Oral

In January 2001, the Pew Environmental Health Commission issued the report, “America’s Environmental Health Gap: Why the Country Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.” The report argued that the current public health system in the United States lacks the basic information that could document possible links between environmental hazards and chronic disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines environmental public health tracking as the “ongoing collection, integration, analysis, and interpretation of data about the following factors: environmental hazards, exposure to environmental hazards, and health effects potentially related to exposure to environmental hazards.” Since 2001, several research projects were initiated by CDC and others to begin to inform this issue. This session will explore some broad aspects of establishing an environmental public health tracking network including a proposed framework and indicators of environmental hazards and health. In addition, presenters will describe research to inform surveillance for health outcomes potentially related to environmental hazards including adverse birth outcomes and respiratory cancers, as well as a case study of a community potentially affected by previous chemical warfare research by the U.S.

Session Objectives: 1. Articulate the importance of an environmental public health tracking network for the development of policies to protect public health. 2. Understand concepts and elements unique to the development of indicators that bridge both environment and health. 3. Articulate approaches to link measures of environmental hazards with measures of health status.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing