Navigating the Science: An Evidence Based Methodology to Bridge the Gap Between Clinical and Environmental Health Sciences Tracey J Woodruff, PhD, MPH Associate Professor, Director Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment University of California, San Francisco

What’s A Healthcare Decision-Maker To Do? The scientific evidence is voluminous, of variable quality and largely unfamiliar to health professionals caring for women and men of childbearing age There is no trusted, ready reference or compendium that provides healthcare decision-makers with timely, evidence-based advice about exposure to environmental contaminants 2 2

What’s A Healthcare Decision-Maker To Do? There is a need for timely incorporation of the science into recommendations for prevention on national, community and individual levels 3 3

But Evidence Based Medicine Methodologies Are Not Directly Transferable to Environmental Science! 4 4

Evidence Stream Differences 5 5

Decision-Context Differences In general, Pharmaceuticals must show efficacy and safety prior to exposing humans Manufactured chemicals need to show evidence of harm prior to removing human exposure

Navigation Guide
Authored by 22 scientist and clinician collaborators from US and Europe

Navigation Guide Systematic and transparent methodology Provides uniform, simple, and transparent summaries that integrates the best practices of evaluation in environmental and clinical health sciences

Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment Jackie Schwartz Jason Harless Ami Zota Tracey Woodruff (director) Patrice Sutton Joanne Perron Carrie Dickenson Linda Giudice (chair Ob/Gyn and founder) Mission To create a healthier environment for human reproduction and development by advancing scientific inquiry, clinical care, and health policies that prevent exposures to harmful chemicals in our environment