Emerging Trends in Public Health
Sharing Session - 30 Minutes
Kim Tham, MPH
Environmental Public Health Coordinator
Pima County Health Department
Brian Eller, BS
Program Manager
Pima County Health Department
This session will discuss how local health departments can leverage multi-sectoral partnerships and collaborate with grassroots environmental justice organizations to address community health concerns around environmental exposures. We will share how the collaborative approach was critical to engaging community members who identify as disenfranchised due to widespread trichloroethylene exposures in drinking water systems. Participants will learn about the process of engaging Environmental Justice leaders, professional partners, and government agencies to create a Teach-In, a platform to build partnerships and drive community-identified priorities for environmental justice. The Teach-In event is scalable, modifiable to address other social justice issues, and applicable to other health jurisdictions. This tool has contributed to sustainable partnerships and ongoing collaborations to address action-items identified by community participants.