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| Year : 2003
| Volume
: 5 | Issue : 19 | Page
: 67-68 |
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| Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE) |
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Moniek Zuurbier
Public Health Services Gelderland Midden, Post Box 5364, NL-6802 EJ Arnhem, Netherlands
Click here for correspondence address
and email
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How to cite this article:
Zuurbier M. Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE). Noise Health 2003;5:67-8 |
PINCHE is a thematic network funded by the European Union. PINCHE has been initiated by the International Network on Children's Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES: www.inchesnetwork.org). The network is coordinated from the Public Health Services Gelderland Midden, the Netherlands.
Aims
PINCHE aims at creating a solid basis for public health policy-making related to improving children's environment and health in Europe. To reach this aim, studies related to children's health and environment are being analysed and interpreted. The results will be used to prepare recommendations for policies on children's health and environment. PINCHE will aim at providing decision-makers, environmental health professionals and other stakeholders with information and proposals relevant for developing policy.
Background
Environmental pollution may profoundly affect children's health and can be costly to remedy. Because children are more susceptible than adults to some environmental factors, policy needs to be developed to reflect this susceptibility. PINCHE will focus on assessing the effects on public health of environmental factors and on assessing the further policy consequences related to children.
PINCHE brings together scientists and representatives of industry, nongovernmental organisations, patient organisations and policy analysts to identify and analyse existing research and will prepare policy-relevant interpretation of the findings of research results.
Specific objectives
The specific objectives of PINCHE's work are:
- to develop an interpretation framework for the results of research supported by the Fourth and Fifth Framework Programmes of the European Union as well as nationally funded studies and other relevant studies;
- to collect, analyse and interpret the results of research; and
- to make policy-relevant recommendations from these activities, including identifying research gaps related to children, health and the environment.
Themes
Four themes have been selected because of their important role in children's health and development.
- Children and air pollution
Members of the theme group will specifically examine the short-term and long-term exposure to ambient air, not taking into account accidental or extreme situations around unique point sources. Major air pollution issues include the long-range transport of air pollution such as ozone and fine particles, emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels as well as the complex mixture of urban air pollution. - Children and environmental carcinogens
The environmental carcinogens to be studied should be listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and should be relevant to the settings of children. The main setting relevant for children's exposure to carcinogens will be urban air pollution and industry-driven local exposure. - Children and noise
The theme group will look at the cognitive and health problems children risk encountering in settings with high levels of noise. This topic is important because large numbers of children are being exposed to noise. - Children and neurobehavioural and developmental toxicants
The exposure routes of these toxicants that are important for children are urban air and food. The most important sources of this exposure are transport, industry, pesticide application and environmental tobacco smoke. Concerning the interactions between neurotoxicants and the changes they cause, the project will focus on such issues as developmental disorders, learning disabilities and change in intelligence quotient.
Partnership
PINCHE consists of 8 principal contractors and 21 members. The list of partners can be found on PINCHES Web site.
Project Management Team
The network is coordinated by a Project Management Team.
Peter van den Hazel, MD, MPH, project coordinator
Public Health Services Gelderland Midden, the Netherlands
[email protected]
Marie Louise Bistrup, cand. arch., MPH, project co-coordinator
National Institute of Public Health, Denmark
[email protected]
Moniek Zuurbier, MSc, project assistant Public Health Services Gelderland Midden, the Netherlands
[email protected]
Steering Committee
Vyvyan Howard, Developmental ToxicoPathology Group, Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
John Pieters, former Inspector for Environmental Health of the Dutch Ministry for Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM), the Netherlands
Philippe Grandjean, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Funding
The European Commission is funding the PINCHE network for 3 years. The activities started on 1 January 2003 and end in 2005. A kick-off meeting for the partners was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 6-7 February 2003.
PINCHE will use the Internet for major communication and public relations. Additional information can be found on the Internet:www.pinche.hvdgm.nl
Correspondence Address:
Moniek Zuurbier
Public Health Services Gelderland Midden, Post Box 5364, NL-6802 EJ Arnhem
Netherlands
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 12804215 
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