Building on partnerships: reconnecting kids with nature for health benefits.

In April 2008, several federal and nonprofit agencies organized an informational Web-based meeting titled "Reconnecting Kids With Nature for Health Benefits." This online meeting was convened by the Society for Public Health Education and delivered to public health educators, health professionals, environmental educators, and land conservationists to raise awareness of national efforts to promote children's involvement in outdoor recreation. This article describes eight programs discussed at this meeting.

Children's Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative: a successful model for integrating environmental health into pediatric health care.

Background: Pediatric medical and nursing education lack the environmental health content needed to properly prepare health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental exposure-related diseases. The need for improvements in health care professionals' environmental health knowledge has been expressed by leading institutions. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of programs that incorporate pediatric environmental health (PEH) into curricula and practice.

Educational needs assessment for pediatric health care providers on pesticide toxicity.

Purpose: This pilot project, carried out under the National Strategies for Health Care Providers: Pesticides Initiative, assessed the attitudes, beliefs and practices of pediatricians, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, and nurses in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and the surrounding rural counties regarding health effects of pesticide toxicity and continuing education on pesticide toxicity in the years 2001-2002.

Incorporating environmental health into pediatric medical and nursing education.

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. Leading health institutions have recognized the need for improvements in health professionals' environmental health education. Parents are seeking answers about the impact of environmental toxicants on their children.