title: An evidence-based medicine methodology to bridge the gap between clinical and environmental health sciences.
abstract: Physicians and other clinicians could help educate patients about hazardous environmental exposures, especially to substances that could affect their reproductive health. But the relevant scientific evidence is voluminous, of variable quality, and largely unfamiliar to health professionals caring for people of childbearing age. To bridge this gap between clinical and environmental health, we created a methodology to help evaluate the quality of evidence and to support evidence-based decision making by clinicians and patients. The methodology can also support professional societies, health care organizations, government agencies, and others in developing prevention-oriented guidelines for use in clinical and policy settings.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. woodruff@obgyn.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Tracey J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Woodruff
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sutton
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D033161:Government Regulation; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D058980:Information Literacy; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011634:Public Health; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances