Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Box 7633, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Apr 29;10(5):1720-34. doi: 10.3390/ijerph10051720.
Fish consumption has established benefits, including the promotion of cardiovascular health and pre- and neonatal brain and eye development, but local freshwater fish may be a source of contaminants that are especially harmful to fetuses and young children, such as the neurotoxic and developmentally toxic methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. Fish consumption advisories may be issued by state health departments to limit human exposure to these and other toxicants. This study examined the efficacy of a sign designed by the North Carolina Division of Public Health that was posted along a reservoir (Badin Lake) in central North Carolina, USA, for increasing anglers' awareness of a fish consumption advisory, with a special focus on anglers who share their catch with women and children. In this study, 109 anglers were interviewed about their awareness of fish consumption advisories in general and their knowledge of the Badin Lake fish advisory in particular. Shore anglers were significantly less likely to be aware of the term "fish consumption advisory" and of the specific advisory for Badin Lake than boat anglers. Although a significant increase in knowledge of the specific fish consumption advisory was found for the entire sample of study participants after the sign intervention, a commensurate increase in knowledge was not found for a subsample of anglers who reported sharing their catch with women and children. Study findings underscore differences in fish consumption advisory awareness among subpopulations. Specifically, the study revealed the importance of characterizing the communication needs of shore anglers and anglers who share their catch with sensitive subpopulations (e.g., women and children) for the creation of more targeted communications of fish consumption advisories.
鱼类消费有其益处，包括促进心血管健康以及胎儿和婴幼儿的大脑和眼睛发育，但当地淡水鱼可能是某些污染物的来源，这些污染物对胎儿和幼儿特别有害，如神经毒性和发育毒性的甲基汞和多氯联苯。州卫生部门可能会发布鱼类消费建议，以限制人类接触这些和其他有毒物质。本研究考察了北卡罗来纳州公共卫生部设计的标志在提高垂钓者对鱼类消费建议的认识方面的效果，特别是针对与女性和儿童分享渔获物的垂钓者。在这项研究中，对 109 名垂钓者进行了访谈，了解他们对鱼类消费建议的总体认识以及对巴丁湖鱼类消费建议的了解。与划船的垂钓者相比，岸边垂钓者明显不太了解“鱼类消费建议”和巴丁湖特定的鱼类消费建议。尽管在标志干预后，所有研究参与者的特定鱼类消费建议的知识都显著增加，但报告与女性和儿童分享渔获物的垂钓者亚组的知识并没有相应增加。研究结果强调了不同人群对鱼类消费建议意识的差异。具体而言，研究揭示了了解岸边垂钓者和与敏感人群（如女性和儿童）分享渔获物的垂钓者的沟通需求的重要性，以便更有针对性地传达鱼类消费建议。
