SOPHE acknowledges that certain subsets of our population, including children and older adults, may be more susceptible to environmental health risks. Because they are still growing and developing, certain environmental hazards may react differently and result in different health effects in children than in full grown adults. Addition, pound for pound, children consume more food, drink more water, and breathe more air, thereby resulting in higher concentrations of potential contaminants. Older adults may be more susceptible to environmental hazards as a result of the natural changes a body undergoes as it ages, for example a weakened immune system. In addition, the amount of potential contaminants that one accumulates over a lifetime increases with age.
In order to increase awareness of these special sub-populations, SOPHE dedicated the second quarter of the "Finding the Key: Healthier Homes & Communities" Campaign to focus on children and older adults.
Reconnecting Kids With Nature Webinar
On Earth Day 2008, SOPHE partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Environmental Education Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to host a FREE Webinar featuring presentations and dialogue on the various health benefits of reconnecting kids with our national parks, wildlife refuges, and other forms of nature!
CDC's National Center for Environmental Health
U.S. EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection