Applied Environmental Health Practice

At A Glance

Course Overview

This service-learning course applies concepts and principles of environmental health to real-world problems impacting communities in Baltimore. Groups investigate the driving forces that underlie complex environmental health issues and explore strategies for assessment and intervention. Classroom discussion integrates the practical experiences of community members and students wherever possible.

Participating CBOs will be expected to:

• Work with faculty to outline their environmental health challenges or questions 
• Provide background information to set the context for understanding the problem 
• Create a set of deliverables or tasks for students to potentially address
• Meet with the class three times over two months to talk about progress and roadblocks 
• Assess the students and their deliverables
• Facilitate reflection on the process

Possible deliverables for the Partner CBO (based on needs):

• a review of the scientific literature about an environmental health issue of concern, for example, asking is there a linkage between wireless signals like wifi and cancer
• draft testimony for city council or the state legislature regarding an environmental health issue, for example, the connection between fracking and health
• a study design to document an environmental health issue in the community, for example, seeing if a smell from a local industrial plant is linked to headaches or other health issues
• data analysis relating to an environmental health issue or exposure, for example, mapping asthma rates and pollution exposure in a neighborhood