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A Review of Stressors from the Built and Natural Environments Impacting American Indian Children’s Health and Well-Being
Citation:
Barros, N., N. Tulve, D. Heggem, AND K. Bailey. A Review of Stressors from the Built and Natural Environments Impacting American Indian Children’s Health and Well-Being. 2017 ISES Annual Meeting, Durham, NC, October 15 - 19, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at the 2017 ISES Annual Meeting
Description:
Exposures to chemical and non-chemical stressors from children’s environments during early development may contribute to differences in their health and well-being outcomes. Children from American Indian tribes may have a disproportionate burden of these stressors from their man-made (i.e., built environment) and natural surroundings. Our objective was to identify stressors from the built and natural environments that may affect the health and well-being of American Indian children. Databases (ProQuest, PubMed, Web of Science) were searched with key words and search strings (e.g., Alaska Native child) to identify scholarly literature focused on stressors, exposures, and health and well-being for American Indian children. A total of 2,535 references were identified. References were then excluded if they did not discuss American Indian children or were not the primary cohort of interest; discussed Tribes outside the U.S.; described interventions; or did not provide information about stressors from the built or natural environments. Of the 23 remaining references 10 discussed stressors from the built environment and 13 from the natural environment. For the built environment, the main stressors were poor indoor air quality from a wood stove, mold, or dust; lack of plumbing; dirt floors; and overcrowding. For the natural environment, however, only chemical stressors were identified, focusing on maternal and adolescent exposures to persistent organic pollutants and metals around hazardous waste sites (through contaminated waterways) and abandoned mines. Preliminary findings identified a limited number of studies (<30), demonstrating a major information gap. Analyses provide preliminary information about the nature of chemical and non-chemical stressors from built and natural environments that may influence American Indian children’s health and well-being, which may be distinct from other communities. Further analyses will be reported.
