Problem: Clinical practice at the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Environmental Health Center along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health identified mercury in locally caught fish as a priority for health professionals to address with their patients. Other top priorities included PCBs, PFAS, heavy metals in baby foods. Children are especially vulnerable to harmful health effects of mercury, which can include damage to their brain and nervous system.
Solution: Region 1 PEHSU created a training series with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health called Environmental Health Hazards: Continuing Medical Education Modules. The series examines four environmental health hazards with modules on PCBs, PFAS, Heavy Metals in Baby Food and Formula, and Mercury in Locally Caught Fish.
Impact: Each module provides clinicians and public health professionals with the resources to identify at-risk populations, assess exposure and health risks, and provide guidance on how to minimize exposure. The modules are available for free or for CME credit for health professionals to respond to environmental health hazards that their patients face. Health professionals across the U.S., and in India and Japan, have taken the course.