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Health Care Providers and the Environment: The World Health Organization Translating Research into Practice Kristy Ivicek, WHO Intern March 6, 2009.

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Presentation on theme: "Health Care Providers and the Environment: The World Health Organization Translating Research into Practice Kristy Ivicek, WHO Intern March 6, 2009."— Presentation transcript:

1 Health Care Providers and the Environment: The World Health Organization Translating Research into Practice Kristy Ivicek, WHO Intern March 6, 2009

2 World Health Organization Directing & coordinating health authority for UN Provides guidance to governments and health care professionals worldwide HQ in Geneva, Switzerland –6 Regional Offices –147 Country Offices

3 Outline of the Talk I.Global occupational/ environmental health picture II.Role of WHO III.Internship Project

4 Environmental Health: the Global Impact Nearly a quarter of global disease burden attributed to environmental risk factors (WHO, 2006) Certain groups carry disproportionate share of burden –Low-income regions –Children (10% of population, 25% of death/illness) Relationship to occupational health-- especially in less- developed countries

5 Occupational and Environmental Health 50% of 3 billion workers worldwide in unhealthy conditions 170 million children work in hazardous environments Less-developed country issues Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health 2008-2017

6 Social Ecological Model of the Workplace

7 The State of Environmental Health Research at WHO Estimating Global Burden of Disease Children’s Environmental Health Indicators

8 Research to Practice: Building Capacity in the Health Workforce Frontline health professionals not prepared to address environmental health Under-utilization of key resource for research dissemination, advocacy, and data collection!

9 Children’s Environmental Health Modules Collection of over 30 modules to train health care workers 1 day to 40 hour course Being adapted into Spanish, French and Russian Current effort-- adapting them for nurses

10 Focus on Nurses Largest group of HCPs globally Present in areas most affected See patients in community: home, school, workplace Trusted by patients and law-makers alike Long history of involvement in social justice issues

11 Healthcare Providers Worldwide

12 Nursing Modules Two modules: –“Introduction to Children’s Environmental Health” –“Environmental Health Assessment” Emphasize nursing roles: –Practice –Education –Research –Advocacy

13 Nursing Module #1: Introduction Outline: –Defined CEH and general concepts –“Children are not little adults” –Large-scale implications –The role of nurses –Major hazards Digest Version

14 Nursing Module #2: Assessment Incorporating pediatric environmental health history into nursing practice Next steps-- in-depth assessment and referral Links to large-scale activities –one possibility-- the Green Page

15 The Green Page –Instrument for recording a child's environmental conditions –Harmonized data collection –Captures data for use in indicators –Provides a basis for alerting authorities to environmental problems that need to be corrected WHO

16 Updates WHO Executive Board resolution: role of the health sector in climate change June 7-10: International Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment (Busan, Republic of Korea)

17 Summary Environmental health is an important global issue WHO is a leader in translating research to practice and policy Nurses and other health care providers are key in addressing the environmental burden of disease

18 References Images from http://www.who.inthttp://www.who.int UNEP, WHO, & ILO (2007). Labour and the Environment: A Natural Synergy. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP. WHO (2003). Making a Difference: Indicators to Improve Children’s Environmental Health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. WHO (2005). Children’s Health and the Environment: A Global Perspective. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. WHO (2006). Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments: Towards an Estimate of the Environmental Burden of Disease. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. WHO (2006). The World Health Report 2006: Working Together for Health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO WHO EURO (2008). Protecting Health in Europe from Climate Change. Copenhagen, Denmark: WHO EURO.

19 Questions? Public Health and the Environment: www.who.int/peh/en Children’s Environmental Health: www.who.int/ceh/en www.who.int/ceh/en


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