Join us October 13, 1:00 EDT for a live webcast - Migrants and Lead

[Guest guest]

What do grasshoppers, pottery and the

downfall of the Roman Empire have in

common? Join us on October 13, 2009 at 1:00 pm EDT for a live webcast and

find out about an ancient toxin that’s still wreaking havoc. Learn

why lead remains an important concern and what clinicians need in order to care

for migrant workers, pregnant women and kids. Click here to register. http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=235404 & orgId=cne & recurringId=0

Grasshoppers, Dust and Salsa - An Old Toxin in a New Setting: A Fresh

Look at Lead Poisoning in Migrant Populations

This hour long webinar will feature Jennie McLaurin, MD, MPH

– a former medical director of a migrant and community health center and

a pediatrician with over 20 years of practice serving farmworker and immigrant

populations.

Lead poisoning is a preventable disease. It causes behavioral and

learning disorders in children. Low to moderate levels of lead exposure

have been associated with hypertension, decreased kidney and brain function as

well as reproductive problems in adults. Recognition of lead poisoning,

however, is often thwarted by its nature as a disease with insidious and ambiguous

symptoms. As a result, intervention often comes after irreversible damage

is done. Migrant populations face unique dimensions of exposure that

increase their risk of lead poisoning such as occupational exposures, neonatal

exposures, cultural practices (folk remedies, food preparation, etc), migration

and substandard housing environments. Population-specific clinical

interventions are needed to better address lead toxicity in migrant

communities, an important health disparity. This session will address sources

and routes of exposure, clinical protocols and cultural competency in the

clinical recognition and management of lead poisoning in the three populations

1) migrant workers engaged in construction and housing rehabilitation, 2)

pregnant migrant women and women of reproductive age and 3) migrant

children. In addition, this session will review the available tools and

resources regarding lead for clinicians serving migrant populations.

Amy K. Liebman, MPA

Director of Environmental and

Occupational Health

Migrant Clinicians Network

410.860.9850

aliebman@...

www.migrantclinician.org

Migrant Clinicians Network is a force for

justice in health care for the mobile poor.