Blending science and advocacy: An innovative strategy for teaching environmental health using community partners

The need to provide a solid science base when teaching graduate level environmental health is evident, particularly in light of recently developed competencies by the Association of Schools of Public Health. The environmental justice movement has demonstrated the merits of advocacy aimed at eliminating environmental health disparities. If educators are to prepare public health students adequately to meet the complex environmental challenges of the 21st century, environmental health instruction must include a focus on environmental advocacy within a science-based framework. This presentation will describe innovative teaching strategies combining science and advocacy in an environmental health course taught in an MPH community health education program at a public university. Curricular activities of the course center around the convening of student teams to select a timely environmental health issue, localize it, and find an advocacy organization to serve as a consulting partner to share experiences, successes, and resources, with the aim of helping students advocate for a particular policy change. Policies use the ecological model as a conceptual model, which has been deemed essential by the Institute of Medicine in understanding the interrelationships of the multiple determinants of health. This presentation will describe student successes in their policy endeavors and will highlight lessons learned and opportunities fulfilled in forming community partnerships to advocate for equitable environmental policies.