Abstract
In Canada, there has been little research exploring the link between child poverty and exposure to environmental contaminants. However, children living in poverty are more likely to grow up in neighbourhoods adjacent to polluting industries and heavily used transportation corridors. They are also more likely to live in improperly designed or maintained buildings where levels of contaminants and toxic residuals may be high, and indoor air quality poor. Risk factors such as exposure to cigarette smoke and poor nutritional status, together with the above living conditions during growth and development, create conditions that make children living in poverty more vulnerable to the effects of environmental contaminants.
In Toronto, the South Riverdale Community Health Centre is developing grassroots techniques to build awareness and protect citizens. Given the growing levels of child poverty in Canada and decreasing environmental protection, the author suggests increased community action and health research for use in advocating for appropriate policy changes.
Electronic Supplementary Material
Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/BF03405092 and is accessible for authorized users.
Abrégé
On a fait peu de recherches au Canada sur les rapports qui existent entre la pauvreté des enfants et leur exposition aux contaminants de l’environnement. Toutefois, les enfants vivant dans la pauvreté ont plus de probabilité de grandir dans des quartiers situés à proximité de sites industriels pollueurs et de corridors de circulation intense. Ils ont aussi une plus grande probabilité de vivre dans des habitations mal conçues et mal entretenues, où les niveaux de contaminants et de résidus toxiques peuvent être élevés, et où la qualité de l’air intérieur est pauvre. Les facteurs de risque comme l’exposition à la fumée de cigarettes et une alimentation médiocre, associés aux mauvaises conditions de logement décrites ci-dessus pendant leur période de croissance et développement ont pour conséquence que les enfants vivant dans la pauvreté sont plus vulnérables aux effets des contaminants de l’environnement.
À Toronto, le centre de santé communautaire de South Riverdale est en train de mettre au point des techniques d’initiative populaire visant à protéger les citoyens en leur expliquant les problèmes. Étant donné qu’il y a de plus en plus d’enfants pauvres au Canada et que l’environnement est de moins en moins protégé, l’auteur propose de recourir à l’action communautaire et à la recherche en santé pour obtenir les changements nécessaires aux politiques.
French language version/Version en Français
Environnement, pauvreté et santé des enfants : le contexte canadien
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