Title: Conference Announcement
Author:
Section/SPIG: Epidemiology
Issue Date:
Promoting Healthy Communities for Children: The Physical and Social Environments
September 26-27, 2005
University of Minnesota, Earle Brown Center, St. Paul Campus
What is the purpose of the conference? From conception through adolescence, children are disproportionately affected by exposure to environmental risks because they have greater physiological and psychological vulnerabilities during stages of rapid and formative development, and they have less power to influence and shape their environment.
This conference will examine critical aspects of the environment as they affect the health and well being of children and adolescents, organized around three broad themes:
§ the natural environment – including the quality of our air, water, and soil; exposure to lead, mercury, and environmental tobacco smoke;
§ the built environment – including buildings, transportation networks, and urban/suburban/rural planning and development; and
§ the social environment – including social processes and conditions related to economic and political power and decision making; human connections at an ecological level, such as social capital; family relationships; safe schools; and discrimination.
Given its ecodevelopmental perspective, the conference will be organized to examine the diverse social contexts in which children live, work, and play during the following stages of life:
o Preconception/fetal development/1st year of life
o Preschool period – ages 1 – 5
o School age
Who should attend? This conference is intended for a multidisciplinary audience, including public health and clinical researchers and MCH professionals (especially MCH epidemiologists), graduate students, and community organizers/program developers.
Primary sponsor: University of Minnesota Maternal and Child Health Program, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health
Co-sponsors: University of Minnesota College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota Medical School, University of Minnesota School of Nursing, University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Sustainable Resources, and the Institute for Trade and Agriculture.
For further information: Registration will begin in July. Information will be available on the Maternal and Child Health Program website: <http://http://www.epi.umn.edu/mch>. Registration fees will be minimal and continuing education credits will be available. Scholarships will be available for those who are unable to pay the registration fee.