Program Overview
The Western States PEHSU has an ongoing collaboration with the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment (CIRCLE) Community Outreach and Translation Core, working to educate clinicians and the public about environmental toxicants that increase the risk of childhood leukemia and other childhood diseases. Taking steps to avoid or reduce these exposures to the fetus and the child may help prevent some childhood leukemias. CIRCLE seeks to discover how environmental exposures and genetics interact to cause childhood leukemia in an effort to prevent the disease.
Informational Resources
A Story of Health: Stephen’s Story
One of our first collaborations with CIRCLE was The Story of Health chapter on childhood cancer, Stephen’s Story.
Community Outreach
Our work with CIRCLE includes outreach to Promotores de Salud-community health workers who work in their communities to educate about health and prevention of disease. In our train-the-trainer workshops with Promotores, we focus on environmental health exposures of reproductive age young people and the consequences for their future children. For more information see Improving Environmental Health Literacy of Young Adults.
Dirty Little Secrets About House Dust
The dust that settles in our homes may seem harmless, but ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ explains that house dust can actually be harmful to your family’s health. In a series of three short videos, this webpage lays out the hazards of house dust contaminated by toxic chemicals and shares tips to avoid exposure to chemicals in the home. The story is related by five-year-old Eleanor, who learned about house dust from her dad, an environmental health scientist.