Climate, Justice, and Children's Health

This webinar was originally presented on July 29, 2021. Climate change can have social, economic, public health, and other adverse health impacts on communities and can worsen inequitable social conditions. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to adverse environmental health outcomes from climate change. Health professionals play an important role in addressing inequities caused by climate change. This presentation discusses environmental and climate justice, describes how communities of color are at disproportionately high risk for adverse health effects caused by climate change, and provides resources for health professionals.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Define environmental justice. 
2. Describe when the issue of environmental justice was written into US law through a Presidential Executive Order. 
3. Describe how children living in communities of color are at increased risk for health issues associated with climate change.
4. Identify at least 3 resources for health professionals to advance climate justice.  

Speakers

Laura Anderko,  PhD, RN, Region 3 PEHSU

Dr. Anderko serves as a co-Director of the Region 3 PEHSU at Villanova University College of Nursing, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment (MACCHE). She is a nurse, educator, and scholar focusing on environmental health for over 20 years. She has served on a number of federal advisory committees, is currently a member of the NASEM committee establishing Guidance on PFAS testing and health outcomes, and in 2013 she was recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change for her advocacy efforts in Climate Change and Public Health.

Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Region 3 PEHSU

Dr. McDermott-Levy is a professor at Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing and Co-director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment. She has extensive community health nursing experience and is an expert in environmental health. She has authored publications regarding implementing environmental and climate health into the nursing curricula and addressing climate change in practice and research. In 2018 she was a Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Health and Environmental Sciences Scholar where she conducted research regarding climate change in Finland and taught environmental health at the University of Eastern Finland. 

Disclaimer: This course was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and funded (in part) by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSUs by providing partial funding to CDC/ATSDR through an Inter-Agency Agreement. The findings and conclusions presented have not been formally disseminated by CDC/ATSDR or EPA and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Use of trade names that may be mentioned is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the CDC/ATSDR or EPA.

WC4423-072921