Attitudes and beliefs about environmental hazards in three diverse communities in Texas on the border with Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: Since communicating risk related to environmental hazards has consistently presented a challenge to government agencies and industries, our objective was to better understand the attitudes and beliefs of three communities, so as to help agencies and industries develop better risk communication interventions. METHODS: We explored attitudes and beliefs about environmental risks in three diverse communities in Texas on the border with Mexico, in the county of El Paso. During the summer of 1995, using a door-to-door survey, we interviewed 147 individuals, using a questionnaire based upon an existing instrument. Interviews were conducted in three very different areas of the county: semirural low-income, urban low-income, and suburban upper-income. We randomly selected specific sections in each of the three communities for inclusion in the sample. We assessed attitudes and beliefs about regulations and experts, risk and hazards, and how to address environmental issues. RESULTS: Attitudes and beliefs varied among the three communities, especially in the assessment of riskiness of various hazards. In general, there was mistrust of government agencies and of industries, a strong feeling that the environment can be improved, and a lack of understanding about what actions individuals might take to improve the environment. DISCUSSION: Agencies need to find ways to increase their credibility with the public, and they should assess communities in order to understand the attitudes of the residents.

Acculturation and breast-feeding intention and practice in Hispanic women on the US-Mexico border.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the extent to which acculturation indicators predict both breast-feeding history and intentions among Mexican-American mothers having their first births, and among those having subsequent births. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey in a hospital post-partum unit. METHODS: 3,036 Hispanic women were interviewed post-partum in their hospital room. A survey was administered in English or Spanish, and included questions about prenatal care, diet, work exposures, contraceptive use, and breast-feeding history and intentions. For the purposes of this study, acculturation was measured using a series of indicators including language spoken at home, language ability, country of birth, and country in which last schooling was received. RESULTS: Previous breast-feeding was significantly associated with educational attainment, speaking both English and Spanish at home, having had prenatal care during the previous pregnancy, and with both country variables (country of birth and country where finished school). Women with less education, women who were single, and women who did not receive any prenatal care were less likely to intend to breast-feed than were women with a college education, women with a partner, and women who received any prenatal care. Women born in Mexico (for multiparous women), or having finished school in Mexico (for primiparous women), were more likely to intend to breast-feed. CONCLUSIONS: Acculturation is associated with breast-feeding history and intention to breast-feed. Acculturation is a complex construct and traditional measures of acculturation based on language preference may not be as useful on the US-Mexico border. It is recommended that further study be conducted to determine what factors prevent women from breast-feeding, even though they intend to do so, especially in multi-cultural communities like those around the US-Mexico border.