PHILADELPHIA, PA, October 2008: A Penn State collaborative in Philadelphia is helping Latino childcare providers understand pest management issues in their childcare programs and implement integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. The goal of the project is to more effectively control pests and reduce the risks of pest and pesticide exposures to young children.
Funded in part by a Northeastern IPM Center mini-grant to The Preschool Project in Philadelphia, the project relies heavily on developing targeted training materials about IPM in Spanish. IPM is a safe, effective, and scientific approach to managing pests. IPM uses knowledge of pests' habits and needs to help implement pest prevention tactics as a first line of defense. Pesticides are used as a last resort, and only pesticide products that pose the least-toxic, least risk of exposure to building occupants are chosen.
According to Lyn Garling, project partner and manager of programs for the Pennsylvania IPM program, the Spanish-speaking population in the United States is growing by 12 percent per year. In Philadelphia, this trend also holds true. The Mexican community in particular is growing rapidly and the population is proportionally young, with many children living in substandard housing conditions in low-income households.
Garling says these types of living conditions are conducive to high pest infestations and Latino children are generally at higher risk for pest and pesticide related health problems.
Asthma can be caused or aggravated by pests and pesticides, with young children under five being the most at-risk. As in many cities, asthma incidence data for Philadelphia show that the Hispanic community suffers the highest rate of asthma of any group. Despite this, very few IPM resources and outreach efforts have been developed for Spanish-speaking urban populations.
Philadelphia School and Community IPM Partnership (PSCIP) is helping to change that by building upon the IPM outreach efforts of the Penn State Philadelphia Outreach Center. By partnering with The Preschool Project in Philadelphia, the group is spreading the IPM message to Latino families through daycares in targeted Philadelphia neighborhoods.
With the help of bilingual consultant Cynthia Kreilick, The Preschool Project and PSCIP have developed four IPM training modules in English and Spanish for community educators and childcare providers serving the Latino community. By developing culturally-appropriate outreach materials to reach the wider community, Kreilick says they will be able to increase the capacity of early care educators and caregivers to implement and teach about IPM and safe pesticide practices. Topics of the modules include children's health and pest issues, pesticides and alternatives, developing an IPM program for childcare facilities, and how to create a safe pest free environment,” Kreilick explains. PSCIP has conducted several training sessions for childcare providers, covering much of the material contained in the modules.
The Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center fosters the development and adoption of IPM, a science-based approach to managing pests in ways that generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits. The Center works in partnership with stakeholders from agricultural, urban, and rural settings to identify and address regional priorities for research, education, and outreach. For more information, visit http://NortheastIPM.org.
Website : The Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center
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SAFER PEST CONTROL FOR CHILDCARE IN LATINO COMMUNITIES
