Children’s environmental health: Homes of influence

Abstract

Over the past two decades, diverse stakeholder groups, representing various disciplines and perspectives (e.g., federal, state and local policy makers; nonprofit organizations; health professionals; and industry), have devoted considerable resources, expertise, and influence toward efforts that wittingly and unwittingly affect children’s environmental health. In this article, we refer to these groups as “homes of influence,” and we summarize the wide reach and potential impacts of these homes on childhood asthma, as one example that illustrates how these varied groups impact childhood health outcomes. We posit that diverse homes of influence can be most successful in effecting positive change when they understand and acknowledge their respective influences and work together to develop informed, preventive initiatives under the framework of recommendations called, “A Blueprint for Protecting Children’s Environmental Health: An Urgent Call to Action.” This published resource was developed by a panel of thought leaders and experts in the field of children’s environmental health to guide cross-sector collaboration efforts to proactively protect the environmental health of all children.