The NIEHS sponsors Town Meetings in cities throughout the United States on the general theme of environmental impacts on human health. The purpose of the town meetings is to bring together members of the public who are interested in public health and the environment with NIEHS and other federal, state, and local government health officials; environmental health professionals; and disease and environmental advocacy groups. The meetings provide a platform for an open dialogue to establish better coordination among the public and health professionals working on community exposures, industrial exposures, and other environmental issues. These meetings also provide an opportunity to promote local and state media coverage of environmental health issues to broaden public understanding. Many of these town meetings are organized in collaboration with NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Centers and Superfund Centers at universities around the country who carry out cutting edge research to better understand the most pressing and key environmental problems of the nation, and how best to solve them.
Cincinnati Town Meeting Your Home, Your Health
September 15, 2008
Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH
Hosted by the University of Cincinnati
Previous Town Meetings
Asthma and the Air We Breath
13 July 2007
Charlotte, North Carolina
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
Charlotte Town Meeting on Air Quality & Health Disparities: Public Invited to Help Set Research Agenda
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church joined with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and American Health Strategies in holding a town meeting in Charlotte to discuss ongoing and new ways to improve air quality among minority populations.
Research has consistently shown that African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are more likely to develop chronic respiratory illnesses, including asthma when compared to white Americans. In addition, minorities are more likely to have poor outcomes associated with chronic respiratory illnesses. Differences in exposure to ozone and other pollutants may contribute to the disparities observed in disease prevalence and severity. It is time to clear the air. The Charlotte Town Meeting on Air Quality and Health Disparities was open to the public.
NIEHS director, Dr. David Schwartz, was the keynote speaker for the meeting. The NIEHS has a noted tradition of supporting research relevant to understanding health disparities and concerns of disadvantaged communities. Congressional staff, state and local representatives, researchers and leaders in the medical and public health community participated in the community forum.
Environmental & Neurodevelopmental Disorders over the Lifespan
11 September 2005
Durham, North Carolina
International Neurotoxicolgy Conference
Town Meeting Agenda (http://www.niehs.nih.gov//about/community/docs/nctownmtg0905.pdf) (176 KB)
Growing Pains: Health & Community Impacts of Goods Movements and the Ports
25-26 February 2005
Long Beach, California
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (USC & UCLA)
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