Toward Environmental Justice

Toward Environmental Justice

Research, Education, and Health Policy Needs

  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 9780309064071
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780309593014
  • eISBN Epub: 9780309174220
  • Place of publication:  United States
  • Year of digital publication: 1999
  • Month: February
  • Pages: 152
  • Language: English

Driven by community-based organizations and supported by a growing body of literature, the environmental justice movement contends that poor and minority populations are burdened with more than their share of toxic waste, pesticide runoff, and other hazardous byproducts of our modern economic life.

Is environmental degradation worse in poor and minority communities? Do these communities suffer more adverse health effects as a result? The committee addresses these questions and explores how current fragmentation in health policy could be replaced with greater coordination among federal, state, and local parties.

The book is highlighted with case studies from five locations where the committee traveled to hear citizen and researcher testimony. It offers detailed examinations in these areas:

  • Identifying environmental hazards and assessing risk for populations of varying ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds, and the need for methodologies that uniquely suit the populations at risk.
  • Identifying basic, clinical, and occupational research needs and meeting challenges to research on minorities.
  • Expanding environmental education from an ecological focus to a public health focus for all levels of health professionals.
  • Legal and ethical aspects of environmental health issues.

The book makes recommendations to decision-makers in the areas of public health, research, and education of health professionals and outlines health policy considerations.

  • Toward Environmental Justice
  • Copyright
  • REVIEWERS
  • Preface
  • Contents
  • 1 Introduction and Executive Summary
    • CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
    • THE COMMITTEE'S ORIGIN AND TASK
      • The Committee's Task
      • The Data and Site Visits
    • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
      • Research
      • Education
      • Health Policy
    • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
  • 2 Establishing a Baseline
    • DISPARITIES IN HEALTH STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES
      • Low Birth Weight
      • Infant Mortality
      • Death Rates
      • Cancer
    • DISPARITIES IN EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
      • Examining Proximity to Environmental Health Hazards
      • Characterizing Exposure
    • EXAMINING THE LINK BETWEEN EXPOSURE AND HEALTH
      • Lack of Health Status Characterization
      • Failure of Differentiation of Populations and Differences in Outcomes
      • A Case Study: Urban Asthma
    • CONCLUSIONS
  • 3 Research
    • RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
      • Documenting Excessive Exposures
        • Toxic Chemical Release Inventory
        • Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program
      • Assessing Susceptibility to Environmental Hazards
      • Measuring the Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Health Hazards
        • Multiplicity of Hazards
        • Multiplicity of Potential Determinants
      • Biomarkers
        • Biomarkers of Exposure
        • Biomarkers of Susceptibility
        • Biomarkers of Effect
        • Limitations and Potential of Biomarkers in Environmental Health Risk Assessment
    • RESEARCH CHALLENGES
      • Improving Epidemiologic Studies
      • Addressing Race
      • Participatory Research
        • Challenges of Participatory Research
      • Enhancing Support for Research
    • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
      • Strategies for Improving the Science Base
        • Strategies for Involving the Affected Populations
        • Strategy for Communicating with Stakeholders
  • 4 Education
    • HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
      • Enhancing Health Professional Education
        • Medical Education
        • Public Health Education
        • Nursing and Allied Health Sciences
      • Increasing the Number of Minority Health Professionals
    • EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC
      • Educating Children
      • Community Leadership
      • Conducting Participatory Research
    • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
      • Strategies for Enhancing Health Professionals' Knowledge of Environmental Health and Justice Issues
        • Strategies for Increasing the Number of Health Professionals Specializing in Environmental and Occupational Medicine
        • Strategies for Community and Public Education
  • 5 Health Policy
    • CURRENT SCIENCE BASE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
    • EXPANDING THE POLICY PROCESS
    • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • References
  • Appendixes
    • A Using Disease-Cluster and Small-Area Analyses to Study Environmental Justice
      • Health-Effects Studies
        • Barriers to Epidemiologic Studies
          • Data Availability
          • Sample Size
        • Preepidemiology
          • Types of Preepidemiologic Methods
          • Limitations of Preepidemiology
          • Appropriate Uses of Preepidemiology
      • Statistical Approaches to Preepidemiology
        • Disease-Cluster Investigation Practices
        • Choosing the Right Statistical Analysis Method
          • What Type of Clustering is Being Investigated?
          • What is the Null Hypothesis?
          • What is the Alternative Hypothesis?
          • What Type of Summary Statistic is Used?
          • Which Method is Most Appropriate for the Cluster Under Investigation?
          • How Should the Statistical Significance of an Analysis be Interpreted?
      • Research Needs
      • Bibliography
    • B Acknowledgments
    • C Acronyms
    • D Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population
    • E Committee and Staff Biographies
      • Committee Biographies
      • Institute of Medicine Staff
  • Index

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