American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an organization of 55,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. AAP has 66 chapters in the United States and Canada. Members carry out the academy's work locally. AAP's Committee on Environmental Health (COEH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have joined forces to create an environmental safety net for children and to support the vision: Healthy Children in a Healthy Environment.

Under ATSDR cooperative agreement funding, the Environmental Safety Net for Children workshop was held in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 2–4, 2001. Attendees were practicing local pediatricians representing AAP chapters, internationally known speakers and expert faculty members, and collaborating government agency experts concerned with pediatric environmental health. The workshop was awarded 19 hours of category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award.

Workshop participants engaged in innovative learning and dialogue on a variety of topics including

• environmental epidemiology
• environmental triggers of asthma
• herbal and folk medicines
• international environmental health
• neurotoxicants
• risk communication
• “sick schools ”

These interactions have enabled participants to independently conduct pediatric environmental health promotion activities.

An e-mail mailing list (the electronic safety net listserv) was established for all participants to share questions and information, report local activities, and identify collaborators and professional support for local pediatric environmental health activities.

The workshop proceedings will be published as a supplement to the AAP journal Pediatrics. Follow-up evaluation will be completed to determine how the
participants have shared their knowledge with the other members of their local AAP chapters, other health professionals, and with the children, parents, and communities they serve.

For further information, please contact:

AAP, COEH
141 Northwest Point Blvd
Elk Grove Village, IL 60009-0927
Phone: 847-981-7148
Website: http://www.aap.org/

or

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
4770 Buford Hwy, NE (Mail Stop F-32)
Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
Phone: (770) 488-3490
Fax: (770) 488-4178