National Environmental Public Health Conference

CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Conference aims to improve the nation’s environmental health capacity by enhancing the expertise of public health professionals, academic researchers, and representatives from communities and organizations from across the United States.

The most recent conference, Healthy People in a Healthy Environment, drew a national audience of 1,300 and took place in Atlanta, GA from October 26-28, 2009.

Hundreds of presentations and posters were discussed across each of the conference’s six topical tracks.

Healthy Places included research and programs related to healthy communities, schools, and housing; indoor and outdoor air quality; land reuse and revitalization; and the built environment.

Public Health & Environmental Exposures emphasized biomonitoring, exposure pathways, health effects, and interventions and provided opportunities to discuss specific hazardous substances, as well as emerging toxic exposures.

Sustainability & Public Health provided a forum for discussing public health's engagement with a variety of sustainability initiatives, including efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, green healthcare and energy initiatives, and other sustainability programs.

Environmental Systems & Public Health promoted about how changes in the earth's ecosystems affect population health and will include sessions on the interrelationships between human and animal health and the environmental public health systems that monitor, control, or prevent adverse health outcomes.

Environmental Health Emergencies dealt with all-hazards preparedness, including anticipating, responding to, mitigating, and recovering from chemical, radiologic, and biological emergencies, natural disasters, and outbreaks.

Environmental Health Science and Practice provided learning opportunities about new and emerging tools for use in science, research, and programs. Sessions focused on informatics, tracking, surveillance, geospatial research, modeling, workforce development, capacity building, and program implementation and evaluation.