Book Description:
This book represents a body of work performed by students from a diverse set of disciplines and a variety of universities in the United States and Santiago, Chile. Each project was developed by the students to “break the cycle of social, economic and environmental health disparities.” This book contains the completed projects from the eighth annual ‘Break the Cycle’ program. “Break the Cycle” projects are designed to raise awareness among students about environmental health disparities and its impact on the world around them. Although students may feel daunted by the magnitude of the challenge, they need to know that even the relatively small project they develop can make a big difference and becomes part of an inexorable process towards making the world a better place for all of its citizens. The dictum that “It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, yet, you are not free to desist from it” empowers the students to take on a challenge for a lifetime and beyond. We believe that the lessons the students learned from their own projects, from working with the other students and from appreciating the difference that each little effort can make, goes significantly towards cultivating our future leaders; these are the people who will carry on the work and make the world a better place for future generations. (Imprint: Nova)

Table of Contents:
Introduction pp.1-2

Chapter 1. Break the Cycle of Disadvantage and Disability: Finding Hope
(I. Leslie Rubin, Robert J. Geller, Janice Nodvin, Maeve Howett, Benjamin A. Gitterman and Joav Merrick, Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability, Atlanta, Georgia, US and others)pp.3-14

Section One: Break the Cycle pp.15-16

Chapter 2. Legal Instruments to Lower the Risk of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV
(Alexandra Jurewitz, Tulane University School of Law and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, US) pp.17-34

Chapter 3. Health Disparities in South Africa: Breaking the Cycle through Ecological Health Promotion
(Michael Rudolph, Nicolette Richard and Florian Kroll, School of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Witwatersrand Health Consortium and Siyakhana Initiative, WitwatersrandUniversity,, Johannesburg, South Africa) pp.35-44

Chapter 4. Community Gardens to Fight Urban Youth Crime and Stabilize Neighborhoods
(Art McCabe, City of Lawrence, Community Development Department and Safe and Successful Youth Initiative, Lawrence, MA, US) pp.45-66

Chapter 5. Pediatric Obesity and Food Access in Durham, North Carolina
(Meredith Martz, Rebecca Anthopolos, Mara Geller and Pamela J. Maxson, Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, US)pp.67-82

Chapter 6. Indoor Environmental Risk Factors for Pediatric Respiratory Diseases in an Underserved Community in Santiago, Chile
(Maria Soledad Matus, Trinidad Sánchez, Javiera Martínez-Gutiérrez, Jaime Cerda, Helia Molina and Patricia M. Valenzuela, Departments of Pediatrics, Public Health, and Family Medicine, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile)pp.83-100

Chapter 7. Hidden in Plain Sight: Community Knowledge, Attitudes and Action Plans to Remediate Brownfields in a Suburban Community
(Sharisse Carter and Martine Hackett, Department of Health Professions, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, US) pp.101-112

Chapter 8. How Does the Socio-Demographic Composition of Schools Affect the Prevalence of Children with Mild Intellectual Disability?
(Jessica H. Knight, Michael R. Kramer and Carolyn Drews-Botsch, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health and Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, US)pp.113-128

Chapter 9. Impact of Maternal Health Literacy Training on the Knowledge of Women Who Have Been Homeless
(Danielle L. Oves, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, US) pp.129-152

Chapter 10. Training Head Start Parents in Dialogic Reading to Improve Outcomes for Children
(Jacqueline A. Towson and Peggy A. Gallagher, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, US) pp.153-170

Chapter 11. Off the Mat: Piloting a Mindfulness Based Curriculum with Adolescents in East Harlem
(Maureen Braun, Brenda Levy, Geoffrey Collins and Leora Mogilner, Department of Pediatrics, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, US) pp.171-180

Chapter 12. Project GRANDD Revisited: A Community-Based Service Learning Experience for Nurse Practitioner Students
(Melissa A. Beaver, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, US)pp.181-188

Chapter 13. Finding Hope in Hopeless Environments
(Ashley Bennett, David Wood, Ryan Butterfield, Dale F. Kraemer and Jeff Goldhagen, Center for Health Equity and Quality Research, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, US)pp.189-206
Section Two: Acknowledgments pp.207-208

Chapter 14. About the Editors pp.209-210

Chapter 15. About the Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disabilitypp.211-214

Chapter 16. About the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU)pp.215-218

Chapter 17. About the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel pp.219-222

Chapter 18. About the Book Series “Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Health” pp.223-226

Section Three: Index pp.227-228

Index pp.229-243