Aimed at health care providers, but open to the general public, this course presents the current scientific evidence regarding health risks for children exposed to organophosphate pesticides (OPs). This information is needed to understand potential risks to pediatric patients and inform clinical problem solving regarding pesticide exposure.
The course takes ~ 1.5 hours to complete.
GOALS
The goals of this educational activity are to:
- Increase the knowledge of health care providers, especially pediatricians, about the special susceptibilities of children to pesticides, particularly organophosphate pesticides
- Increase competency to recognize and respond to childhood pesticide-related illness.
OBJECTIVES
After completing this educational activity, the reader should be able to:
- Identify the routes and patterns of exposure that place children at risk for higher dose exposure to pesticides.
- Discern the importance of taking an environmental exposure history for timely diagnosis of childhood illness due to pesticides.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of acute organophosphate poisoning in children, with attention to how presentation may differ from that seen in adults.
- Describe the public health importance of sentinel event reporting of pesticide-related illnesses, and know how to report such events.
- Understand the current evidence for long-term sequelae of acute and chronic organophosphate exposures during childhood.
- Provide anticipatory guidance that enables patients to limit childhood pesticide exposures.
SELF-EVALUATION TEST
Feel free to test yourself! Test results will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of this course & improve future online training efforts.
AUTHORSHIP & DISCLOSURE
The following people contributed to the production of this web-based curriculum:
| Name | Role |
| Michelle Sommargren, MPH, PhD | Author, Project Manager |
| Catherine Karr, MD, PhD | Author, Project Director |
| Richard Fenske, PhD | Project Advisor |
| Ly Pham | Website Designer |
| Craig Eaton | Programmer |
| Stacey Holland | Graphic Illustrator |
In meeting the requirements of full disclosure and in compliance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education Essentials, Standards for Commercial Support, and Guidelines, the following information has been provided by the faculty regarding potential relationships and/or conflicts of interest:
All faculty and authors have indicated they have no commercial affiliations or relationships to disclose.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This curriculum was developed by the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center and the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) in Seattle, Washington.
PNASH: The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center conducts research and develops best practices to prevent occupational disease and injury among agricultural operators, workers, and their families in the Northwest.
PEHSU: The PEHSU Program is funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR Cooperative Agreement U50/ATU374312) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Supported by:
- Washington State Medical Aid and Accident Funds, administered through the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.
- Cooperative Agreement #5 U50 OH07544 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NIOSH/CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC.