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Cumulative risk assessment and community health tracking: Building the tools for environmental justice

Thomas Burke, PhD, MPH, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Hampton House Rm 484, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-955-1604, tburke@jhsph.edu, Ronald H. White, MST, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Room W6035, Baltimore, MD 21205, Mary A. Fox, PhD, MPH, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, National Research Council, 500 Fifth St., NW, Washington, DC 20001, and Elizabeth J. Dederick, MA, MHS, PhD Stu, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 484, Baltimore, MD 21205.

How do we measure environmental public health risks to communities? It is well recognized that there are many communities that are subject to environmental health disparities. Yet the complexity and potential interaction of cumulative exposures and social factors present a difficult challenge. Cumulative risk assessment and community environmental health tracking are two emerging tools that have broad potential applications for environmental justice research. Practical tools for communities and public health practitioners are essential identify vulnerable populations, and shape prevention and control efforts.

This presentation will present current approaches to cumulative risk and environmental public health tracking. Case examples of applications will be presented, and recommendations for the development of quantifiable environmental justice indicators will be proposed.

Learning Objectives:

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.

Linking Health Disparities and Environmental Justice: Environmental Hazards, Cumulative Risks, Vulnerable Populations and Health Disparities

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA