Integrating Environmental Health into Pediatric Health Care

There is a need for health professionals to understand environmental health hazards within their communities and be able to diagnose, treat, and prevent resultant health conditions in their patients, especially children. Unfortunately, health professionals are often not fully equipped with the knowledge to respond to this need. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) launched the Health Care Provider Initiative to incorporate environmental health into health professionals' education and practice. The Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions project, an integral part of this Initiative, aims to help build health professionals' capacity to address children's environmental health issues. Twenty-eight faculty members from medical and nursing schools participate in this project, serving as leaders in integrating children's environmental health into their academic institutions in a sustainable manner by training other faculty members, colleagues, and students; by providing expertise to their institutions and communities; and by serving as models for how to integrate environmental health into health professionals' education. These Faculty Champions participated in a train-the-trainer workshop, which provided them the tools needed to serve as Faculty Champions in their institutions and communities. NEETF provides ongoing support to the Faculty Champions' institutional and community efforts in order to build a growing network of pediatric environmental health leaders. Education and outreach activities are continually tracked in an effort to evaluate the impact of this Initiative in building health professionals' capacity in pediatric environmental health. The Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions project and the outcomes of the integration activities will be presented in this session.