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The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), founded in 2002 at Commonweal, is an international partnership committed to strengthening the scientific and public dialogue on environmental factors linked to chronic disease and disability. CHE acts as a catalyst for civil discourse and collaborative initiatives among researchers, health professionals, health-affected groups and others concerned with social and environmental impacts on human health. Through these relationships, CHE fosters systemic, multi-factoral, prevention-oriented actions in order to improve human health across the lifespan.

CHE's primary activities include:

1. Sharing emerging scientific research on various  environmental factors that can contribute to disease and disability;
2. Fostering interdisciplinary and inclusive collaboration among diverse constituencies interested in those links; and 
3. Facilitating effective actions to improve health across the lifespan.

CHE is nonpartisan and does not endorse specific policies. Anyone sharing CHE's mission and supporting its Consensus Statement is invited to become a CHE Partner.

CHE has created graphical representations of the scope and structure of our work, shown at right and below (click on the graphics for larger versions).

Welcome, Philip R. Lee, MD, Chairman

Compelling scientific evidence increasingly indicates that the proliferation of chemicals in our air, water, soil, food, homes, schools, and workplaces can be an important factor in many human  diseases and health conditions.

The effects of such environmental toxicants can range from minor to severe. Increasing numbers of informed individuals and organizations are concerned about these impacts and attempting to learn more  about the risks and options for minimizing or eliminating such  exposures.

Unfortunately, such efforts in environmental health have too often been fragmented. Medical, patient, public health and environmental groups that share some of the same concerns too often have not worked together toward common goals. A diverse and inclusive collaboration is essential to success in reducing public exposure to environmental toxicants and developing preventive strategies. Everyone concerned - health-affected groups, scientists, health professionals, and environmental organizations - can serve as resources for each other in collaborations that will help reduce public exposure to environmental toxicants.

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) aims to help address these needs, and to take environmental health efforts into a new era of improved scientific understanding, cooperation among diverse interests sharing similar goals, and better policies and preventive efforts. Here you will find much useful information, as well as options for getting involved with others who share your concerns and goals. We welcome your interest and participation.
 

Dr. Lee is a former U.S. assistant secretary of health and human services and current professor of Social Medicine (Emeritus), Department of Medicine and Senior Advisor, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, School of Medicine, UC San Francisco.