Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

University of Iowa College of Public Health

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Needs Assessment: Understanding environmental health issues to inform community engagement in the central Midwest

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Jan. 2026- The Community Engagement Core has published a research paper in Discover Public Health.

View the paper here: Understanding environmental health issues to inform community engagement in the central Midwest (link to journal website).

PDF of article

Citation: McCabe, M.A., Curnick, J., Kuehn, T. et al. Understanding environmental health issues to inform community engagement in the central Midwest. Discov Public Health 23, 21 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-025-01323-w

 

Abstract

Context

This report shares the results of a novel environmental health needs assessment designed by the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center in collaboration with our community partners for the four-state region of Iowa (IA), Nebraska (NE), Missouri (MO), and Kansas (KS).

Objective

The goal of the needs assessment was to understand considerations about health and the environment among people living in the central Midwest states of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, including their concerns, what they see as solutions, and what and how populations are vulnerable. These findings will inform future community engagement by the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa to improve environmental health.

Design

The assessment used a mixed-methods approach which included an online survey that collected quantitative and qualitative data and three focus groups with young adults, older rural adults, and immigrant and communities of color in eastern Iowa.

Setting

University of Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center in collaboration with our community partners for the four-state region of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri and focus groups in eastern Iowa.

Participants

Over 400 participants from four states.

Main outcome measure(s)

Describing residents’ perceptions of the connections between environment and health in the 4-state area and identifying notable differences between rural, urban, and suburban populations.

Result

Top issues of concern were water quality, outdoor air quality, climate change, chemical contaminants, and natural disasters. Respondents identified better policies, access to medical services, and financial resources as key components of reducing personal risk to environmental health issues. The focus group sessions highlighted concerns about housing, social capital, and the need for trusted sources of information.

Conclusions

These data suggest a holistic approach to environmental health topics, interest in policy interventions in rural communities, and potential for engagement with clinicians.

 

Call for Science Cafe Speakers

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Due February 6th 2026 – The Science Cafe is a program that connects UI researchers and experts with Iowa community members. These one-hour events take place at a local coffee shop in Mt. Vernon, IA (about 30 mins from Iowa City) are structured around a presentation and group discussion about various environmental, health, and scientific topics.  

 https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bq1LoK0QzwWYV4W (Fill out this form by Feb 6th) Eligibility: Faculty, staff, and graduate students at the University of Iowa 

The Science Cafes are usually on a weekday from 5-6 pm.  The structure of the event is 30 min talk by presenter (no slides are used but there is a paper hand out), 25 min discussion/Q+A, Dr. Brandi Janssen facilitates the events.    

Questions? Email Jackie Curnick jcurnick@uiowa.edu  

Visit the science café webpage https://ehsrc.public-health.uiowa.edu/communityengagement/science-cafe/ 

Topics that have been directly requested by the Science Café participants on evaluations: (though you can propose any topic) 

  • Medical talks / Surgery 
  • Climate Change 
  • Research projects: study design and results  
  • Options for farmers to improve water quality 
  • Barriers to changing agricultural practices 
  • “Pure Science”  
  • Reasons Iowa is losing healthcare workers  
  • Neonics and the home gardener  
  • Food safety 
  • Herbalism 
  • Marine Biology 
  • Geology or Archeology 
  • Chemistry 
  • Human composting 
  • Stem cells and plasma joint injections to delay joint replacement 
  • Nutrition 
  • Dentistry 
  • How does data science help with precision in medicine 

 

New Environmental Exposures and Health Fact Sheets

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PFAS and TCE are the two newest fact sheets that have been released by the EHSRC. These resources cover different environmental contaminants and how they affect health (cancer and non-cancer health risks) and what people can do to protect themselves. View all of the fact sheets here on our resources page. The full packet is available as well as each individual contaminant (Arsenic, Atrazine, Glyphosate, Nitrate, PFAS, Radon, and TCE).

 

Spotlight on EHSRC’s role in protecting Iowans’ health

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Closeup of a woman farmer with a straw hat on a small tractorThe EHSRC has released a new fact sheet detailing its role in environmental health sciences research aimed at protecting Iowans’ health. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the EHSRC is the only environmental health research center in the Great Plains/Midwest region. We focus on pressing state and regional issues including:

  • Protecting people from naturally occurring carcinogens like radon and arsenic
  • Keeping farmers healthy by controlling exposure to dust, fumes, and pesticides
  • Helping people with lung disease adapt to extreme weather and floods

Click here to view the fact sheet

Environmental health sciences research is an economic powerhouse in Iowa, with $2.38 in economic activity for every dollar invested. The economic benefits from EHSRC include:

  • $64.6 M in economic activity generated since 2007
  • Over 100 patents by EHSRC researchers since 2007
  • $9 in additional grants awarded for each $1 invested in our Pilot Grants

Call for proposals – community engaged research lightning talks

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The yearly training titled “Enhancing Your Research with Equitable Community Engagement” is seeking proposals for lightning talks (7-10 mins).

This call is open to anyone in the University of Iowa community (students, staff, faculty, post-docs, community partner) and the topic is community engagement in a Public Health project. The event will be the morning of June 25th.

Please submit your proposal using the qualtrics form by Monday April 21st. https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6ljGTFz3wLtLTng

Proposal components: Title of proposed talk, describe the project (200 words or less), and describe the community engagement component (100 words or less)

People in a classroom sitting at tables with speaker presenting
The 2024 Community Engaged Research training

 

This event is sponsored by the Community Engagement Cores of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center and Iowa Superfund Research Program.

 

Questions? Email Jackie Curnick at jcurnick@uiowa.edu

 

Environmental Exposures and Health Risks Fact Sheets

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The Environmental Exposures and Health Risks fact sheets were created by the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa. These fact sheets have been made in response to concerns from community members about the connections between environmental contaminants and health outcomes such as cancer and other diseases. The packet contains information about arsenic, nitrate and radon. You can download them as a whole packet complete with an introduction, or as individual fact sheets.  The EHSRC will release a few more fact sheets about other common contaminants in the coming months.

View them here https://ehsrc.public-health.uiowa.edu/communityengagement/resources-information/

 

Community Engagement Office Hours- Fall 2024

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All are welcome to join the Community Engagement Office Hours and chat about project ideas, questions, and best practices in community engagement. These virtual (zoom) meetings are an informal way to connect with others who share an interest in community engagement and public health research. Drop in for a few minutes or stay the whole hour!

Facilitated by Jackie Curnick, Brandi Janssen, Nichole Nidey, and Shannon Watkins

Dates/Times:

  • Monday September 16th, 10-11 am
  • Thursday October 24th, 2-3 pm
  • Wednesday December 4th, 10:30- 11:30 am

If you’d like to be added to the calendar invite and receive the zoom link for the December meeting, please email Brandi-Janssen@uiowa.edu 

Season 2 Iowa Climate Podcast

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Stream season 2 of the Iowa Climate Podcast! This podcast was produced by the Community Engagement Core, including student intern Anna Kirchhoff.

Stream all episodes now on soundcloud and spotify!

Season 2 Episodes:

  • Prairie Restoration & Interdisciplinary Involvement- Mike Fallon, University of Iowa
  • Sustainable Agriculture Solutions- Dr. Lisa Schulte Moore, Iowa State University
  • Renewable Energy & Community Initiatives- Dr. Kamyar Enshayan, University of Northern Iowa
  • Human Health in Today’s Environment- Audrey Tran Lam, University of Northern Iowa

 

Info about Season 1 and the accompanying teaching curriculum is available here 

Make your voice heard with the Environmental Health Needs Assessment

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The EHSRC Community Engagement Core is conducting a regional needs assessment, and would like your thoughts! The 15 minute survey will be  open until March 15th 2024. Please share with your colleagues and communities!

Eligibility: participants must be age 18 years and over and reside in the Midwest

As an incentive to complete this survey, participants can enter into a drawing to win $25.

https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7QB22Sb6WJQ7Szs

 

This survey focuses on environmental health, which relates to the relationships between people, their health, and the environment. Important issues include air, soil, and water quality, the effects of climate change and natural disasters on our communities’ well-being, and access to safe food and housing. The survey asks about “environmental health issues,” which means problems in the environment that can affect human health. This could include problems in the natural environment (soil, water, air) or the built environment (building materials, indoor air quality). The survey also has questions that focus on especially worrisome environmental health issues, such as natural disasters and climate change.

For questions email Jackie Curnick at jcurnick@uiowa.edu