Ten pediatric environmental health specialty units (PEHSU) have been created in the United States with funding from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Environmental Protection Agency. The centers have dual goals: to educate health professionals about children's environmental health and to serve as pediatric environmental health consultants to public health departments and other local and federal health agencies within their respective regions. A primary mechanism for education is through didactic instruction to medical and nursing students. Outreach and education activities geared for primary care providers in the medical community are conducted. As a complement to these goals, the PEHSU sites also provide patient education to the general public. In the first two years of existence, even with limited outreach, the PEHSU sites are receiving more than 100 information telephone calls monthly. The majority of the calls are from parents concerned about suspected environmental exposure of their children.
Learning Objectives: 1)Learn about the experiences of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) sites 2) Learn how the centers can support various constituencies
Keywords: Children's Health, Environmental Health
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.