Environmental Health Topics: Pesticides

A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Some pesticides can cause harm to humans, animals, or the environment because they are designed to kill or otherwise adversely affect living organisms. Due to the widespread use of pesticides and the potential for related illness and injury (especially among farm workers, their children, and pesticide handlers), health care providers should be prepared to recognize, manage and prevent pesticide-related health conditions in their patients and communities.

Resources

• Pesticides Initiative: long-term initiative to integrate pesticide knowledge into health professionals’ education and practice.
• National Pesticide Competency Guidelines for Medical and Nursing Education: An outline of the knowledge and skills that students in the health professions need to have about pesticides.
• National Pesticide Practice Skills Guidelines for Medical & Nursing Practice (Also available en Español (pdf)): A document which outlines the knowledge and skills that professionals in the health professions need to have about pesticides. 
• National Pesticide Practice Skills Guidelines for Medical & Nursing Practice (ppt):  presentation on the pesticide practice skills guidelines by Bonnie Rogers, DrPH, COHN-S, FAAN.