Children’s Environmental Health – Spring Course

ENV H 417 Children’s Environmental Health 3 credits SLN: 13814 Tuesday and Thursdays 1:30 – 2:50 open to sophomores, juniors and seniors in all majors. [Inline image 1] *Did you know… * Each year around three million children under the age of five die due to environment-related diseases. * Acute respiratory infections annually kill an estimated 1.6 million children under the age of five. As much as 60 percent of acute respiratory infections worldwide are related to environmental conditions. * Diarrheal diseases claim the lives of nearly 1.5 million children every year. Eighty to 90 percent of these diarrhea cases are related to environmental conditions, in particular, contaminated water and inadequate sanitation. * Nearly 1 million children under the age of five died of malaria in 2008. Up to 90 percent of malaria cases are attributed to environmental factors. *From The World Health Organization Instructor: Thomas Burbacher, Ph.D. Discussion of environmental health issues as they pertain to children’s health. Topics include historical perspective of public health research and policies directed at protecting children’s health, and emerging scientific and public health issues such as the risks and benefits of seafood consumption during pregnancy; the use of pesticides on food and in the home; air pollution and childhood asthma, and childhood injuries and the built environment.