Toward Language Justice in Environmental Health Sciences in the United States: A Case for Spanish as a Language of Science
Publication: Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume 131, Issue 8
CID: 085001
Abstract
Background:
Increasingly, marginalized communities are disproportionately facing the worsening effects of environmental hazards, including air pollution, water pollution, and climate change. Language isolation and accessibility has been understudied as a determinant of health. Spanish, despite being the second-most common language in the United States with some 41.8 million speakers, has been neglected among environmental health scientists. Building capacity in high-quality Spanish-language science communication, both for scientific and nonscientific audiences, can yield improvements in health disparities research, public health literacy, international collaborations, and diversity and inclusion efforts.
Objectives:
In this article, we discuss the context of language diversity in environmental health sciences and offer recommendations for improving science communication in Spanish.
Discussion:
English is currently the predominant language for scientific discourse, but Spanish and other non-English languages are routinely used by many environmental health science students and professionals, as well as much of the public. To more effectively conduct and communicate environmental health work in Spanish, we suggest that researchers and scientific institutions a) foster structural changes, b) train emerging scholars and support established researchers, c) tap into community ways of knowing, and d) leverage emerging technologies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12306
Introduction
Spanish is already a language of science. In regions where Spanish is the common language, such as Latin American countries and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, advanced science instruction and numerous research projects take place entirely in Spanish. Journals such as Salud Pública de México (Public Health in Mexico) and the Pan American Journal of Public Health publish peer-reviewed scientific studies in Spanish, the findings of which may be relevant to non–Spanish-speaking researchers in the United States. Within the United States, English-speaking environmental health scientists work with Spanish-speaking communities,1–5 collecting data in surveys3 and interviews using the Spanish language.6 Indeed, Spanish is the second-most common language in the United States, with some 41.8 million speakers.7 In many parts of the United States, marginalized communities have experienced disproportionately high exposure to numerous environmental hazards.8–12 Residing in neighborhoods with a high proportion of linguistically isolated households has been associated with higher mortality13 and more depressive symptoms.14 Despite the widespread use of Spanish in frontline communities and scientific institutions in the United States, there has been limited investment in Spanish-language science communication in the environmental health sciences.15–18 Fostering language justice in the environmental health sciences, perhaps starting with Spanish, can enhance the quality of our work, and its reach.
Language justice is typically defined as an individual’s right to access resources and information in the language of their choosing.19 Multilingualism is recognized in some spaces as an essential tool in environmental health3; however, it has often been framed as an issue of language access.20 Language access is a more limited framework, involving the use of a study subject’s preferred language in recruitment, data collection, and interactions with research staff.3,19,20 A broader focus on language justice could yield substantial benefits for researchers, policymakers, and residents of communities facing environmental health threats. From our experience, meaningful engagement with Spanish-speaking communities will help us to collectively build community capacity for scientific research, facilitate transnational collaborations, and address persistent health disparities.
English is currently the predominant language for scientific communication across most scholarly journals, academic conferences, and formal education, as well as in scientific journalism aimed at informing the public.21–25 However, English has not always occupied this position. In the early part of the twentieth century, there were three dominant languages for scientific discourse: English, German, and French.26 Beginning in the 1920s, foreign language learning in the United States declined and led to generations with limited foreign language exposure.25 Today more than 90% of indexed scientific articles are published in English.27–29 Environmental health scientists seeking to identify environmental risk factors and improve public health typically publish and publicly communicate scientific findings in English. The systemic lack of multilingual science communication excludes non–English-speaking people, limiting access to environmental health resources and information.30 Furthermore, there is concern that limiting research to include only research in English will lead to a biased conclusion, particularly in reviews.31
In the present paper, we discuss language justice in the environmental health sciences from our perspectives as multilingual Spanish speakers who are early career scientists in the environmental health field. We reflect on how the predominance of English in environmental health constrains the quality and reach of our science, and we offer suggestions for how individuals and institutions can enhance Spanish-language communication for scientific colleagues and the public. Our focus is on Spanish in the United States, but our suggestions are also intended for researchers working in settings where English is not commonly spoken, for researchers working with diverse language communities, and for Spanish and other non–English-speaking community scientists engaged in research. More than 300 languages are spoken in the United States, and speakers of all of these languages have important scientific questions and contributions to make.
Discussion
Language and Environmental Health Research
Effective science communication in any language requires coordination among many actors across diverse settings. Indeed, effective communication is critical to conducting high-quality research, particularly for community-engaged studies, as well as to communicating research findings to the communities who are most impacted by environmental health issues. However, in the environmental health sciences, when language is discussed, it is too often constrained to the recruitment and retention of study participants who do not speak English.3 Researchers working with linguistically marginalized communities have discussed notable challenges affecting study participation, including, but not limited to, the paucity of tools validated on non-English speakers, survey and interview instruments that do not reflect the Spanish varieties spoken by study participants, and the lack of multilingual staff.3 The lack of high-quality science communication in Spanish has consequences for health because gaps in health literacy are critical factors contributing to health disparities.32–36 To work toward health equity and language justice, researchers and scientific institutions need to create inclusive multilingual spaces.20
Despite calls by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to take a more interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to disseminate environmental health research findings, there is only sparse literature on science communication among non–English-speaking communities.37,38 This research gap of dissemination research is particularly evident among investigators working with linguistically isolated communities, which comprise households where adults speak a non-English language and speak English less than “very well.”39–42
Many research centers have already stated that communicating scientific findings in diverse languages is important, but few provide, or have the capacity to provide, resources (e.g., infographics, webinars, study results) in languages other than English.3,43–46 In 2019, nearly 77.7% of the 5,438 people surveyed by the Health Information Nation Trends Survey (HINTS) said they do look up information on health or medical topics.47 From 2017 to 2019, a total of 45 respondents answered the Spanish questionnaire, with 58% stating that they also look up information on health or medical topics. Given the low numbers, we do not intend to make the case for a causal relationship between language and health information-seeking behavior but, instead, highlight the limited number of Spanish questionnaires administered. Furthermore, from 2017 to 2019, a total of 334 respondents identified as not speaking English well or not at all. Although we do not know what language these respondents speak, we do emphasize that the number of respondents with limited English proficiency is higher than the respondents who answered the non-English questionnaire. Given that the HINTS survey is described as nationally representative data, it does appear that a population representative of national demographics is warranted. Last, the HINTS website does offer summaries of research findings through a section called “Briefs,” with a total of 28 briefs in Spanish, and 51 in English.48 It is important to note that the last brief in Spanish was uploaded in 2015, with the most recent English upload occurring in April 2023.
In addition to materials by HINTS, we reviewed the publicly available material (e.g., infographics, welcome page, or educational materials) posted online by NIEHS P30 Core Centers49 and the Superfund Research Program50 (SRP). Although there are other National Institutes of Health (NIH) centers that focus on research, we focused on the P30 Centers and the SRP owing to their longstanding history of being centers dedicated to not only supporting research but also having a community engagement core component.51 Many of these academic centers, especially those involved in health disparities research, work with communities who speak a language other than English. Yet as of May 2022, none of the 23 currently funded NIEHS P30 Core Centers nor any of the 22 SRPs we reviewed had a welcome page accessible in a non-English language. Furthermore, only 8.7% (2/23) of the P30s and 9.1% (2/22) of the SRPs had infographics or outreach materials available through their community engagement cores websites in non-English languages. Websites can serve many purposes and their accessibility will vary depending on the target audience, nonetheless we determined the reading level of the website main pages using the Flesch Reading Ease52 (FRE) and Flesch–Kincaid Reading Grade Level53 (FKRGL) scores. The FRE and FKRGL scores consider the number of syllables in a word and the sentence length.52,53 On average, the home pages of the NIEHS P30 Core Centers’ institutional websites scored a 35.3 for readability (on a scale of 0 to 100, with a higher score being better) and 9.8 on grade level (the recommendation is a grade level of 8). Similarly, the home pages of the NIEHS SRP Centers’ institutional websites scored a 33.9 for readability and 10.3 on grade level. Overall, these scores were largely based on websites having long sentences and indicate the need to improve readability of the text. The lack of readily available transcribed materials can create additional barriers to meaningful participation and engagement by study participants and the impacted communities,20 and even properly translated material online may not be accessible to communities without sufficient internet literacy or access.
One example of the intersecting role of language and information access is EJScreen, an environmental justice mapping and screening resource developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen). EJScreen combines census block group-level data on several environmental and sociodemographic factors, including linguistic isolation, with the aim of facilitating data access to the public. Despite the inclusion of spatial data on linguistic isolation, the tool itself is only available in English, which limits access to many of the communities who are identified as disproportionately impacted by environmental justice issues. Some publicly available screening tools are accessible in Spanish, such as CalEnviroScreen 4.0, developed by the California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment.54,55
It is important to acknowledge the power dynamics and structural barriers faced by linguistically isolated communities. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, many Spanish speakers seeking emergency or end-of-life care at U.S. medical institutions were at higher risk of medical error owing to miscommunication with providers.56 Many non-English speakers have and continue to experience language-based discrimination in health care and more broadly in society.20 One egregious example of discriminatory U.S. language policies is that from 1860 until 1978 Native American children were forced into boarding schools, where they were severely punished for speaking their languages.57–59 Although there is no official language in the United States, many states have effectively mandated English as the official language, and others have prohibited bilingual education.57–59 In 2016, California voters overturned a 1998 law that prohibited bilingual education in public schools.60,61 Despite the positive effect of bilingual education on all educational measures, a 2000 law in Arizona outlawing bilingual education has yet to be overturned.62–64
In our opinion, national, state, and local policies aimed at advancing environmental health equity through a language justice lens are urgently needed. Although some policies have been implemented to address this issue, critical gaps remain. In 2000, President Clinton issued an executive order with the aim of improving access to government services for people who speak languages other than English. This order only extends to federal departments and programs, however, not to research activities funded by the federal government.65 More recently, the Biden administration has announced initiatives to advance environmental justice that highlight the need to have translated and easily accessible materials.66,67
In addition to policy changes, there is tremendous potential for environmental health researchers and institutions to expand capacity and opportunities for communities who are linguistically isolated. We acknowledge that although the Spanish language also has colonialism roots,68,69 its current prominence in the United States presents an opportunity to advance science communication both among communities and institutions.
A Path Forward
Here we offer four recommendations for researchers and institutions to foster multilingual science spaces and work toward language justice. We recognize that there are real constraints in the time, funding, and other resources necessary to build language capacity, and of course these recommendations may not be feasible or appropriate across all settings. Research groups, environmental health departments, schools of public health, and funding agencies can routinely and thoughtfully consider when it would be beneficial to include Spanish or other non-English languages in research and outreach plans and, when necessary, to use the resources appropriate to carry out those aims. The recommendations we provide are largely influenced by our positionality as multilingual Spanish speakers. Our hope is that these recommendations will spark conversation and meaningful change among groups engaged in environmental health science research with communities who speak languages other than English.
1. Foster structural changes.
In our experience, initiatives without proper institutional support are not sustainable. The lack of in-house transcription and translation services means that the burden often falls on the shoulders of minoritized scientists.70,71 In addition to individual science communication trainings, institutions should dedicate funding to cover the cost of translation and transcription services. Forming collaborations with language justice–centered departments at institutions to expand multilingual opportunities would go a long way in recognizing multilingualism as an asset. For institutions that have community engagement centers, community advisory boards, or community collaboratives, a path forward could be to establish or enhance science communication services to include a certain number of outputs in Spanish. To prevent a disadvantage at underresourced institutions, dedicated supplements through grants could also be a path forward. Having both institutional and grant support is particularly needed given that funding for research supported by the NIEHS has been limited and in 2020 ranked among the lowest NIH institutions (21/26), receiving funding allocations.72 In addition to changes made by institutions and granting agencies, scientific journals could update their guidelines for publication to start capturing the language of participants in manuscripts by having researchers explicitly state what language participants answered questionnaires in and not solely writing down “non-English” in their demographics table. Furthermore, scientific journals could also start running special issues in non-English and offering transcription services as part of their role in the science translation. One of the invaluable resources where outreach materials in multiple languages is available is through the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) resource center at the NIEHS (https://connect.niehs.nih.gov/peph/). Although this resource serves as a repository for nearly 1,000 materials in various languages, crowdsourced by various members of the research community, usage is currently restricted to those that register for access. A path forward could also be to invest in open access and data sharing tools to facilitate disseminating materials produced and to reduce replication efforts.
2. Provide formal training for environmental health science communication in Spanish.
Supportive educational programming targeting increasing the number of multilingual students within training fields, such as the environmental health sciences, can play an important role in increasing the number of bilingual scientists. Examples of transformative programming targeting the mentorship of Latinx scientists include Pipeline programs, such as Puente, and mentored fellowships, such as the Latinx Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley; https://www.thepuenteproject.org/). There are distinct training needs for individuals with limited or no Spanish capacity compared with native and other advanced Spanish speakers. Given that English is the dominant or sole language used in instruction in many higher education settings, native and heritage speakers may not have had the opportunity to discuss advanced scientific concepts in Spanish. Training programs for advanced Spanish speakers can provide students with opportunities to practice discussing their research topics for both scientific and lay audiences, engage with literature from Spanish-language journals, improve their scientific vocabulary, learn about the ecosystems of Spanish-language science journalism, and connect with Latin American and other Spanish-speaking scholars through readings and guest lectures. These are the topics that two of us (J.T. and D.J.X.G.), along with other colleagues, recently covered in a piloting a graduate-level course on Spanish-language science communication at UC Berkeley. As we ourselves saw, classroom discussion with peers can help students hone their Spanish science communications skills and learn how to communicate their own scientific findings to the communities with whom they work. Peer feedback from other Spanish-speaking scientists can help researchers develop effective oral presentations, something we regularly do in English. Native and heritage Spanish speakers often have cultural knowledge relevant to the Spanish-speaking communities they come from, which can be a valuable science communication asset.
With respect to monolingual English speakers or other non-Spanish speakers, training may highlight the resources available for translation of their findings, which Spanish-language science journalism outlets are able to accommodate English speakers, and opportunities to foster collaborations with Spanish-speaking colleagues in communities and at research institutions. Awareness of cultural context (setting, language, cultural practices) and competency is a necessary aspect of a successful training program, particularly when it comes to increasing environmental health literacy.73
There are many potential pathways to build Spanish-language science communication capacity. Public health programs and environmental health science departments in colleges and universities can offer workshops or courses for students to hone their skills in advanced scientific Spanish communication. This type of training is not typically provided by language departments, which often focus on topics in the humanities. Organizations such as the Educator Collective for Environmental Justice (http://www.ecej.org/) and the Science Communication Network74 already provide support for academic researchers to communicate their findings, and these skills are translatable to communication in non-English languages. In addition to advocating for institutional language justice, individual scientists can organize Spanish-language journal clubs, translate research methods and findings to Spanish for scientific peers, write op-eds or other popular articles in Spanish for public audiences, and develop relationships with science journalists who do their reporting in Spanish.
3. Tap into community ways of knowing.
There is substantial diversity among Spanish speakers.75 It is also important to recognize that there are many varieties of Spanish spoken across the country.76 Researchers working with Spanish-speaking communities should account for the varieties spoken by the people they are working with, and care should be taken not to assume, for example, that survey instruments developed for Spanish varieties spoken in Miami are generalizable to Spanish-speaking communities in Los Angeles. Particularly when it comes to public-facing communication materials, such as infographics, tutorials, or messaging, it is important to lean into the knowledge of community members. This is particularly important to remember given that there is substantial diversity among dialects. Although the process of communicating information usually comes down to the five W’s (who, what, where, when, and why), it is still an iterative process. There is no one right way of involving community members or partners in the creation or evaluation of the message, but generally speaking it is recommended to involve community members earlier in the messaging process.77 Involving and compensating members from a community advisory board or partners from working groups to evaluate and provide feedback to messaging materials would go a long way to no one party being overburdened.
4. Leverage emerging technologies.
The use of emerging technologies, such as machine translation tools (e.g., DeepL Translator and Google Translate) has been suggested as a way to overcome language barriers in academia.71 The use of these emerging technologies thus represents new possibilities with respect to sharing of information and a tool that could be leveraged to advance a language justice in the environmental health field. Although emerging technologies facilitate more widespread translation and communication of research findings, limitations remain in the context of Spanish and, we suspect in many other languages, some terms and phrases are not suited to direct translation from automated tools. In addition, text translated to Spanish using machine translation tools still needs to be verified by a fluent multilingual Spanish speaker with contextual and subject-area knowledge.71 Social media platforms are an accessible outlet for researchers to share findings, engage a public audience, and build community with other scientists. Not only is sharing of research study findings one way to lean into science communication but social media can also be used to crowdsource for help, particularly when it comes to translating scientific information into multiple languages.78–80
Conclusion
Communication between researchers and impacted communities is fundamental at all stages of environmental health research, particularly for those who are facing disproportionate burdens from industrial pollution and the changing climate. Increasingly, Spanish- and other non–English-speaking communities are facing the worsening effects of climate change, which has the potential to widen existing environmental health disparities.81 The responsibility of communicating in a community’s language of choice is not solely the responsibility of scientists from marginalized backgrounds.70 Rather, environmental health scientists can recognize the linguistic assets and needs of the communities we work with and advocate for language justice. Our hope is that, through changes spanning individuals and institutions, we, as a scientific discipline, can advance language justice and equity in how we communicate our science.
Acknowledgments
The publication’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Article Notes
Y.O.V.H. is supported by a diversity supplement through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under R01ES029598-03S1 and the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program. C.S.A. is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the NIH under T32HD049311. L.M.D. is supported by the Berkeley Fellowship (ID0EK1AG34898) through the University of California, Berkeley. J.T. is supported by Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) and ECHO Diversity Supplement: NIH UG3OD023272, UH3OD023272. D.J.X.G. is supported by the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (ID0EQ6AG34900) and the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (ID0EECBG34901). L.M.D. also serves as the director of the Educator Collective for Environmental Justice and has received a small fee for work with Puente for environmental justice curriculum development. All other authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
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EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted.
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Received: 17 October 2022
Revision received: 22 March 2023
Accepted: 10 July 2023
Published online: 23 August 2023
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