UNIVERSITY PARK, PA September 27, 2008
/24-7PressRelease/ -- A Penn State collaborative in Philadelphia is helping Latino childcare providers understand pest management issues in their childcare programs and implement integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. The goal of the project is to more effectively control pests and reduce the risks of pest and pesticide exposures to young children.
Funded in part by a Northeastern IPM Center mini-grant to The Preschool Project in Philadelphia, the project relies heavily on developing targeted training materials about IPM in Spanish. IPM is a safe, effective, and scientific approach to managing pests. IPM uses knowledge of pests' habits and needs to help implement pest prevention tactics as a first line of defense. Pesticides are used as a last resort, and only pesticide products that pose the least-toxic, least risk of exposure to building occupants are chosen.
Recent studies indicate both pests and pesticides can cause and aggravate asthma and other health issues, especially in children. Inner-city residents are especially at risk for these problems from multiple sources of environmental pollutants and toxins. Particularly in urban areas, young children spend over 90 percent of their time indoors, either at home or in childcare. Indoor air quality is severely impacted by high pest populations and repeated use of pesticides that leave chemical residues. After educating caregivers about these risks and safer solutions, new approaches and steps can be implemented to reduce risk of exposure in this setting.
According to Lyn Garling, project partner and manager of programs for the Pennsylvania IPM program, the Spanish-speaking population in the United States is growing by 12 percent per year. "In Philadelphia, this trend also holds true. The Mexican community in particular is growing rapidly and the population is proportionally young, with many children living in substandard housing conditions in low-income households."
Garling says these types of living conditions are conducive to high pest infestations and Latino children are generally at higher risk for pest and pesticide related health problems. "Asthma can be caused or aggravated by pests and pesticides, with young children under five being the most at-risk. As in many cities, asthma incidence data for Philadelphia show that the Hispanic community suffers the highest rate of asthma of any group. Despite this, very few IPM resources and outreach efforts have been developed for Spanish-speaking urban populations."
PA IPM's Philadelphia School and Community IPM Partnership (PSCIP) is helping to change that by building upon the IPM outreach efforts of the Penn State Philadelphia Outreach Center. By partnering with The Preschool Project in Philadelphia, the group is spreading the IPM message to Latino families through daycares in targeted Philadelphia neighborhoods.
With the help of bilingual consultant Cynthia Kreilick, The Preschool Project and PSCIP have developed four IPM training modules in English and Spanish for community educators and childcare providers serving the Latino community. By developing culturally-appropriate outreach materials to reach the wider community, Kreilick says they will be able to increase the capacity of early care educators and caregivers to implement and teach about IPM and safe pesticide practices. "Topics of the modules include children's health and pest issues, pesticides and alternatives, developing an IPM program for childcare facilities, and how to create a safe pest free environment," Kreilick explains. "We'll also educate participants about removing pesticides from the proximity of children in assessed sites, and propose changes in pesticide and pest management protocols in participating programs. Materials we produce will be transferable to Latino populations and educators across the city and the country."
In addition, PSCIP has conducted several training sessions for childcare providers, covering much of the material contained in the modules. JoAnna Collins, director of early education at Creative Play Day School, attended two of the sessions and called it a wonderful opportunity. "It's made a dramatic change in the way we think about pest control."
Anne Rahn, executive director of The Preschool Project, says they are happy to partner with PSCIP to protect the health of young children. "IPM is an area that has not yet been addressed in the early care and education community. Pest infestations can cause or aggravate many preventable health issues but so can the use of toxic chemicals. This program will provide tools, educational materials and programs that will encourage the use of safe pest control practices in diverse communities throughout Philadelphia."
For more information on PSCIP, including meeting minutes, partners in the initiative, and current and future activities, visit Web site http://www.pscip.org/. Or, you may contact Michelle Niedermeier at the Penn State Philadelphia Outreach Center, phone (215) 471-2200, ext. 109, or e-mail mxn14@psu.edu.
About Pennsylvania IPM Program
The Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center fosters the development and adoption of IPM, a science-based approach to managing pests in ways that generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits. The Center works in partnership with stakeholders from agricultural, urban, and rural settings to identify and address regional priorities for research, education, and outreach. For more information, visit http://NortheastIPM.org.
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