Environmental Health Literacy and Agricultural Exposures: Where Ag Safety and Cancer Prevention Meet (Live 4.10.25)

Includes a Live Web Event on 04/10/2025 at 12:00 PM (CDT)

Summary: There is growing concern over the role of environmental and occupational exposures in rising cancer rates in Iowa and across the country. People employed in agriculture and related industries in rural areas may face unique environmental and occupational exposures, besides genetic and behavioral risk factors, that can cause cancer.

Rural barriers to accessing healthcare may compound the effects of environmental and occupational exposures in these settings. Understandable and actionable risk communications can help address existing rural cancer disparities. In this presentation, the presenters will provide tips on how to integrate evidence-based environmental health and cancer prevention information into rural and agricultural work. Participants will learn how to better communicate risk, answer questions, and strengthen environmental health literacy in their communities.

Intended Audience: Individuals with an interest in rural and agricultural communities are encouraged to attend.

Objectives: At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to…

Define environmental health literacy and its role in community health promotion and advocacy.
Identify evidence-based resources on environmental factors that can increase cancer risk in an agricultural setting and apply them to your own health and safety education materials.
Find the overlap in goals and communication strategies between cancer control and agricultural safety and health professionals

Caroline Powell, BA, MS Candidate University of Iowa

Environmental Outreach Coordinator

Iowa Cancer Consortium

Caroline Powell is the Environmental Outreach Coordinator at the Iowa Cancer Consortium and the staff lead for the Cancer & the Environment Task Force. Originally from New York City, the CDC’s Public Health Associate Program brought her to the Iowa Cancer Consortium, and she is now an MS student in Agricultural Safety & Health at the University of Iowa. Through her work, she aims to improve environmental and occupational health and safety outreach and communication for equitable disease prevention and health promotion.

Audrey E. Tran Lam, MPH

Environmental Health Program Director

UNI Center for Energy & Environmental Education

Since 2017, Audrey has led the CEEE's environmental health initiatives, working where human health and environmental sustainability meet. Her focus area explores the overlap of agricultural practices and their impact on human health. She holds a masters degree in Public Health from the University of Iowa, and a graduate certificate from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Food Systems, the Environment, and Public Health.

In addition to her work at the CEEE, Audrey serves on the board of the Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, as well as on the Executive Committee for the Cancer Free Economy Network and Design Team for Green America’s Soil & Climate Alliance. She holds advisory board positions for the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, the Collaborative for Health and Environment, and the University of Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center Community Engagement Core.