Pediatric Environmental Health Initiative

Background

Pediatric medical and nursing education currently lacks the environmental health content necessary to appropriately prepare pediatric health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental-exposure-related disease.^[1]

Taking a good environmental history is a critical first step for addressing health conditions associated with environmental exposures. However, few health care providers are trained in environmental history taking.^[2]

In order to provide the tools needed to incorporate environmental history taking into medical and nursing training for clinicians, NEEF created a user-friendly environmental history form for health care providers treating pediatric patients. The form draws from the medical literature and current best practices and is supplemented by an environmental history primer (PDF).[3]

Sources: 

[1] McCurdy L, Roberts J, Rogers B, Love R, Etzel R, Paulson J, Witherspoon N, Dearry A. Incorporating Environmental Health Into Pediatric Medical and Nursing Education. Environmental Health Perspectives. Dec 2004;112(17):1755-1760. Available at Environmental Health Perspectives.

[2] Kilpatrick N, Frumkin H, Trowbridge J, Escoffery C, Geller R, Rubin I, et al. 2002. The environmental history in pediatric practice: a study of pediatricians' attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Environ Health Perspect. 110: 823-827.

[3] Rogers B. Environmental health hazards and health care professional education. AAOHN J. 2004; 52(4):154-155. Position Statement: Health Professionals and Environmental Health Education.

Funded in part by The New York Community Trust