EPA grant awarded to review 'Children’s Healthy Learning Environments in Low-Income and/or Minority Communities'

祝贺Uthealth公共卫生学院El Paso校园院长，Kristina Mena，博士学位。低收入和/或少数民族社区的儿童健康学习环境competition, receiving $200,000 to launch their project, “Outreach for Healthy Learning Environments in West Texas”. This $2 million national grant program competition was funded by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to support children’s environmental health by building capacity through activities that identify and address disproportionate environmental or public health harms and risks in underserved communities.

Through the project, UTHealth School of Public Health researchers will partner with the Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health to build capacity for healthier learning environments within low-income schools in the Paso del Norte Region. The main objectives are to provide culturally relevant information for school decision-makers to identify health risk drivers, demonstrate best practices for maintaining an environmentally safe school, and share preparedness procedures in anticipation of an adverse event.

Schools throughout the region will undergo assessments to identify current hazards and potential risks such as improperly stored cleaning chemicals, flooding, air quality, stagnant water and pipes, mold, and lead-based paint – much of which are found in older school buildings.

梅纳说：“重要的是要告知那些参加活动的人和在学校工作的人之间的关系和人类健康影响之间的关系。”外围beplay“该培训将面对面，并通过英语和西班牙语进行在线模块。”

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that plans and protocols could benefit schools for other future adverse events. Commonly touched surfaces such as door knobs, desks, pencils, and pens are common for the transmission of dangerous pathogens. In addition, many schools have air and water quality concerns. By understanding how and where threats lie, the schools can develop and implement plans for how to address such occurrences.

Key contributors to the grant proposal included Associate Professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health, Louis Brown, PhD and research coordinator, Denise Vasquez, MPH.

Learn more about the Children’s Environmental Health Protection Program