NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

Tags: contaminants, social sciences, public health

Objective(s): To discover what knowledge residents have about local environmental contamination; to discover what local residents believe about the risks to themselves and their families of living near areas of environmental contamination; and to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of information programs designed to provide information to the public concerning local areas of environmental contamination.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are 1) to discover what knowledge residents have about local environmental contamination; 2) to discover what local residents believe about the risks to themselves and their families of living near areas of environmental contamination; and 3) assess the adequacy and effectiveness of information programs designed to provide information to the public concerning local areas of environmental contamination. In addition, this study may add to a scholarly body of work concerning social perceptions of environmental risks, and social responses to perceived risk. Data collection will consist of semi-structured interviews with approximately 30 Yellowknife residents. With permission, interviews will be digitally recorded and transcribed. The initial respondents (ideally, three from disparate segments of the local community) will be acquainted with the researcher. The researcher will then request that these initial respondents nominate someone from their own circle of acquaintances to participate in the research study. Again, because personal relationships are important in small communities, the researcher is relying on the recommendation by the first participant to enlist the participation of the second participant. A short note of invitation will be provided to the initial respondent to share with potential subjects, and the letter of consent which provides more details of the research study will be provided by the researcher. Local residents may be invited to participate in the interview process for this research project. Residents who participate will be given the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding living in areas with high levels of environmental contamination. This is a very small research project, and the written results may not be published in a format that is widely accessible, however, the researcher would be pleased to provide copies to interested individuals and communities and is open to other methods of sharing this research. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 9, 2018 to December 31, 2018.