The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50210

David Evans, PhD, Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, Room CHS-745, New York, NY 10032 and Peggy Shepard, BA, Executive Director, West Harlem Environmental Action Coalition, Inc, 271 West 125th Street, Suite 304, New York, NY 10027, 212-961-1133, de8@columbia.edu.

The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) is conducting a prospective cohort study of 700 African American and Latina mothers and newborns in Washington Heights, Harlem and the South Bronx to evaluate prenatal and early postnatal risk factors in neurocognitive development, asthma etiology and cancer risk. The university-community partnership is three-pronged, consisting of feedback to study participants, a community-wide environmental health education campaign, and a building-wide integrated pest management intervention to reduce home pests and allergens using less toxic methods. Mothers in the cohort are informed individually if their child tests in the delayed range on developmental assessments, and are referred to early intervention programs. An annual health fair is hosted for cohort mothers and their families to thank them for participating and to share tips for asthma care, home safety, nutrition, and safer pest reduction. A biannual newsletter is being developed to inform the entire cohort of study findings. The CCCEH is training health educators on staff at its partner Community Advisory Board organizations to lead workshops in their communities on the seven Healthy Home Healthy Child environmental health campaign topics that were developed through community focus groups: air pollution, cigarette smoke, drugs and alcohol, garbage management, lead poisoning, nutrition and pesticides. The CCCEH is evaluating the integrated pest management intervention's impact on pest populations, allergen levels and self-reported asthma symptoms. Results of these community-based efforts will be discussed along with the rewards and challenges involved in satisfying both scientific an

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• list methods by which researchers and communities collaborate;
• recognize the rewards and challenges of such a collaboration from both a community and academic mperspective; and
• discuss ideas for improving these partnerships to better benefit both researchers and communities.

Keywords: Children's Health, Community Collaboration

Related Web page: cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/sph/ccceh/index.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.