141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

283519
Using environmental health tracking programs in middle and high school curricula

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM

Patti Truant, MPH , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
We developed an 8th grade environmental health curriculum based on the Maryland state environmental literacy standards. This project was conducted through the state's health department and specifically, their Environmental Health Tracking (EPHT) Program. This program, funded by the Centers for Disease Control, provides resources and data on the connections between the environment and health. Our objective was to create three lesson plans that secondary school teachers in the state can use to satisfy their environmental health education needs. The lessons are on 1) general environmental health, 2) air quality and health and 3) water quality and health. We provide lesson plans, background information, PowerPoint presentations, vocabulary sheets for students, and ideas for student projects and evaluations of learning. We also provide short (5-10 minute) videos on environmental health featuring Maryland children learning about their environment and engaging in outdoor activities as well as teachers and other experts exploring an aspect of environmental health. The 3 topics of these videos are water quality, air quality and the built environment. These videos are intended as a supplement to the lessons or as a stand-alone video available online. Our presentation will discuss the development, content and applications of environmental health curriculum modules and outreach to educators to encourage use of these lessons. We will also present ideas for using environmental health tracking resources in an educational setting, as well as opportunities to improve content and usability of state and federal environmental health tracking data.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Communication and informatics
Environmental health sciences
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the development and application of environmental health curricula for middle and high schoolers using state environmental health tracking program data as a resource. Identify opportunities for additional outreach and expanded uses of environmental health tracking data for educators and public health practitioners.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I hold an MPH and am working toward a PhD in Health Policy and Management focusing on environmental health. With others, I developed an environmental health curriculum and conducted an evaluation of Maryland's Environmental Health Tracking Program in fulfillment of a contract between the Johns Hopkins Office of Public Health Practice and Training and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.