Prioritizing Children: Environmental Health Indicators for China
2.4 Exercise to prioritize indicators To determine the final list of prioritized indicators,
We totaled the specialists’ scores to calculate a
we organized a selection exercise with nine
final score for each indicator and then deleted
specialists from the NIEH, China CDC; UNICEF,
indicators with perceived overlap and the lowest
China; UNICEF, East Asia and Pacific Regional
scores (for the criteria used for scoring, see Annex
Office; Vital Strategies; and the PRCEE, MEE
J). The result was 47 top-ranked indicators. The 22
(for the full list of 57 indicators ranked in this
highest-ranking indicators have been further pulled
exercise, see Annex I). The specialists scored
out as the “core children’s environmental health
each environmental exposure and health outcome
indicators (CEHI)” for China. The remaining 25
indicator based on their expertise and additional
indicators are referred to as secondary indicators.
information provided for each indicator, namely:
More information about these indicators is in the
•
Results from the systematic literature review
next chapter.
•
Disease burden for Chinese children
•
Prevalence of the exposure
•
Concern about the indicator on the part of stakeholders and the Chinese public
•
20
The precautionary principlei
i
In an environmental context, the precautionary principle urges: “When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.” (Raffensperger C, Tickner J, editors. Protecting Public Health and the Environment. Washington: Island Press, 1999.)
