Break the Cycle of Environmental Health Disparities

With ten Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) around the United States, and a few more in other countries, the prenatal field has grown significantly over time. The PEHSUs have each developed and cultivated their own specialties, styles, collaborations, partnerships and special outreach programs such as the Southeast PEHSU's Break the Cycle program. "Break the Cycle" is an annual mentor/mentee that has been around since 2005. It brings the efforts among students of all disciplines focused on increasing the understanding disparities in environmental conditions and resulting health outcomes. "Break the Cycle" has grown in influence and geography, with an increasing number of student researchers participating each year. As a testament to its deep reach and inspiration, some of these students have changed their academic focus and professional goals following their participation in Break the Cycle, bringing to the field of children's environmental health the numbers, passion and commitment necessary to address complex issues. This compilation presents important prenatal exposure research accomplished through this PEHSU mentorship program.The compilation demonstrates the enormous breadth and interactions between social, chemical and biological issues exemplified by the need to understand how, for example, the built environment might affect birth weight, how air pollution might affect behaviour or how growth and development of males is affected by exposure to brominated flame retardants. These are the kinds of questions that stretch our minds and give us an appreciation of science, health, society and equity. In due course, the experiences of students and mentors in Break the Cycle builds a cadre of enlightened and motivated participants in the effort to promote/pursue the best environments for the children of today, tomorrow and generations to come.

Joav Merrick, MD, MMedSci, DMSc, born and educated in Denmark is professor of pediatrics, child health and human development, Division of Pediatrics, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Mt Scopus Campus, Jerusalem, Israel and Kentucky Childrens Hospital, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky United States and professor of public health at the Center for Healthy Development, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United States, the medical director of the Health Services, Division for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, Jerusalem, the founder and director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel.

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