Additional Resources for Healthcare Professionals 

Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environments: Harmful Environmental Exposures and Vulnerable Populations

This paper discusses various factors that make specific populations across the life span more vulnerable to poor health outcomes from environmental stressors.  Sections of this paper include: risk and vulnerability, embryonic and fetal development, infants, children, adolescents, pregnant mothers, adults, older adults, persons with alternations in cognitive and physical abilities, and global health. Click here for this resource.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Council on Environmental Health Resources

The Council on Environmental Health (COEH) advises the Board of Directors, supports legislative initiatives, authors policy documents, and leads educational initiatives pertaining to environmental health and toxic exposures.  See their resources here.

Pediatric Environmental Health, 3rd ed., Etzel, R. (Ed.)

The comprehensive AAP guide to the identification, prevention, and treatment of pediatric environmental health problems puts answers to parents' questions at your fingertips. Environmental hazards are among parents top health concerns for their children. Yet little time is spent training physicians and other caregivers to recognize, prevent, and treat ailments resulting from exposure to harmful substances and environments. Chapters address air pollution, mercury, waste sites, environmental tobacco smoke, DEET use and other pesticides, and dozens of additional topics.  The book is available here.

Catholic Health Association of the United States

The Catholic Health Association of the United States, a member of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, has published a new resource that considers the causes and consequences of climate change in light of the Catholic health care ministry.  Read the press release about this resource here, and find the report here.

Department of Health and Human Services

The HHS Environmental Health & Toxicology Specialized Information Services has a list of resources especially for healthcare professionals that can be found here.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 

 

Health Care Without Harm

Health Care Without Harm has created a set of slides “Nurses and the Greening of the NICUs”, as well as a poster on this subject.

Healthy Housing Solutions course on Healthy Homes for Community Health Workers

This course teaches Community Health Workers (CHWs) how to provide healthy homes information to members of their communities. The Healthy Homes for Community Health Workers course is targeted to individuals who work as health advocates in their communities. This course trains CHWs to provide one-on-one and large group education on healthy homes, provide general advice about specific healthy homes problems, and be able to recommend healthy homes approaches to be taken by families, landlords and other community members.  More information here.

Migrant Clinicians Network

A list of recorded webinars on Environmental and Occupational health can be found here, on topics such as pesticide poisonings, worker protection, integrating environmental health into nursing practice and education, and more.

National Environmental Education Foundation’s Resources

The National Environmental Education Foundation has a wealth of resources for healthcare professionals.  Search their resources here, and/or also take a look at:  

 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Resources

The Partnerships for Environmental Public Health has a great environmental health podcast series called Environmental Health Chat. Check out the episode Children, Nature, and the Importance of Getting Kids Outside here.

 

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PESHU) National Classroom 

The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs), which are funded by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, launched the PEHSU National Classroom for healthcare practitioners to aid in the prevention of environmental exposures among children. The National Classroom is intended to help healthcare professional broaden their level of expertise in environmental health and stay informed of the latest information available. All PEHSU educational products, including webinars and online courses, are approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as continuing education material and are available free of charge. The PEHSU program is co-managed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT). For more information please visit the Classroom at: http://www.pehsu.net/nationalclassroom.html.

Physicians for Social Responsibility Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit

The Toolkit is a combination of easy-to-use reference guides for health providers and user friendly health education materials on preventing exposures to toxic chemicals and other substances that affect infant and child health. The materials are visually appealing, practical and easy to use. The Toolkit is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The Toolkit fills the need for environmental health education and information. The Greater Boston (GBPSR) and San Francisco Bay Area chapters of Physicians for Social Responsibility, in partnership with the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at the University of California, San Francisco, and a team of pediatricians from around the country, developed the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit, which can be found here.

University of Arizona’s CMEs/CEs course on Environmental Medicine 

Designed for medical and nursing personnel, in this Environmental Health course you will examine the importance of considering environmental factors in virtual patient cases; develop a working knowledge of the strengths and limitations of environmental health research; and understand why certain populations, such as children, are particularly vulnerable. After completing this course, you will be better prepared to give informed and insightful responses to patients' questions about the ever-evolving field of environmental health. Take the course here.

University of California San Francisco PESHU Resources for Clinical Professionals 

The UCSF PEHSU works to promote the integration of environmental health into clinical practice. The PEHSU network has developed fact sheets for health providers that provide clinical recommendations on emerging environmental hazards that may adversely affect children. This page also links to UCSF PEHSU-authored publications and educational tools to inform providers of recent developments in the field of children’s environmental health.  See the resources here

University of Washington CME Course on Organophosphate Pesticides

Aimed at health care providers, but open to the general public, this course presents the current scientific evidence regarding health risks for children exposed to organophosphate pesticides (OPs). This information is needed to understand potential risks to pediatric patients and inform clinical problem solving regarding pesticide exposure. Take the course here.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization has provided children’s environmental health training modules and instructions for health care providers here.