The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #34363

Roger B. Perales, BS, RS, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, The STEER Program - MCS 222, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, (210)567-5037, peralesr@uthscsa.edu

The South Texas Environmental Education and research (STEER) program of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) offers medical and nursing students a one-month environmental health training experience at the U.S.-Mexico border. As part of this elective, STEER students, under professional supervision, conduct structured environmental house calls, visiting the homes of children with asthma. supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Environmental Education Training Foundation, this project has as its goal the development of a protocol for performing educational environmental house calls that other medical and nursing schools can use for teaching their students. The project has a double-barreled intent: Delivering in-home, targeted assistance to families of children with asthma, and enabling medical and nursing students to "see" firsthand, the relationship between an illness and their patients' environment. STEER staff and students examine each home for various air contaminants that might contribute to asthma--dust from unpaved roads, exhaust from heavy truck traffic, combustion products from the use of biomass fuels, mold, tobacco smoke, and allergens including animal dander, cockroach and house dust mite. Selected testing, e.g., for C02, C0, various allergens, airborne particulate, and viable molds, is conducted during a second follow-up visit. Students also evaluate each home for the presence of lead, and test drinking water for chlorine. A third, and final visit engages families and students in discussing exposures of concern, answering questions, and considering possible mitigation strategies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to

• Articulate a new approach for teaching students in health professions about environmental health.
• Identify at least 5 indoor environmental exposures which are thought to contribute to asthma.
• Be able to implement a parallel training effort in their own medical and nursing schools.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Child Health Promotion

Related Web page: steer.uthscsa.edu

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.