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

Abstract #117794

Martha Dina Arguello, Environmental Health Programs, Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles, 3250 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010, 310 458-2694, arguello@psr.org and Monique Harden, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, 1050 South Jefferson Davis Parkway, Suite 333, New Orleans, LA 70125.

Making Health a Priority in Environmental Protection presents innovative work in law, health advocacy, and economic development that promote health in environmental policies and decision-making.

Health Advocacy

As a public health advocate, Martha Arguello will share her experiences of bringing together health professionals and grassroots community organizations to achieve important environmental health policies.

Martha Arguello will provide case studies of how grassroots communities and medical professionals collaborated on the development local policies involving environmental health and justice issues.

These studies demonstrate that participatory democratic processes, involving training and capacity-building for people living in environmentally impacted communities, can achieve important public health goals. Ms. Arguello will present the tools and methodologies that have been successfully used to support grassroots community participation and foster alliances with the medical community in order to develop health precautions in and environmental policies.

Learning Objectives:

• To provide insight into the important role of public health professionals to support grassroots communities on environmental health issues.
• To describe the role of health professionals in increasing awareness of environmental health policies that can be achieved by diverse collaborations.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.