Environmental Health Information Systems

Objective: To provide not an exhaustive catalog, but a systematic approach to searching for information on environmental health, one that incorporates the concepts of information value and source evaluation in a field of knowledge where interdisciplinarity is a key challenge. Sources and producers of information: International, European, North American, and national institutions are at the forefront of producing environmental health information, acting as research funders or setting the standards that manufacturers must meet regarding the safety of their processes or products. NGOs and associations, which serve as checks on these institutions, also produce information. Information approach: Explore the literature using bibliographic databases. Analyze the literature by accessing the content of the information gathered. Collect pre-processed information from factual databases, particularly in the chemical and toxicological fields, keeping in mind that of the 35 million products identified by Chemical Abstracts Service, only 350,000 are cited in any capacity in North American databases, and only 800 have been assessed for carcinogenic risk. Provide context using information available on the websites of the organizations producing the information. Take a critical look at the gathered information, considering the limitations of the tools, objective criteria such as the information producers, the format in which it is presented, its updating, and its external validation, and taking into account what health assessment tools offered by OMNI in England, Santécom in Quebec, or the Rouen University Hospital in France can contribute. Conclusion: The chronic underutilization of scientific information that appears to characterize environmental health is an issue that justifies proposing a method to overcome the apparent confusion and overabundance of information sources in the sector.

Author(s): Le Bis I, Le Goaster C

Publishing year: 2002

Pages: 50-9

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