Sponsor Deadline
Posted: 4/10/2024

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU)

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)’s mission is to protect communities from harmful health effects related to hazardous environmental exposures. Environmental exposures during preconception and critical developmental stages in fetal, childhood, and adolescent development can have lifelong adverse consequences, and it is especially important that outreach and education efforts address these vulnerable life periods. Providing outreach and education to communities on health risks associated with exposures to harmful environmental substances contaminants and ways to reduce such exposures can help prevent adverse health outcomes. Building capacity of primary care clinicians to recognize environmental exposures, and to provide appropriate management and counseling to patients with environmental exposures can further mitigate these risks. Partnering with other health professionals and organizations can increase community awareness of exposure reduction behaviors. These activities comprise a key part of ATSDR’s efforts in meeting its goal of reducing morbidity and mortality from environmental exposures.

The approach undertaken by PEHSU involves the integration of environmental health into clinical care and public health. They routinely work in under-resourced communities, advancing equity in reproductive and children’s environmental health. PEHSU collaborate with various stakeholders, including health professionals; community organizations; federal, state, and local and tribal officials; families; schools; and others interested in children’s environmental health. As a national network, PEHSU provide services to health professionals and communities including outreach, environmental health education, consultations, and referrals.

Deadline: May 7, 2024