• AAFP Advocacy Focus: Environmental Concerns in Public Health

    Overview

    The American Academy of Family Physicians understands the environment as a key social determinant of health The AAFP supports policies that help mitigate the impact of hazardous agents on communities and patients.

    Primary care physicians screen for early childhood lead exposure, help manage asthma patients in areas with compromised air quality and treat individuals with foodborne illnesses, among other interventions against environmental ills. Family physicians' broad experience and training make them well-positioned to provide expertise regarding community health issues.

    Why We Fight

    The Academy recognizes that the environmental factors affecting our patients — from water quality to food safety to the impacts of natural disaster — are numerous and complex. Which is why the AAFP continues to evolve as both a resource to primary care physicians, who treat people at every life stage and therefore see vulnerable young and elderly patients, and an advocate for regulation and policy that better safeguards U.S. health.


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