The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65953

Thomas A. Burke, PhD, MPH and Beth A. Resnick, MPH. Health Policy and Management/Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Room 484, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-614-4587, tburke@jhsph.edu

Public health and environmental agencies play a critical role in protecting the population. From responding to anthrax contaminated buildings to protecting our food and drinking water, environmental public health professionals are essential to our response and management of public health risks. Beyond the headlines of terrorist threats there is a fragile, under funded environmental public health infrastructure that works to ensure safe and healthy communities. State and local environmental public health programs are the backbone of these efforts. From food borne outbreaks to chemical emergencies; drinking water safety to air quality alerts; our city, county, and state environmental public health professionals are essential to the community’s economic, environmental, and public health.

Due to research priorities and funding streams there has been a growing schism between the environmental public health practitioners and academic institutions. This detachment has brought with it concerns that education and training of environmental public health professionals has lagged behind the increasingly complex demands of public heath practice. Many practitioners have called for more "real world" education, based upon getting faculty and students outside the university walls and inviting practitioners to be more active participants in education.

This presentation will describe a partnership approach between the Johns Hopkins Center for Excellence in Community Environmental Health Practice and the Maryland public health practice community to: develop academic/agency linkages to enhance the capacity of state and local agencies; develop new case-study approaches to training and education; and strengthen research capacity to evaluate, track, and prevent environmental health hazards.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to:
• (1) Identify key challenges and processes for academic institutions and state and local environmental public health agencies to work together to enhance environmental public health capacity;
• (2) Understand the roles and contributions of state and local public health agencies and academic institutions in working together to improve environmental public health capacity; and
• (3) Describe how academic institutions and state and local partners can collaborate to develop new case-study approaches to training and education; and strengthen research capacity to evaluate, track, and prevent environmental health hazards.

Related Web page: www.jhsph.edu/ECEHP/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.