Since 2001, the COEP has consistently found innovative ways to help make Center research relevant to the communities of Southern California. The variety of outreach activities and programs has enabled our Center scientists to reach community members in unique ways. For a summary of the COEP's past community involvement, please see the Archives.

As part of our COEP efforts, we aim to improve communication between the community and our scientific investigators in order to improve environmental health. Some of our activities include: working with science, math and social studies teachers to improve their understanding of environmental health science issues; providing scientific and technical advice to community groups, students, residents, and parents; raising the awareness of the public through public conferences, through media presentations, and through press (television, radio and newspaper interviews); and providing scientific advice and review for policymakers.

The COEP secured funding from the California Air Resources Board to develop a 28-minute documentary video called, “A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children,” about the Children’s Health Study scientific findings. In the video are a Center scientist, key government regulators and the executive director of our community partner CCAEJ. The video features several families impacted by air pollution. The finished product has been disseminated to more than 500 organizations and shown to thousands of viewers. In response to feedback from school nurses and requests from community organizations, the COEP produced a Spanish version of the video in 2004. Organizations that have ordered the video include ten Lung Association chapters in California, three nursing schools, seven health departments and many others. A survey on utilization of the video is underway. The video is offered for free, in Spanish and English, on DVD or cassette, and is downloadable from the California Air Resources Board.

In May 2002, the Center sponsored a follow-up to the Town Hall Meeting, to further address traffic and public health concerns. The day-long public workshop on May 3, 2002, entitled “Traffic, Toxic Releases and Public Health: the Risks of Living Near Sources of Air Pollution,” attracted 80 attendees, including community groups, academicians, and international experts. The conference drew upon speakers from an international workshop on May 1-2, 2002, entitled “GIS and Spatial Statistics in Environmental Epidemiology,” sponsored by the Center. Among speakers at the public forum were Center investigator Dr. Rob McConnell, Center investigator Dr. Beate Ritz, Dr. David Briggs from the U.K., Dr. Bert Brunekreef from the Netherlands and Dr. Michael Jerrett from Canada. The community panel included representatives from COEP partner organizations Communities for a Better Environment, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), Coalition for a Safe Environment, and Environmental Health Coalition. Both the scientific and public workshops were organized by COEP. Of greatest interest to attendees were the potential health impacts of living or going to school in close proximity to busy roads and freeways.

Center scientists and the COEP have been engaged on many fronts in examining the local and regional impacts on public health resulting from expansion of the Southern California ports and related infrastructure to move imported goods. With a large group of partners, the COEP organized a new Town Meeting entitled: "Growing Pains: Health and Community Impacts of Global Trade and the Ports."

The September 9, 2004, release of a Center study examining the effects of smog on children’s lung development generated an extensive amount of media coverage. The story appeared on the front page of 14 newspapers nationwide, including the L.A. Times, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Daily News, Orange County Register and the San Diego Union Tribune. The study’s findings prompted numerous editorials calling for more stringent air quality standards as well as placing a priority on children’s health. Fourteen editorials appeared in newspapers, including in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Fresno Bee, Long Beach Press Telegram, Los Angeles Times, Riverside Press Enterprise, and the Minnesota Daily.

The USC Annenberg School for Communication has asked COEP to assist on its new Health Journalism Fellowship Program. The Annenberg School’s program for medical and health care reporters is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the California Endowment. Each year, 100 California journalists working in print, broadcast and Internet media will be selected to participate in workshops, which started in early 2005. On April 9 in Fresno, CA, COEP Director Andrea Hricko moderated a panel that focused on the medical consequences of air and pesticide pollution.

The Breathless in L.A. article placed the COEP director in a favorable position to apply for funding to disseminate Center research findings to policymakers. Andrea Hricko obtained a grant from the USC Urban Initiative and produced a policy brief that was disseminated to 1600 policymakers in California. It reports on results of the Children’s Health Study and policy implications that the study raises. The policy brief was released concurrently with the NEJM lung function paper by Gauderman et al., and as a result it was cited on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. The publication is part of the Urban Policy Briefing Series of the USC Urban Initiative, with a mission to develop solutions to complex urban problems through transdisciplinary collaboration in urban research.