Policy Development Fosters Collaborative Practice: The Example of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
This article provides an example of interprofessional collaboration for policy development regarding environmental global health vis-à-vis the Minamata Convention on Mercury. It presents an overview of mercury and mercury-related environmental health issues; public policy processes and stakeholders; and specifics including organized dentistry's efforts to create global policy to restrict environmental contamination by mercury. Dentistry must participate in interprofessional collaborations and build on such experiences to be optimally placed for ongoing interprofessional policy development. Current areas requiring dental engagement for interprofessional policy development include education, disaster response, HPV vaccination, pain management, research priorities, and antibiotic resistance.
American Dental Association, 211 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Daniel M
DM
Meyer
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, 801 South Paulina Street, Room 563A, MC 850, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Electronic address: kaste@uic.edu.
Linda M
LM
Kaste
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 560 Harrison Avenue, #340, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Kathy M
KM
Lituri
University of Florida College of Dentistry, 1329 SW 16th Street, Suite 5180, PO Box 103628, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Scott
S
Tomar
International Association for Dental Research, 1619 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.
Christopher H
CH
Fox
University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health Sciences School of Dentistry, Oester Farimagsgade 5, PO Box 2099, DK-1014 Copenhangen K, Denmark.
Poul Erik
PE
Petersen
D003813:Dentistry; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury; D011050:Policy Making
D008628:Mercury
Dental amalgam; Dentistry; Environmental policy; Global health; Interprofessional relations; Mercury; Oral health; Public policy