November 23, 1999 (2) 

KU Medical Center Calls For Volunteers From 

Coffeyville To Participate In A Respiratory Health Medical 

Evaluation For The Southeast Kansas Health Study

 

Study needs more people from Coffeyville to

  participate in the respiratory health evaluation.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Investigators at The University of Kansas Medical Center  are asking for volunteers from Coffeyville to participate in a one-year respiratory health medical evaluations as part of the Southeast Kansas Health Study.  Commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency and being carried out by KU Medical Center, the study is investigating possible health effects related to the operation of four commercial hazardous waste burners and other emission sources located in Chanute, Coffeyville, Fredonia, and Independence, Kansas.  Sedan has agreed to serve as the study’s control community.

“The study’s design calls for 250 individuals (50 from each of the five communities), who have a history of asthma, emphysema, or wheezing, to participate in the evaluation,” explains H. William Barkman, M.D., principal investigator of the study and director of the

Center for Environmental and Occupational Health at KU Medical Center.  “We did not reach that goal in Coffeyville,” he notes, “so, we’re asking residents who meet the criteria to volunteer for the evaluation.”

Criteria for volunteers include adults living within the Coffeyville zip code (67337), who have a history of asthma or emphysema, as diagnosed by a doctor, or a history of wheezing.  Volunteers will be asked to fill out a health questionnaire if they have not already done so, read and sign two consent forms, and complete a brief health history.  The respiratory health medical evaluation consists of a pulmonary function test and a brief physical examination by a doctor who will check the volunteer’s blood pressure, heart, and lungs.  The evaluation will take place once at the beginning of the data collection year (November 1999) and again at the end of the year (October 2000).

Volunteers who are interested in participating in the evaluation may contact the project team at its toll-free number, 877/511-2167.

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