Need for global core competencies in Child Health and the Environment: a Canadian perspective

Abstract

Children are the planet’s most valuable resource. Mortality rates and longevity in children are improving; however, morbidity related to early-life exposures is increasing and with it health spending. A focus on identifying and addressing environmental components related to not only chronic childhood illnesses but also major adult mortalities would help contain current healthcare budgets. Child Health and the Environment (CHE) is an emerging discipline dedicated to managing early-life exposures (prenatal and childhood) on health outcomes throughout life. In Canada, as well as around the world, recognition of this area is growing, but progress has been slow and training of physicians is lacking. The WHO works closely with the Children’s Environmental Health Clinic in Canada as well as collaborating centres around the world to build awareness of environmental health issues and promote improved care of children. Core competencies in CHE for physicians would provide an important step forward.

Environmental history-taking as part of pediatric consultations: a pilot study

“…2 Such exposures occur during vulnerable and difficult to control stages of development (i.e., prenatal, fetal, postnatal or early childhood), setting the stage for serious chronic illness or neurological deficits later in life. 3 In many developing countries, pediatricians l a c k t r a i n i n g i n t h e c l i n i c a l r e c o g n i t i o n , management, and prevention of environmentrelated diseases. Few pediatricians collect information routinely about the house, school, or playground as part of the demographic and social history, or report diseases possibly caused by environmental exposures, and most lack confidence in diagnosing and treating these conditions.…”

Applications of Systems Science to Understand and Manage Multiple Influences within Children’s Environmental Health in Least Developed Countries: A Causal Loop Diagram Approach

“…Whilst two-thirds of people in LDCs still have rural subsistence lifestyles, urbanisation rates are higher than the global average [ 8 ], with urban migration driven by rural poverty and climate change [ 9 ]. Whilst global under-five mortality rates have decreased by 59% since 1990 [ 10 ], morbidity related to early-life environmental exposures is increasing [ 11 ]. Direct and indirect effects of detrimental environmental exposures in childhood often persist through adulthood [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], affecting people’s lifetime health and wellbeing and their ability to contribute economically to their community and society.…”