Our surroundings—from the water we drink to the air we breathe to the food we eat—impact a lot about our lives, including our health. Individuals in low-resource populations bear the burden of this fact—and that’s where the Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health steps in.
Driven to understand the impact the environment can have on our health, the center’s efforts include research, community engagement, and training and education—with emphasis on social determinants of health.
As researchers, the center’s staff focuses on three main topics:
- COVID-19 and environmental health;
- Food systems and health equity; and
- Air quality and health.
Get more details about the research conducted through the center.
To further the center’s mission, a variety of programs exist, including seminars, courses, internships and more aimed at educating students at all levels on environmental health.
But the community also is instrumental in propelling the center’s efforts forward. A team of community researchers contribute to the center’s “Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood Study”—which ultimately seeks to guide the city’s food systems—by lending their expertise. Recently, one community researcher, Michelle B. Jackson, co-wrote an op-ed article published by cleveland.com calling for Cleveland’s new administration to make food equity a priority. Read the piece.
Want to learn more about the center’s work? Check out the Swetland Center for Environmental Health’s website.