of [municipal] drinking water” in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Addressing complex environmental health problems is challenging and requires “interweaving multiple knowledge resources,” including community expertise [ 88 ]. The use of community based participatory research (CBPR) by tribes/minority communities and their academic partners to bring such a comprehensive approach to addressing public environmental health issues is well documented [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ].…”

“…Addressing complex environmental health problems is challenging and requires “interweaving multiple knowledge resources,” including community expertise [ 88 ]. The use of community based participatory research (CBPR) by tribes/minority communities and their academic partners to bring such a comprehensive approach to addressing public environmental health issues is well documented [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. This approach provides a mechanism to begin to create more integrated datasets, including community expertise.…”