CURRENT RESEARCH/COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Click HERE to visit the website for the
Coalition for the Treatment & Prevention of Lead Poisoned Children

The partners of the NKNRC have chosen the disturbing problem of lead poisoning in Northern Kentucky's children as their first targeted area of collaborative research and intervention. Kenton and Campbell counties rank 3rd and 4th in the state of Kentucky for the risk of lead hazards that can poison children.

The program currently underway engages NKU nursing students in service learning experiences that increase lead poisoning awareness among children and families in Northern Kentucky. NKU nursing students, under the guidance of grant directors, have created intensive educational programs that instruct children and families on measures that can be taken to minimize exposures to lead, including steps that can be taken to reduce exposures to lead dust in the home. Community-based interventions have been designed in conjunction with the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department in an effort to reduce children's' exposures to lead. Kim Dinsey-Read, assistant professor, and co-director of this project, described how the grant's interventions will target areas in Kenton and Campbell Counties that have been identified by the State of Kentucky as having high lead risk factors. Interventions will include the provision of cleaning supplies and HEPA vacuums to qualifying families in an effort to reduce risk of exposure to lead dust in the home environment. Paint will also be provided to qualifying families in an effort to create a barrier between family members and the lead dust that may be accumulating from existing paint sources in and around their homes. Through the NKNRC, the effectiveness of these strategies will be assessed.

The NKNRC has a unique opportunity to positively impact the poor health outcomes of children poisoned by lead. This impact can be far reaching. Application of successful strategies toward a Community Lead Hazard Reduction Model provides the potential for state or nationwide adoption and could result in a revolutionary, community based approach to removing the blight of lead from our environment. The ultimate goal of this project is the reduction and eventual elimination of lead poisoning among our region's children.