Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116111

Lisa Asta, MD¹, David B. Wallinga, MD, MPA², Michelle Gottlieb, MEM³, Guenter Hofstadler, MD, MPH⁴, Brian Linde, MD⁵, Siobhan McNally, MD⁶, Mark D. Miller, MD, MPH⁷, Julie Silas, JD⁸, and Maria Valenti³. (1) Casa Verde Pediatrics, Toolkit Development Team, 120 La Casa Via, Suite 210, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, (2) Food and Health Program, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Toolkit Development Team, 2105 First Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55404, (3) Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Toolkit Development Team, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, (4) Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, Toolkit Development Team, 2500 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, CA 94553, (5) John Muir Medical Center, Toolkit Development Team, 1601 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, (6) Sprout - Berkshire Initiative for Children's Environmental Health, Toolkit Development Team, 71 Yokun Avenue, Lenox, MA 01240, 413-637-4326, s.mcnally@verizon.net, (7) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Toolkit Development Team, 1515 Clay St, 16th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, (8) Physicians for Social Responsibility - S.F. Bay Area Chapter, Toolkit Development Team, 2288 Fulton St. #307, Berkeley, CA 94704-1449

Children have heightened vulnerability to toxicants in their environment. In national educational programs by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) on toxic threats to child development, pediatricians and other health care providers have consistently expressed a need for practical clinical tools to enable them to incorporate environmental health guidance into practice. In response, PSR affiliates and member pediatricians in Boston and San Francisco developed a Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit. The Toolkit's peer-reviewed materials include reference and anticipatory guidance components for providers as well as “Rx for Prevention” slips and magnets for patients, designed for use during well-child visits. Thirty four pediatric and family practitioners at seventeen sites have pilot tested the Toolkit for six months in California and Massachusetts. The measurement phase of the study included baseline and 6 month written surveys, monthly telephone contacts, and in-depth telephone interviews with a random sample of participants. This session will report the evaluation results, including measurement of: a) use and perceived utility of Toolkit materials; b) frequency of advising patients about 21 environmental health issues; c) barriers and facilitators to using Toolkit materials; d) perceptions of confidence, knowledge, and enthusiasm for discussing environmental health topics with patients, and; e) familiarity with and use of resources at regional Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs). We will also report on results from patient focus groups to measure behavioral changes among a sample of caregivers. Strategies for more widely disseminating and implementing the Toolkit will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives: