protecting the fetus and the child
from environmental hazards

a healthy environment
for all children

[ home ] [ resource guide ] [ training manual ] [ get involved ] [ publications ] [ index ] [ about CEHN ]

Children's Environmental Health Network

Mission - Goals - Guiding Principles - Activities

Return to Contents

>

The Children's Environmental Health Network (the Network) is a national multi-disciplinary project whose mission is to promote a healthy environment and to protect the fetus and the child from environmental hazards.

We focus on research, education and policy. Our goals are to:

• Promote the development of a sound public health and child-focused national policy;
• Stimulate prevention-oriented research;
• Educate health professionals, policy makers, and community members in preventive strategies; and
• Elevate public awareness of environmental hazards to children.

Our Guiding Principles for Children and Environmental Health

• All children are affected by exposures to environmental hazards. It is our responsibility as a society to enable all children to grow up in a safe and healthful environment.
• Because all children are growing and developing, they are uniquely vulnerable to health effects caused by exposure to environmental hazards. The multitude of hazards facing children should be addressed in unison and placed within the context of a child's life.
• A child's environment is not separate from social and cultural issues. Environmental exposures and solutions to same should be viewed within that context.
• Many children are living in communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental exposures. Improving the health and environment of these children should be a major priority.
• Healthy children lead to healthy adults, and the health of our children is one of our most important investments. In development of policy, legislation, and regulation, the health of children should be one of our top priorities.
• Environmental hazards and pollution know no boundaries. The health of children worldwide is intrinsically linked to the health of our environment. International collaboration, whenever possible, should be sought and encouraged.
• Solutions to complex environmental health problems require the ongoing communication and collaboration of affected communities and many disciplines including science, medicine, public health, economics, planning, law, and policy.
• Creative solutions should be reached through interdisciplinary problem solving and coalition building.

Policy Project: Advocating for Children

The Network has built a sound reputation as a credible, non-partisan source of information about children's environmental health policy. We provide non-partisan analysis of selected proposed legislation and regulation, share the latest scientific findings in non-scientific language, conduct briefings for Congress and other policy making organizations, and address global issues such as climate change and persistent organic pollutants. The Network is a trusted source of information and technical assistance for the White House, federal agencies, national organizations, and community groups.

Web Site: Sharing Information

The Network's web site provides a complete collection of our information materials and publications, including the Resource Guide on Children's Environmental Health, your gateway to children's environmental health information. For example, a visit to our web site can show you:

• Why children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental exposures, which children are at particular risk, and why children's environmental health is a growing cause for concern,
• The Network's research reports, educational materials, and policy documents, and
• How to locate key resources in children's environmental health, including organizations active in the field, sources of data on children's health and environmental toxicants, and internet sites that pertain to children's environmental health.

Visit the Network's web site today at http://www.cehn.org

Education Project: Educating Health Care Providers

The Network has strengthened the ability of health care professionals to address children's environmental health issues and to serve as educators, investigators, and advocates for safe environments for children. We have trained physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and health care faculty to incorporate children's environmental health into their practice and teaching. We have developed training materials on children and environmental hazards for health practitioners, and we were instrumental in the decision to add environmental health to the list of requirements for pediatric residency programs in the United States.

Research Project: Shaping and Growing Pediatric Environmental Research

The Network supports pediatric environmental health research through conferences, publications, and collaboration with policy, health care and advocacy sectors. Through these efforts, the Network has defined a national research agenda on children's environmental health which includes five priority research areas: asthma and respiratory disease, childhood cancer, neuro-developmental effects, endocrine disorders, and cross-cutting issues. We have convened two national research conferences at which researchers shared findings, raised new research questions, and crafted a child-focussed national research agenda. Also, the Network has published key articles in a variety of scientific and social science journals.

A Multidisciplinary Approach

We have created a national "network" of health professionals, researchers, policy makers and advocates addressing children's environmental health. We work with a diverse group of approximately 50 national organizations on a variety of specific issues.

Funders and Sponsors

The Network is a project of the Public Health Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, and receives funding from federal sources, private foundations and individual contributions.