Welcome to the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, formerly the University of California, San Francisco, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (UCSF PEHSU). The University of California, San Francisco PEHSU and the University of California, Irvine PEHSU have merged and become the Western States PEHSU.
We are part of a network across North America dedicated to providing expertise on the connection between children’s health and the environment. Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental contaminants because they are still developing and their behavior can expose them more hazards. The UCSF PEHSU aims to reduce these risks by providing training for health professionals, offering consultations to families and communities, and developing educational resources on environmental health issues that affect children.
This site connects information and resources on a variety of environmental health topics and describes current activities of the UCSF PEHSU.
UCSF PEHSU exists to improve the recognition and management of environmental health problems among children. This page contains information relevant to clinicians regarding the latest research and recommendations relevant to protecting children from specific environmental contaminants. We also provide educational resources for clinicians to further explore the impacts of the environment on children’s health.
This site provides information on protecting families from harmful environmental exposures. Our resources include articles, videos, and fact sheets on specific environmental health topics. These pages also connect to additional resources and organizations focusing on children’s environmental health.
A Story of Health is the first installment of a new eBook on how to promote health and prevent disease. The book uses a series of case vignettes to highlight how our environments – the natural, built, chemical, food, economic, and social environments – affect our health across the lifespan and how these different environments interact with genetics and each other to influence health. The book explores the potential environmental causes of common diseases and conditions such as asthma, developmental disabilities, cancer, infertility, diabetes, and cognitive decline and how to prevent them and promote health by shaping the environments where we live, eat, work, play, pray, volunteer, gather and socialize. Its intended audience includes clinicians, health advocates and policy makers. Free continuing education credits for health professionals is available. Download the A Story of Health e-book.
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Marya Zlatnik, MD, MMS to the UCSF PEHSU team. She will serve as the UCSF PEHSU Associate Director for Maternal Fetal Health and the Environment Program.
More news on the PEHSU News Page.
