A FRAMEWORK FOR TRACKING SOCIAL DISPARITIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

ISEE-74 Introduction: Environmental justice advocates have encouraged scientists and regulators to view the “environment” holistically, by considering the effects that socio-economic and other social factors have on exposure to environmental hazards and resulting health outcomes. Environmental health indicators measured at community, state, or national levels are tools that may help to identify environmental health disparities, measure progress in reducing disparities and promote the public’s health. Aim: The purpose of this presentation is to review indicator-based approaches to examine the linkages between environmental burden and health disparities. Methods: We discuss how environmental health indicators could attend to the social processes that shape communities as well as the traditional measures of environmental factors known to impact health. We present a conceptual approach to environmental public health tracking that incorporates both traditional measures of environmental health as well as measures of psychosocial conditions. Traditional measures include ambient air pollution, indoor air quality, drinking and ambient water quality, pesticides, hazardous waste and land contaminants and body burden measurements. Psychosocial conditions include neighbourhood social capital, economic deprivation, social inequality, residential segregation, and community stress. Discussion: Using a multi-level perspective, we discuss how these two traditions may interact and provide a fuller understanding of environmental health disparities. We discuss some of the challenges to environmental health indicators as well as suggestions for application of indicators relevant to health disparities.