Environmental protection and cleanup are key components of a national public health strategy. Disease prevention, especially for diseases that are partially influenced by environmental factors, saves scarce health care dollars. Medical interventions to treat symptoms must be coupled with a strategy to clean the environment.
One quarter of our nation’s children live in areas that do not meet clean air standards; one in five Americans lives within a mile of a hazardous waste site; an asthma epidemic that is demonstrated by a 160% increase in the past two decades is taxing hospital emergency rooms, while putting children at a learning disadvantage because of the loss of school days. These are a few of the problems facing our society in the 21st century.
New multi-disciplinary partnerships are called for to expand and enhance the vision of environmental health to address pollution problems outdoors and indoors -- in homes and schools, and to promote community-based environmental health. Solutions must go beyond medical interventions and include strategies for the environment that address sprawl, urban congestion, poor housing, and poverty.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.