Protecting Our Children

A Scan of Canadian and International Children's Environmental Health Best Practices

Abstract

Environmental factors,such as outdoor air pollution ,are estimated to be responsible for 13 percent of Canada’s overall disease burden. This burden can be expected to be even higher among children ,due to unique developmental, behavioral, and physiological factors. Understanding how to reduce exposures to protect children from environmental health risksis essentialfor improving children’s health and ultimately the health of all Canadians. In this paper, we explore elements of environments in Canada and other industrialized nations that impact child health, and investigate domestic and international best practices related to protection against children’s environmental health risks. We conducted an environmental scan of Canadian and international English-language literature covering the years 2002-2013. The most frequently identified environment-related health issues include allergic disease, neurodevelopmental disorders,cancers, endocrine system disorders, and reproductive health problems. Recommendations for reducing the environmental health disease burden among children include increased use of the precautionary approach to exposure prevention, development of astronger evidence base, agreaterfocus on vulnerable populations, and improved environmental health education for health care providers.