WorldWideScience

Sample records for public health environmental

  1. Environmental Public Health Tracking

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    In this podcast series, CDC scientists address frequently asked questions about the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, including using and applying data, running queries, and much more.

  2. Environmental Public Health Tracking: a cost-effective system for characterizing the sources, distribution and public health impacts of environmental hazards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, P J; Middleton, J D; Rudge, G

    2017-09-01

    The contemporary environment is a complex of interactions between physical, biological, socio-economic systems with major impacts on public health. However, gaps in our understanding of the causes, extent and distribution of these effects remain. The public health community in Sandwell West Midlands has collaborated to successfully develop, pilot and establish the first Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) programme in Europe to address this 'environmental health gap' through systematically linking data on environmental hazards, exposures and diseases. Existing networks of environmental, health and regulatory agencies developed a suite of innovative methods to routinely share, integrate and analyse data on hazards, exposures and health outcomes to inform interventions. Effective data sharing and horizon scanning systems have been established, novel statistical methods piloted, plausible associations framed and tested, and targeted interventions informed by local concerns applied. These have influenced changes in public health practice. EPHT is a powerful tool for identifying and addressing the key environmental public health impacts at a local level. Sandwell's experience demonstrates that it can be established and operated at virtually no cost. The transfer of National Health Service epidemiological skills to local authorities in 2013 provides an opportunity to expand the programme to fully exploit its potential. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  3. Social determinants and lifestyles: integrating environmental and public health perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, H; White, P C L

    2016-12-01

    Industrialization and urbanization have been associated with an epidemiological transition, from communicable to non-communicable disease, and a geological transition that is moving the planet beyond the stable Holocene epoch in which human societies have prospered. The lifestyles of high-income countries are major drivers of these twin processes. Our objective is to highlight the common causes of chronic disease and environmental change and, thereby, contribute to shared perspectives across public health and the environment. Integrative reviews focused on social determinants and lifestyles as two 'bridging' concepts between the fields of public health and environmental sustainability. We drew on established frameworks to consider the position of the natural environment within social determinants of health (SDH) frameworks and the position of social determinants within environmental frameworks. We drew on evidence on lifestyle factors central to both public health and environmental change (mobility- and diet-related factors). We investigated how public health's focus on individual behaviour can be enriched by environmental perspectives that give attention to household consumption practices. While SDH frameworks can incorporate the biophysical environment, their causal structure positions it as a determinant and one largely separate from the social factors that shape it. Environmental frameworks are more likely to represent the environment and its ecosystems as socially determined. A few frameworks also include human health as an outcome, providing the basis for a combined public health/environmental sustainability framework. Environmental analyses of household impacts broaden public health's concern with individual risk behaviours, pointing to the more damaging lifestyles of high-income households. The conditions for health are being undermined by rapid environmental change. There is scope for frameworks reaching across public health and environmental

  4. Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.

  5. Electronic health record case studies to advance environmental public health tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namulanda, Gonza; Qualters, Judith; Vaidyanathan, Ambarish; Roberts, Eric; Richardson, Max; Fraser, Alicia; McVeigh, Katharine H; Patterson, Scott

    2018-03-01

    Data from traditional public health surveillance systems can have some limitations, e.g., timeliness, geographic level, and amount of data accessible. Electronic health records (EHRs) could present an opportunity to supplement current sources of routinely collected surveillance data. The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) sought to explore the use of EHRs for advancing environmental public health surveillance practices. The Tracking Program funded four state/local health departments to obtain and pilot the use of EHR data to address several issues including the challenges and technical requirements for accessing EHR data, and the core data elements required to integrate EHR data within their departments' Tracking Programs. The results of these pilot projects highlighted the potential of EHR data for public health surveillance of rare diseases that may lack comprehensive registries, and surveillance of prevalent health conditions or risk factors for health outcomes at a finer geographic level. EHRs therefore, may have potential to supplement traditional sources of public health surveillance data. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. VT - Environmental Public Health Tracking Data Explorer

    Data.gov (United States)

    Vermont Center for Geographic Information — What is Environmental Public Health Tracking?Tracking is an ongoing national effort to better understand how environmental hazards can contribute to certain...

  7. Environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity: potential public health concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marczylo, Emma L; Jacobs, Miriam N; Gant, Timothy W

    2016-09-01

    Throughout our lives, epigenetic processes shape our development and enable us to adapt to a constantly changing environment. Identifying and understanding environmentally induced epigenetic change(s) that may lead to adverse outcomes is vital for protecting public health. This review, therefore, examines the present understanding of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the mammalian life cycle, evaluates the current evidence for environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in human cohorts and rodent models and highlights the research considerations and implications of this emerging knowledge for public health and regulatory toxicology. Many hundreds of studies have investigated such toxicity, yet relatively few have demonstrated a mechanistic association among specific environmental exposures, epigenetic changes and adverse health outcomes in human epidemiological cohorts and/or rodent models. While this small body of evidence is largely composed of exploratory in vivo high-dose range studies, it does set a precedent for the existence of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity. Consequently, there is worldwide recognition of this phenomenon, and discussion on how to both guide further scientific research towards a greater mechanistic understanding of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in humans, and translate relevant research outcomes into appropriate regulatory policies for effective public health protection.

  8. Environmental Public Health Indicators Impact Report: Data and methods that support environmental public health decision-making by communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report presents the results of twenty competitively funded Science-To-Achieve-Results (STAR) grants in EPA's Environmental Public Health Indicators (EPHI) research program. The grantsdirectly supported health interventions, informed policy and decision-making, and improved t...

  9. Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-08-04

    In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.  Created: 8/4/2009 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Date Released: 8/4/2009.

  10. Using NASA Environmental Data to Enhance Public Health Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Economou, Sigrid; Estes, Maurice, Jr.; Estes, Sue; Hemmings, Sarah; Kent, Shia; Puckett, Mark; Quattrochi, Dale; Wade, Gina; hide

    2012-01-01

    The Universities Space Research Association at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is collaborating with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision making by utilizing NASA remotely sensed data and products. The objectives of this collaboration are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, and deliver the data sets and associated analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. These data can be linked spatially and temporally to public health data, such as mortality and disease morbidity, for further analysis and decision making. Three daily environmental data sets have been developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the time period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures on a 10-km grid utilizing the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA s MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of Land Surface Temperature (LST) using MODIS data; and (3) a 12-km grid of daily Solar Insolation (SI) and maximum and minimum air temperature using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) forcing data. These environmental data sets will be linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline and other health outcomes. These environmental datasets and public health linkage analyses will be made available to public health professionals, researchers and the general public through the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system and through peer reviewed publications. To date, two of the data sets have been released to the public in CDC

  11. Reconciliation with environmental quality and public health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malmlund, Anna

    2010-12-01

    This report is an appendix to the 'Environmental Impact Assessment - Interim storage, encapsulation and disposal of spent nuclear fuel'. The report makes a reconciliation with how the national and regional environmental quality and public health objectives are met in the construction, operation and decommissioning of the encapsulation plant and final disposal facility, and the Clink (encapsulation facility combined with CLAB). The starting point for reconciliation is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This report provides reconciliations against how the environmental and health objectives are met. A more detailed description of the business and its environmental impacts is provided in the EIA.The disposal facility is planned to be constructed in Forsmark municipality, Oesthammar and the encapsulation is constructed, combined with CLAB, in Simpevarp in Oskarshamn municipality

  12. The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lene Bjørn Jensen

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO. Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

  13. The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørn Jensen, Lene; Lukic, Irena; Gulis, Gabriel

    2018-05-07

    The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO). Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state) with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

  14. [Environmental medicine in public health service--a social responsibility and its consequences].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thriene, B

    2001-02-01

    The special committee for "Environmental Medicine" established by the Federal Association of Doctors in the German Public Health Service presents its paper entitled "Environmental Medicine in the Public Health Service--A Social Responsibility and its Consequences: Propositions with regard to the situation, aims, strategies, and opportunities for action". The paper includes core ideas and responsibilities in the public health service. It aims at providing a number of guidelines for implementing "Environment and Health" ("Umwelt und Gesundheit"), an action programme by the Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health, as well as "Health 21" ("Gesundheit 21"), the framework concept "Health for all" for the WHO's European Region. The paper also aims at initiating and facilitating steps for joint action by the Public Health Service. These theses were passed on to Mrs. Andrea Fischer, the Federal Minister of Health, during a meeting with the Board of the Association. In Germany, environment-related public health protection is well established in the Public Health Departments and state institutes/departments within the scope of public health provision and disease prevention. Typical responsibilities include environmental hygiene and environment-related medical services which have increased in importance. The range of responsibilities and its current political importance are a result of environment-related public health risks, the social situation of the population, also with regard to health issues, and the scope of responsibilities and competencies by doctors and staff in the public health departments. With the people's demands for health, quality of life and life expectancy, this need for action increases. In this paper, judicial, professional, and personal consequence are presented which arise as public health authorities assume these responsibilities.

  15. Public Health and Mental Health Implications of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, James M; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Rai, Abha; McManus, Katherine T

    2018-03-28

    ABSTRACTClimate change is increasingly forcing population displacement, better described by the phrase environmentally induced forced migration. Rising global temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and progressive depletion of life-sustaining resources are among the drivers that stimulate population mobility. Projections forecast that current trends will rapidly accelerate. This will lead to an estimated 200 million climate migrants by the year 2050 and create dangerous tipping points for public health and security.Among the public health consequences of climate change, environmentally induced forced migration is one of the harshest and most harmful outcomes, always involving a multiplicity of profound resource and social losses and frequently exposing migrants to trauma and violence. Therefore, one particular aspect of forced migration, the effects of population displacement on mental health and psychosocial functioning, deserves dedicated focus. Multiple case examples are provided to elucidate this theme. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

  16. CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national,...

  17. Linking NASA Environmental Data with a National Public Health Cohort Study and a CDC On-Line System to Enhance Public Health Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Economou, Sigrid; Estes, Maurice, Jr.; Estes, Sue; Hemmings, Sarah; Kent, Shia; Puckett, Mark; Quattrochi, Dale; Wade, Gina; hide

    2012-01-01

    The overall goal of this study is to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision making by utilizing NASA remotely-sensed data and products. This study is a collaboration between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Public Health Informatics. The objectives of this study are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, link these with public health data from a national cohort study, and deliver the linked data sets and associated analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. Three daily environmental data sets were developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures on a 10-km grid utilizing the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA s MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of Land Surface Temperature (LST) using MODIS data; and (3) a 12-km grid of daily Solar Insolation (SI) and maximum and minimum air temperature using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) forcing data. These environmental datasets were linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline and other health outcomes. These environmental national datasets will also be made available to public health professionals, researchers and the general public via the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system, where they can be aggregated to the county, state or regional level as per users need and downloaded in tabular, graphical, and map formats. The

  18. CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program in Action: Case Studies From State and Local Health Departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC's Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program's leading performance measure, "public health actions." Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice.

  19. Engaging academia to advance the science and practice of environmental public health tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strosnider, Heather; Zhou, Ying; Balluz, Lina; Qualters, Judith

    2014-10-01

    Public health agencies at the federal, state, and local level are responsible for implementing actions and policies that address health problems related to environmental hazards. These actions and policies can be informed by integrating or linking data on health, exposure, hazards, and population. The mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention׳s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is to provide information from a nationwide network of integrated health, environmental hazard, and exposure data that drives actions to improve the health of communities. The Tracking Program and federal, state, and local partners collect, integrate, analyze, and disseminate data and information to inform environmental public health actions. However, many challenges exist regarding the availability and quality of data, the application of appropriate methods and tools to link data, and the state of the science needed to link and analyze health and environmental data. The Tracking Program has collaborated with academia to address key challenges in these areas. The collaboration has improved our understanding of the uses and limitations of available data and methods, expanded the use of existing data and methods, and increased our knowledge about the connections between health and environment. Valuable working relationships have been forged in this process, and together we have identified opportunities and improvements for future collaborations to further advance the science and practice of environmental public health tracking. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Tangible Evidence, Trust and Power: Public Perceptions of Community Environmental Health Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scammell, Madeleine Kangsen; Senier, Laura; Darrah-Okike, Jennifer; Brown, Phil; Santos, Susan

    2009-01-01

    Communities with environmental health concerns in the USA frequently request studies from their local or state departments of public health. This paper presents findings from three focus groups conducted in communities north of Boston that have been the subject of two different environmental health studies. The focus groups were designed to elicit residents’ perceptions of environmental health, and of the particular studies conducted in their communities. In all focus groups, participants had difficulty accepting the findings of health studies that contradicted their own experiences of environmental exposures and illness. Our results suggest that lay knowledge, informed in varying degrees by the experience of what we term “tangible evidence,” creates a lens through which communities interpret a health study’s findings. The differences in reliance on tangible evidence were related to participants’ sense of trust in public officials, and the institutions responsible for conducting health studies. Participants from the wealthier, predominantly white communities discussed trust in study design and methodologies used. In contrast, participants from the lower income, higher minority communities assessed health studies with reference to their trust (or lack thereof) in study sponsors and public health institutions. Participants’ experience of tangible evidence, trust or distrust in health agencies and research institutions, and a sense of relative community power, influence how they assess the findings of environmental health studies and may have implications for pubic health. PMID:18995942

  1. Public Health Applications of Remotely-sensed Environmental Datasets for the Conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Crosson, William; Economou, Sigrid; Estes, Marice Jr; Estes, Sue; Hemmings, Sarah; Kent, Shia; Puckett, Mark; Quattrochi, Dale; Wade, Gina

    2013-01-01

    NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is collaborating with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Public Health Informatics to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision-making using NASA remotely-sensed data and products. The objectives of this study are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, link these with public health data from a national cohort study, and deliver the linked data sets and associated analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. Three daily environmental data sets were developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures on a 10-km grid using the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA's MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of Land Surface Temperature (LST) using MODIS data; and (3) a 12-km grid of daily Incoming Solar Radiation (Insolation) and heat-related products using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) forcing data. These environmental data sets were linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline, stroke and other health outcomes. These environmental datasets and the results of the public health linkage analyses will be disseminated to end-users for decision-making through the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system and through peer-reviewed publications respectively. The linkage of these data with the CDC WONDER system substantially expands public access to NASA data, making their use by a wide range of decision makers feasible. By successful

  2. Public, environmental, and occupational health research activity in Arab countries: bibliometric, citation, and collaboration analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweileh, Waleed M; Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sawalha, Ansam F

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to analyze quantity, assess quality, and investigate international collaboration in research from Arab countries in the field of public, environmental and occupational health. Original scientific articles and reviews published from the 22 Arab countries in the category "public, environmental & occupational health" during the study period (1900 - 2012) were screened using the ISI Web of Science database. The total number of original and review research articles published in the category of "public, environmental & occupational health" from Arab countries was 4673. Main area of research was tropical medicine (1862; 39.85%). Egypt with 1200 documents (25.86%) ranked first in quantity and ranked first in quality of publications (h-index = 51). The study identified 2036 (43.57%) documents with international collaboration. Arab countries actively collaborated with authors in Western Europe (22.91%) and North America (21.04%). Most of the documents (79.9%) were published in public health related journals while 21% of the documents were published in journals pertaining to prevention medicine, environmental, occupational health and epidemiology. Research in public, environmental and occupational health in Arab countries is in the rise. Public health research was dominant while environmental and occupation health research was relatively low. International collaboration was a good tool for increasing research quantity and quality.

  3. CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program in Action: Case Studies From State and Local Health Departments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M.

    2017-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC’s Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program’s leading performance measure, “public health actions.” Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice. PMID:28763381

  4. Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

    OpenAIRE

    Scholz, Miklas

    2009-01-01

    This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

  5. USGS Environmental health science strategy: providing environmental health science for a changing world: public review release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bright, Patricia R.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Barber, Larry B.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Cross, Paul C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Winton, James R.

    2012-01-01

    America has an abundance of natural resources. We have bountiful clean water, fertile soil, and unrivaled national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands. These resources enrich our lives and preserve our health and wellbeing. These resources have been maintained because of our history of respect for their value and an enduring commitment to their vigilant protection. Awareness of the social, economic, and personal value of the health of our environment is increasing. The emergence of environmentally driven diseases caused by environmental exposure to contaminants and pathogens is a growing concern worldwide. New health threats and patterns of established threats are affected by both natural and anthropogenic changes to the environment. Human activities are key drivers of emerging (new and re-emerging) health threats. Societal demands for land and natural resources, a better quality of life, improved economic prosperity, and the environmental impacts associated with these demands will continue to increase. Natural earth processes, climate trends, and related climatic events will add to the environmental impact of human activities. These environmental drivers will influence exposure to disease agents, including viral, bacterial, prion, and fungal pathogens, parasites, natural earth materials, toxins and other biogenic compounds, and synthetic chemicals and substances. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines environmental health science broadly as the interdisciplinary study of relations among the quality of the physical environment, the health of the living environment, and human health. The interactions among these three spheres are driven by human activities, ecological processes, and natural earth processes; the interactions affect exposure to contaminants and pathogens and the severity of environmentally driven diseases in animals and people. This definition provides USGS with a framework for synthesizing natural science information from across the Bureau

  6. Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miklas Scholz

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

  7. Using NASA Remotely Sensed Data to Help Characterize Environmental Risk Factors for National Public Health Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, M. Z.; Crosson, W. L.; Economou, S.; Estes, M., Jr.; Estes, S. M.; Hemmings, S. N.; Kent, S.; Loop, M.; Puckett, M.; Quattrochi, D. A.; Wade, G.; McClure, L.

    2012-12-01

    The overall goal of this study is to address issues of environmental health and enhance public health decision making by using NASA remotely sensed data and products. This study is a collaboration between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services. The objectives of this study are to develop high-quality spatial data sets of environmental variables, link these with public health data from a national cohort study, and deliver the environmental data sets and associated public health analyses to local, state and federal end-user groups. Three daily environmental data sets were developed for the conterminous U.S. on different spatial resolutions for the period 2003-2008: (1) spatial surfaces of estimated fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on a 10-km grid using US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground observations and NASA's MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) a 1-km grid of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST); and (3) a 12-km grid of daily incoming solar radiation and maximum and minimum air temperature using the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) data. These environmental datasets were linked with public health data from the UAB REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether exposures to these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline, stroke and other health outcomes. These environmental national datasets will also be made available to public health professionals, researchers and the general public via the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system, where they can be aggregated to the county-level, state-level, or regional-level as per users' need and downloaded in tabular, graphical

  8. A Bridge Back to the Future: Public Health Ethics, Bioethics, and Environmental Ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Lisa M

    2017-09-01

    Contemporary biomedical ethics and environmental ethics share a common ancestry in Aldo Leopold's and Van Rensselaer Potter's initial broad visions of a connected biosphere. Over the past five decades, the two fields have become strangers. Public health ethics, a new subfield of bioethics, emerged from the belly of contemporary biomedical ethics and has evolved over the past 25 years. It has moved from its traditional concern with the tension between individual autonomy and community health to a wider focus on social justice and solidarity. Public health has a broad focus that includes individual, community, and environmental health. Public health ethics attends to these broad commitments reflected in the increasing concern with the connectedness of health of individuals to the health of populations, to the health of animals, to the health of the environment; it is well situated to reconnect all three "fields" of ethics to promote a healthier planet.

  9. Environmental epidemiology, Volume 1: Public health and hazardous wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1991-01-01

    Environmental Epidemiology, Volume 1, represents the first of several planned volumes on the uses of epidemiologic techniques to study environmental public health issues. This text focuses on environmental epidemiology as it relates to hazardous waste in the United States. This study was commissioned by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to examine available data for evidence of adverse health effects on human populations exposed to hazardous waste. The committee was also asked to identify data gaps which were impediments to analyzing hazardous waste health effects and to suggest ways that such environmental health assessments might be improved. The committee's solution to the paucity of data on this issue was to concentrate in this volume on identifying the available, peer-reviewed data and, consequently, the major data gaps. The study opens with a recapitulation of the context of hazardous waste sites in the United States, the approaches currently used by state and federal epidemiologists in analyzing hazardous waste exposure and effects, and candid assessment of the problems associated with environmental exposure assessment. From that context, the committee then presents the data currently available to assess human exposures through air, domestic water consumption, soil, and the food chain. The general focus here is on biomarker data as the date of choice. As with all NAS reports, this one closes with general conclusions and recommendations. Environmental health risk assessors will find this volume a valuable resource

  10. Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckelman, Matthew J; Sherman, Jodi

    2016-01-01

    The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE) for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%), greenhouse gas emissions (10%), smog formation (10%) criteria air pollutants (9%), stratospheric ozone depletion (1%), and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%). The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors) and demand side (NHE categories), as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.

  11. Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew J Eckelman

    Full Text Available The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%, greenhouse gas emissions (10%, smog formation (10% criteria air pollutants (9%, stratospheric ozone depletion (1%, and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%. The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors and demand side (NHE categories, as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.

  12. Modern environmental health hazards: a public health issue of increasing significance in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nweke, Onyemaechi C; Sanders, William H

    2009-06-01

    Traditional hazards such as poor sanitation currently account for most of Africa's environmentally related disease burden. However, with rapid development absent appropriate safeguards for environment and health, modern environmental health hazards (MEHHs) may emerge as critical contributors to the continent's disease burden. We review recent evidence of human exposure to and health effects from MEHHs, and their occurrence in environmental media and consumer products. Our purpose is to highlight the growing significance of these hazards as African countries experience urbanization, industrial growth, and development. We reviewed published epidemiologic, exposure, and environmental studies of chemical agents such as heavy metals and pesticides. The body of evidence demonstrates ongoing environmental releases of MEHHs and human exposures sometimes at toxicologically relevant levels. Several sources of MEHHs in environmental media have been identified, including natural resource mining and processing and automobile exhaust. Biomonitoring studies provided direct evidence of human exposure to metals such as mercury and lead and pesticides such as p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and organophosphates. Land and water resource pollution and industrial air toxics are areas of significant data gaps, notwithstanding the presence of several emitting sources. Unmitigated MEHH releases and human exposure have implications for Africa's disease burden. For Africans encumbered by conditions such as malnutrition that impair resilience to toxicologic challenges, the burden may be higher. A shift in public health policy toward accommodating the emerging diversity in Africa's environmental health issues is necessary to successfully alleviate the burden of avoidable ill health and premature death for all its communities now and in the future.

  13. Wisconsin’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network: Information Systems Design for Childhood Cancer Surveillance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanrahan, Lawrence P.; Anderson, Henry A.; Busby, Brian; Bekkedal, Marni; Sieger, Thomas; Stephenson, Laura; Knobeloch, Lynda; Werner, Mark; Imm, Pamela; Olson, Joseph

    2004-01-01

    In this article we describe the development of an information system for environmental childhood cancer surveillance. The Wisconsin Cancer Registry annually receives more than 25,000 incident case reports. Approximately 269 cases per year involve children. Over time, there has been considerable community interest in understanding the role the environment plays as a cause of these cancer cases. Wisconsin’s Public Health Information Network (WI-PHIN) is a robust web portal integrating both Health Alert Network and National Electronic Disease Surveillance System components. WI-PHIN is the information technology platform for all public health surveillance programs. Functions include the secure, automated exchange of cancer case data between public health–based and hospital-based cancer registrars; web-based supplemental data entry for environmental exposure confirmation and hypothesis testing; automated data analysis, visualization, and exposure–outcome record linkage; directories of public health and clinical personnel for role-based access control of sensitive surveillance information; public health information dissemination and alerting; and information technology security and critical infrastructure protection. For hypothesis generation, cancer case data are sent electronically to WI-PHIN and populate the integrated data repository. Environmental data are linked and the exposure–disease relationships are explored using statistical tools for ecologic exposure risk assessment. For hypothesis testing, case–control interviews collect exposure histories, including parental employment and residential histories. This information technology approach can thus serve as the basis for building a comprehensive system to assess environmental cancer etiology. PMID:15471739

  14. Environmental noise pollution in the United States: developing an effective public health response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Monica S; Swinburn, Tracy K; Neitzel, Richard L

    2014-02-01

    Tens of millions of Americans suffer from a range of adverse health outcomes due to noise exposure, including heart disease and hearing loss. Reducing environmental noise pollution is achievable and consistent with national prevention goals, yet there is no national plan to reduce environmental noise pollution. We aimed to describe some of the most serious health effects associated with noise, summarize exposures from several highly prevalent noise sources based on published estimates as well as extrapolations made using these estimates, and lay out proven mechanisms and strategies to reduce noise by incorporating scientific insight and technological innovations into existing public health infrastructure. We estimated that 104 million individuals had annual LEQ(24) levels > 70 dBA (equivalent to a continuous average exposure level of >70 dBA over 24 hr) in 2013 and were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Tens of millions more may be at risk of heart disease, and other noise-related health effects. Direct regulation, altering the informational environment, and altering the built environment are the least costly, most logistically feasible, and most effective noise reduction interventions. Significant public health benefit can be achieved by integrating interventions that reduce environmental noise levels and exposures into the federal public health agenda.

  15. A Critical Evaluation of Waste Incineration Plants in Wuhan (China) Based on Site Selection, Environmental Influence, Public Health and Public Participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Hui; Li, Xiang; Nguyen, Anh Dung; Kavan, Philip

    2015-07-08

    With the rapid development of the waste incineration industry in China, top priority has been given to the problem of pollution caused by waste incineration. This study is the first attempt to assess all the waste incineration plants in Wuhan, the only national key city in central China, in terms of environmental impact, site selection, public health and public participation. By using a multi-criterion assessment model for economic, social, public health and environmental effects, this study indicates these incineration plants are established without much consideration of the local residents' health and environment. A location analysis is also applied and some influences of waste incineration plants are illustrated. This study further introduces a signaling game model to prove that public participation is a necessary condition for improving the environmental impact assessment and increasing total welfare of different interest groups in China. This study finally offers some corresponding recommendations for improving the environmental impact assessments of waste incineration projects.

  16. A Critical Evaluation of Waste Incineration Plants in Wuhan (China Based on Site Selection, Environmental Influence, Public Health and Public Participation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Hu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid development of the waste incineration industry in China, top priority has been given to the problem of pollution caused by waste incineration. This study is the first attempt to assess all the waste incineration plants in Wuhan, the only national key city in central China, in terms of environmental impact, site selection, public health and public participation. By using a multi-criterion assessment model for economic, social, public health and environmental effects, this study indicates these incineration plants are established without much consideration of the local residents’ health and environment. A location analysis is also applied and some influences of waste incineration plants are illustrated. This study further introduces a signaling game model to prove that public participation is a necessary condition for improving the environmental impact assessment and increasing total welfare of different interest groups in China. This study finally offers some corresponding recommendations for improving the environmental impact assessments of waste incineration projects.

  17. Lessons Learned From the Environmental Public Health Tracking Sub-County Data Pilot Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werner, Angela K; Strosnider, Heather; Kassinger, Craig; Shin, Mikyong

    2017-12-07

    Small area data are key to better understanding the complex relationships between environmental health, health outcomes, and risk factors at a local level. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) conducted the Sub-County Data Pilot Project with grantees to consider integration of sub-county data into the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network). The Tracking Program and grantees developed sub-county-level data for several data sets during this pilot project, working to standardize processes for submitting data and creating required geographies. Grantees documented challenges they encountered during the pilot project and documented decisions. This article covers the challenges revealed during the project. It includes insights into geocoding, aggregation, population estimates, and data stability and provides recommendations for moving forward. National standards for generating, analyzing, and sharing sub-county data should be established to build a system of sub-county data that allow for comparison of outcomes, geographies, and time. Increasing the availability and accessibility of small area data will not only enhance the Tracking Network's capabilities but also contribute to an improved understanding of environmental health and informed decision making at a local level.

  18. Spatial Modelling Tools to Integrate Public Health and Environmental Science, Illustrated with Infectious Cryptosporidiosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, Aparna

    2016-02-02

    Contemporary spatial modelling tools can help examine how environmental exposures such as climate and land use together with socio-economic factors sustain infectious disease transmission in humans. Spatial methods can account for interactions across global and local scales, geographic clustering and continuity of the exposure surface, key characteristics of many environmental influences. Using cryptosporidiosis as an example, this review illustrates how, in resource rich settings, spatial tools have been used to inform targeted intervention strategies and forecast future disease risk with scenarios of environmental change. When used in conjunction with molecular studies, they have helped determine location-specific infection sources and environmental transmission pathways. There is considerable scope for such methods to be used to identify data/infrastructure gaps and establish a baseline of disease burden in resource-limited settings. Spatial methods can help integrate public health and environmental science by identifying the linkages between the physical and socio-economic environment and health outcomes. Understanding the environmental and social context for disease spread is important for assessing the public health implications of projected environmental change.

  19. Spatial Modelling Tools to Integrate Public Health and Environmental Science, Illustrated with Infectious Cryptosporidiosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aparna Lal

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary spatial modelling tools can help examine how environmental exposures such as climate and land use together with socio-economic factors sustain infectious disease transmission in humans. Spatial methods can account for interactions across global and local scales, geographic clustering and continuity of the exposure surface, key characteristics of many environmental influences. Using cryptosporidiosis as an example, this review illustrates how, in resource rich settings, spatial tools have been used to inform targeted intervention strategies and forecast future disease risk with scenarios of environmental change. When used in conjunction with molecular studies, they have helped determine location-specific infection sources and environmental transmission pathways. There is considerable scope for such methods to be used to identify data/infrastructure gaps and establish a baseline of disease burden in resource-limited settings. Spatial methods can help integrate public health and environmental science by identifying the linkages between the physical and socio-economic environment and health outcomes. Understanding the environmental and social context for disease spread is important for assessing the public health implications of projected environmental change.

  20. Developing a smartphone interface for the Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking Web portal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Melissa; DuClos, Chris; Folsom, John; Thomas, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    As smartphone and tablet devices continue to proliferate, it is becoming increasingly important to tailor information delivery to the mobile device. The Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking Program recognized that the mobile device user needs Web content formatted to smaller screen sizes, simplified data displays, and reduced textual information. The Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking Program developed a smartphone-friendly version of the state Web portal for easier access by mobile device users. The resulting smartphone-friendly portal combines calculated data measures such as inpatient hospitalizations and emergency department visits and presents them grouped by county, along with temporal trend graphs. An abbreviated version of the public health messaging provided on the traditional Web portal is also provided, along with social media connections. As a result of these efforts, the percentage of Web site visitors using an iPhone tripled in just 1 year.

  1. Environmental health and health planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-07-01

    Areas of environmental concern are identified and recommendations for improving environmental health are proposed by the Environmental Health Task Force of the Western Massachusetts Health Planning Council. Environmental health concerns in Western Massachusetts are in the areas of: air pollution; dental health and the specific problem of water flouridation; housing; injury control, including accidental death and disability; land use, and the specific problem of critical receptors; noise pollution; occupational hazards, specifically occupational accidents; pesticides; radiological exposure, particularly medical X-ray exposure and nuclear exposure; rural health care; sanitation; solid waste; and water quality including private and public water supplies, road salting, and rural sewerages. Each area of concern and specific problem are broken down into sections: background information; comments which incorporate recommendations for general problem-solving activities; and resources, including lists of key organization, individuals, laws and regulations, and publications relevant to the area of concern. Recommendations are presented based on long-term and short-term environmental goals. An inventory of environmental health organizations in Western Massachusetts is included. Appendices contain the charge to the Task Force, a definition of environmental health, sources of drinking water, the sanitation and sanitary codes, and housing and sanitation standards. Portions of this document are not fully legible

  2. Reconciliation with environmental quality and public health; Avstaemning mot miljoekvalitetsmaal och folkhaelsomaal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malmlund, Anna (Structor Miljoebyraan Stockholm AB (Sweden))

    2010-12-15

    This report is an appendix to the 'Environmental Impact Assessment - Interim storage, encapsulation and disposal of spent nuclear fuel'. The report makes a reconciliation with how the national and regional environmental quality and public health objectives are met in the construction, operation and decommissioning of the encapsulation plant and final disposal facility, and the Clink (encapsulation facility combined with CLAB). The starting point for reconciliation is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This report provides reconciliations against how the environmental and health objectives are met. A more detailed description of the business and its environmental impacts is provided in the EIA.The disposal facility is planned to be constructed in Forsmark municipality, Oesthammar and the encapsulation is constructed, combined with CLAB, in Simpevarp in Oskarshamn municipality.

  3. Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX)-Atlanta: A CDC-NASA Joint Environmental Public Health Tracking Collaborative Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Luvall, Jeff; Crosson, Bill; Estes, Maury; Limaye, Ashutosh; Quattrochi, Dale; Rickman, Doug

    2008-01-01

    HELIX-Atlanta was developed to support current and future state and local EPHT programs to implement data linking demonstration projects which could be part of the CDC EPHT Network. HELIX-Atlanta is a pilot linking project in Atlanta for CDC to learn about the challenges the states will encounter. NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking environmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. Proving the feasibility of the approach is the main objective

  4. Environmental management in public hospitals: Environmental management in Colombia

    OpenAIRE

    Juan Pablo Rodríguez-Miranda; César Augusto García-Ubaque; María Camila García-Vaca

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Activities in hospitals have environmental impacts which may pose risks to human and environmental health if they are not managed correctly. For this reason, it is necessary to implement an environmental management plan in hospitals that not only focuses on solid waste management but includes all aspects associated with health within institutions. Objective: To review environmental management aspects related to public hospitals in order to identify environmental management a...

  5. Risk tradeoffs and public health protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charnley, G.

    1998-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: over the last 25 years, the traditional command-and-control, chemical-by-chemical environmental medium-by-environmental medium, risk-by-risk approach to protecting public health from environmental risks has worked well to greatly improve the quality of our food, air, water, and workplaces, but we are now left with the more complex problems, like urban air pollution or personal dietary behavior, that a chemical-by-chemical approach is not going to solve. Because current environmental regulatory programs have curbed the 'low-hanging fruit' and because of today's emphasis on achieving risk reductions cost-effectively, new and creative public health-based approaches to risk management are needed. Since public concern about pollution-related disease become serious in the 1960's and 1970's and regulatory agencies and laws began to proliferate, the public health goals of environmental protection have been obscured. As a society, we have made a tradeoff between environmental health and public health. The public health foundation of environmental health protection has been obscured by legalistic, technical, centralized decision-making processes that have often mistaken hazard for risk. A greater focus on public health would help us to assess aggregate risks and to target risk management resources by focusing on a problem and then identifying what is causing the problem as a guide to determining how best to solve it. Most of our current approaches start with a cause and then try to eliminate it without determining the extent to which it actually may contribute to a problem, making it difficult to set priorities among risks or to evaluate the impact of risk management actions on public health. (author)

  6. [Technogenic environmental pollution and the public health: analysis and prognosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savilov, E D; Anganova, E V; Ilina, S V; Stepanenko, L A

    2016-01-01

    Technogenic risk factors are very aggressive for a human health. Due to the progressive increase in environmental pollution the problem of the adverse impact of these factors on the health of both the human population as a whole, and individual groups every year is becoming increasingly important. At that the influence of anthropogenic pollution on the various manifestations of infectious pathology in the scientific literature is presented very modestly. In this paper there is presented a review of research devoted to the problem of the interrelationship of man-made pollution of the environment and public health.

  7. Environmental Public Health Tracking: Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange-Atlanta (HEXIX-Atlanta: A cooperative Program Between CDC and NASA for Development of an Environmental Public Health Tracking Network in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Niskar, Amanda Sue

    2005-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is coordinating HELIX- Atlanta to provide information regarding the five-county Metropolitan Atlanta Area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinett) via a network of integrated environmental monitoring and public health data systems so that all sectors can take action to prevent and control environmentally related health effects. The HELIX-Atlanta Network is a tool to access interoperable information systems with optional information technology linkage functionality driven by scientific rationale. HELIX-Atlanta is a collaborative effort with local, state, federal, and academic partners, including the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The HELIX-Atlanta Partners identified the following HELIX-Atlanta initial focus areas: childhood lead poisoning, short-latency cancers, developmental disabilities, birth defects, vital records, respiratory health, age of housing, remote sensing data, and environmental monitoring, HELIX-Atlanta Partners identified and evaluated information systems containing information on the above focus areas. The information system evaluations resulted in recommendations for what resources would be needed to interoperate selected information systems in compliance with the CDC Public Health Information Network (PHIN). This presentation will discuss the collaborative process of building a network that links health and environment data for information exchange, including NASA remote sensing data, for use in HELIX-Atlanta.

  8. Epidemiologic methods lessons learned from environmental public health disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svendsen, Erik R; Runkle, Jennifer R; Dhara, Venkata Ramana; Lin, Shao; Naboka, Marina; Mousseau, Timothy A; Bennett, Charles

    2012-08-01

    Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA). We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters.

  9. 5 G wireless telecommunications expansion: Public health and environmental implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Cindy L

    2018-04-11

    The popularity, widespread use and increasing dependency on wireless technologies has spawned a telecommunications industrial revolution with increasing public exposure to broader and higher frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit data through a variety of devices and infrastructure. On the horizon, a new generation of even shorter high frequency 5G wavelengths is being proposed to power the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT promises us convenient and easy lifestyles with a massive 5G interconnected telecommunications network, however, the expansion of broadband with shorter wavelength radiofrequency radiation highlights the concern that health and safety issues remain unknown. Controversy continues with regards to harm from current 2G, 3G and 4G wireless technologies. 5G technologies are far less studied for human or environmental effects. It is argued that the addition of this added high frequency 5G radiation to an already complex mix of lower frequencies, will contribute to a negative public health outcome both from both physical and mental health perspectives. Radiofrequency radiation (RF) is increasingly being recognized as a new form of environmental pollution. Like other common toxic exposures, the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF EMR) will be problematic if not impossible to sort out epidemiologically as there no longer remains an unexposed control group. This is especially important considering these effects are likely magnified by synergistic toxic exposures and other common health risk behaviors. Effects can also be non-linear. Because this is the first generation to have cradle-to-grave lifespan exposure to this level of man-made microwave (RF EMR) radiofrequencies, it will be years or decades before the true health consequences are known. Precaution in the roll out of this new technology is strongly indicated. This article will review relevant electromagnetic frequencies, exposure standards and current scientific

  10. Epidemiologic Methods Lessons Learned from Environmental Public Health Disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy A. Mousseau

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants may have devastating effects. While much is known about their immediate devastation, far less is known about long-term impacts of these disasters. Extensive latent and chronic long-term public health effects may occur. Careful evaluation of contaminant exposures and long-term health outcomes within the constraints imposed by limited financial resources is essential. Methods: Here, we review epidemiologic methods lessons learned from conducting long-term evaluations of four environmental public health disasters involving hazardous contaminants at Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville (South Carolina, USA. Findings: We found several lessons learned which have direct implications for the on-going disaster recovery work following the Fukushima radiation disaster or for future disasters. Interpretation: These lessons should prove useful in understanding and mitigating latent health effects that may result from the nuclear reactor accident in Japan or future environmental public health disasters.

  11. Worker Safety and Health Issues Associated with the DOE Environmental Cleanup Program: Insights From the DOE Laboratory Directors' Environmental and Occupational/Public health Standards Steering Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    M.C. Edelson; Samuel C. Morris; Joan M. Daisey

    2001-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory Directors' Environmental and Occupational/Public Health Standards Steering Group (or ''SSG'') was formed in 1990. It was felt then that ''risk'' could be an organizing principle for environmental cleanup and that risk-based cleanup standards could rationalize clean up work. The environmental remediation process puts workers engaged in cleanup activities at risk from hazardous materials and from the more usual hazards associated with construction activities. In a real sense, the site remediation process involves the transfer of a hypothetical risk to the environment and the public from isolated contamination into real risks to the workers engaged in the remediation activities. Late in its existence the SSG, primarily motivated by its LANL representative, Dr. Harry Ettinger, actively investigated issues associated with worker health and safety during environmental remediation activities. This paper summarizes the insights noted by the SSG. Most continue to be pertinent today

  12. Integrating health and environmental impact analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reis, S; Morris, G.; Fleming, L. E.

    2015-01-01

    which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose...... while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding...... the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession...

  13. The impact of environmental pollution on public health expenditure: dynamic panel analysis based on Chinese provincial data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Yu; Liu, Shuang; Lu, Zhi-Nan; Huang, Junbing; Zhao, Mingyuan

    2018-05-01

    In recent years, along with rapid economic growth, China's environmental problems have become increasingly prominent. At the same time, the level of China's pollution has been growing rapidly, which has caused huge damages to the residents' health. In this regard, the public health expenditure ballooned as the environmental quality deteriorated in China. In this study, the effect of environmental pollution on residents' health expenditure is empirically investigated by employing the first-order difference generalized method of moments (GMM) method to control for potential endogeneity. Using a panel data of Chinese provinces for the period of 1998-2015, this study found that the environmental pollution (represented by SO 2 and soot emissions) would indeed lead to the increase in the medical expenses of Chinese residents. At the current stage of economic development, an increase in SO 2 and soot emissions per capita would push up the public health expenditure per capita significantly. The estimation results are quite robust for different types of regression specifications and different combinations of control variables. Some social and economic variables such as public services and education may also have remarkable influences on residential medical expenses through different channels.

  14. Environmental health--champions of One Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, Christopher; Stull, Paul A; Balster, Erik

    2013-01-01

    The authors find overwhelming evidence among environmental health practitioners that One Health disease reporting concepts are essential to the early detection of, and expedient recovery from, pandemic disease events. The authors also find, however, extraordinary evidence that local public health is not prepared, and potentially unaware of their responsibility, to be the initiator of the zoonotic infectious disease information intelligence necessary to make such early event mitigation possible. The authors propose that NEHA take an affirmative step towards the development of local public health-initiated biosurveillance systems by organizing and leading a tabletop study group that includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Medical Association, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Institute of Medicine, and a robust panel of NEHA state affiliates. This study group should discuss the infrastructure necessary for local public health-the frontline against community-acquired infectious disease-to be the initiators of environmental health, veterinary, and medical One Health biosurveillance systems. The need to establish a community-focused, integrated disease prevention strategy that cautions people about the risks associated with food, water, animal, and contaminated environmental media, both prior to and during epidemic and pandemic events is equally important.

  15. Towards a public health profession

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foldspang, Anders

    2015-01-01

    in the theoretical as well as the practical potential of the public health professional. Thus, he and she must be able to perform, what WHO Europe has developed as Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs).3 This, in turn, implies that the public health professional possesses the set of intellectual (knowledge...... endorsed by WHO Europe’s member states as the basis for the public health education in Europe.5 The sections of the lists include: Public health methods; Population health and: Its social and economic determinants, and: Its material environmental determinants; Man-made interventions and systems, namely...... Health policy, health economics, organizational theory, health legislation, and public health leadership and management; Health promotion—health education, health protection, disease prevention; public health ethics. This should form the central part of the basis for all public health professionals...

  16. An overview of public health service health-related activities as they relate to the Department of Energy's environmental restoration program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kocher, P.L.; Bashor, M.M.

    1991-01-01

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) as an agency of the Public Health Service. Under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA; CERCLA as amended), the public health responsibilities of ATSDR were greatly expanded. Among the responsibilities are (1) preparing health assessments for each site proposed for or listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) established by the US Environmental Protection Agency; (2) conducting epidemiologic and other health studies around NPL sites; (3) establishing registries of exposed individuals; (4) establishing health surveillance programs; (5) developing toxicological profiles for hazardous substances; (6) performing health and emergency response consultations; and (7) performing other health-related activities (e.g., health education). In October 1990, ATSDR signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters requiring that DOE operations offices sign interagency agreements (IAGs) with ATSDR for its conduct of 104(i) health activities at DOE sites. These activities include health assessments, related health studies such as surveillance programs, epidemiologic studies, and registries of exposed persons, and toxicological profiles of hazardous substances unique to DOE sites. ATSDR's studies will focus more on an assessment of the health risk to human populations residing in and around DOE sites than on an evaluation of the health risk to workers on site. Nevertheless, CERCLA, the MOU, and site-specific IAGs authorize ATSDR's access to health and environmental data concerning each site. The IAGs contemplate that ATSDR work closely with DOE operations offices in their implementation of their respective environmental restoration programs

  17. Linking social and built environmental factors to the health of public housing residents: a focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, Erin; Ibe, Chidinma; Young, Jeffery Hunter; Potti, Karthya; Jones, Paul; Pollack, Craig Evan; Gudzune, Kimberly A

    2015-04-10

    Public housing residents have a high risk of chronic disease, which may be related to neighborhood environmental factors. Our objective was to understand how public housing residents perceive that the social and built environments might influence their health and wellbeing. We conducted focus groups of residents from a low-income public housing community in Baltimore, MD to assess their perceptions of health and neighborhood attributes, resources, and social structure. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two investigators independently coded transcripts for thematic content using editing style analysis technique. Twenty-eight residents participated in six focus groups. All were African American and the majority were women. Most had lived in public housing for more than 5 years. We identified four themes: public housing's unhealthy physical environment limits health and wellbeing, the city environment limits opportunities for healthy lifestyle choices, lack of trust in relationships contributes to social isolation, and increased neighborhood social capital could improve wellbeing. Changes in housing and city policies might lead to improved environmental health conditions for public housing residents. Policymakers and researchers may consider promoting community cohesiveness to attempt to empower residents in facilitating neighborhood change.

  18. Real or Illusory? Case Studies on the Public Perception of Environmental Health Risks in the North West of England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Alex G; Luria, Paolo; Reid, John; Lyons, Mary; Jarvis, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Applied research in a public health setting seeks to provide professionals with insights and knowledge into complex environmental issues to guide actions that reduce inequalities and improve health. We describe ten environmental case studies that explore the public perception of health risk. We employed logical analysis of components of each case study and comparative information to generate new evidence. The findings highlight how concerns about environmental issues measurably affect people’s wellbeing and led to the development of new understanding about the benefits of taking an earlier and more inclusive approach to risk communication that can now be tested further. PMID:20617024

  19. Worker Safety and Health Issues Associated with the DOE Environmental Cleanup Program: Insights From the DOE Laboratory Directors' Environmental and Occupational/Public health Standards Steering Group

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M.C. Edelson; Samuel C. Morris; Joan M. Daisey

    2001-03-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory Directors' Environmental and Occupational/Public Health Standards Steering Group (or ''SSG'') was formed in 1990. It was felt then that ''risk'' could be an organizing principle for environmental cleanup and that risk-based cleanup standards could rationalize clean up work. The environmental remediation process puts workers engaged in cleanup activities at risk from hazardous materials and from the more usual hazards associated with construction activities. In a real sense, the site remediation process involves the transfer of a hypothetical risk to the environment and the public from isolated contamination into real risks to the workers engaged in the remediation activities. Late in its existence the SSG, primarily motivated by its LANL representative, Dr. Harry Ettinger, actively investigated issues associated with worker health and safety during environmental remediation activities. This paper summarizes the insights noted by the SSG. Most continue to be pertinent today.

  20. Integrating human health into environmental impact assessment: an unrealized opportunity for environmental health and justice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron

    2008-08-01

    The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice.

  1. ORD-State Cooperation is Essential to Help States Address Contemporary Environmental Public Health Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dr. Cascio’s presentation “ORD-State Cooperation is Essential to Help States Address Contemporary Environmental Public Health Challenges” at ORD’s State Coordination Team Meeting will highlight the role that ORD science and technical expertise in helping t...

  2. Chemical Risk Assessment: Traditional vs Public Health ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. When done efficiently and properly, chemical risk assessment enables risk management actions that minimize the incidence and impacts of environmentally-induced diseases related to chemical exposure. However, traditional chemical risk assessment is faced with multiple challenges with respect to predicting and preventing disease in human populations, and epidemiological studies increasingly report observations of adverse health effects at exposure levels predicted from animal studies to be safe for humans. This discordance reinforces concerns about the adequacy of contemporary risk assessment practices (Birnbaum, Burke, & Jones, 2016) for protecting public health. It is becoming clear that to protect public health more effectively, future risk assessments will need to use the full range of available data, draw on innovative methods to integrate diverse data streams, and consider health endpoints that also reflect the range of subtle effects and morbidities observed in human populations. Given these factors, there is a need to reframe chemical risk assessment to be more clearly aligned with the public health goal of minimizing environmental exposures associated with disease. Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. Chemical risk assessments

  3. Environmental Public Health Survelliance for Exposure to Respiratory Health Hazards: A Joint NASA/CDC Project to Use Remote Sensing Data for Estimating Airborne Particulate Matter Over the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Rickman, Douglas; Mohammad, Al-Hamdan; Crosson, William; Estes, Maurice, Jr.; Limaye, Ashutosh; Qualters, Judith

    2008-01-01

    Describes the public health surveillance efforts of NASA, in a joint effort with the Center for Disease Control (CDC). NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking nvironmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value - added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. The venture sought to provide remote sensing data for the 5-country Metro-Atlanta area and to integrate this environmental data with public health data into a local network, in an effort to prevent and control environmentally related health effects. Remote sensing data used environmental data (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Air Quality System [AQS] ground measurements and MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth [AOD]) to estimate airborne particulate matter over Atlanta, and linked this data with health data related to asthma. The study proved the feasibility of linking environmental data (MODIS particular matter estimates and AQS) with health data (asthma). Algorithms were developed for QC, bias removal, merging MODIS and AQS particulate matter data, as well as for other applications. Additionally, a Business Associate Agreement was negotiated for a health care provider to enable sharing of Protected Health Information.

  4. Public health engineering education in India: current scenario, opportunities and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Mohammad Akhtar; Sharma, Kavya; Zodpey, Sanjay

    2011-01-01

    Public health engineering can play an important and significant role in solving environmental health issues. In order to confront public health challenges emerging out of environmental problems we need adequately trained public health engineers / environmental engineers. Considering the current burden of disease attributable to environmental factors and expansion in scope of applications of public health / environmental engineering science, it is essential to understand the present scenario of teaching, training and capacity building programs in these areas. Against this background the present research was carried out to know the current teaching and training programs in public health engineering and related disciplines in India and to understand the potential opportunities and challenges available. A systematic, predefined approach was used to collect and assemble the data related to various teaching and training programs in public health engineering / environmental engineering in India. Public health engineering / environmental engineering education and training in the country is mainly offered through engineering institutions, as pre-service and in-service training. Pre-service programs include diploma, degree (graduate) and post-graduate courses affiliated to various state technical boards, institutes and universities, whereas in-service training is mainly provided by Government of India recognized engineering and public health training institutes. Though trainees of these programs acquire skills related to engineering sciences, they significantly lack in public health skills. The teaching and training of public health engineering / environmental engineering is limited as a part of public health programs (MD Community Medicine, MPH, DPH) in India. There is need for developing teaching and training of public health engineering or environmental engineering as an interdisciplinary subject. Public health institutes can play an important and significant role in this

  5. Environmental attributable fractions in remote Australia: the potential of a new approach for local public health action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMullen, Cheryl; Eastwood, Ashley; Ward, Jeanette

    2016-04-01

    To determine local values for environmental attributable fractions and explore their applicability and potential for public health advocacy. Using World Health Organization (WHO) values for environmental attributable fractions, responses from a practitioner survey (73% response rate) were considered by a smaller skills-based panel to determine consensus values for Kimberley environmental attributable fractions (KEAFs). Applied to de-identified data from 17 remote primary healthcare facilities over two years, numbers and proportions of reasons for attendance directly attributable to the environment were calculated for all ages and children aged 0-4 years, including those for Aboriginal patients. Of 150,357 reasons for attendance for patients of all ages, 31,775 (21.1%) were directly attributable to the environment. The proportion of these directly due to the environment was significantly higher for Aboriginal patients than others (23.1% v 14.6%; penvironmental factors, 20% of total primary healthcare demand could be prevented and, importantly, some 25% of presentations by Aboriginal children. KEAFs have potential to monitor impact of local environmental investments. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

  6. Communication models in environmental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidotti, Tee L

    2013-01-01

    Communication models common in environmental health are not well represented in the literature on health communication. Risk communication is a systematic approach to conveying essential information about a specific environmental issue and a framework for thinking about community risk and the alternatives for dealing with it. Crisis communication is intended to provide essential information to people facing an emergency in order to mitigate its effects and to enable them to make appropriate decisions, and it is primarily used in emergency management. Corporate communication is intended to achieve a change in attitude or perception of an organization, and its role in environmental health is usually public relations or to rehabilitate a damaged reputation. Environmental health education is a more didactic approach to science education with respect to health and the environment. Social marketing uses conventional marketing methods to achieve a socially desirable purpose but is more heavily used in health promotion generally. Communication models and styles in environmental health are specialized to serve the needs of the field in communicating with the community. They are highly structured and executed in different ways but have in common a relative lack of emphasis on changing personal or lifestyle behavior compared with health promotion and public health in general and a tendency to emphasize content on specific environmental issues and decision frameworks for protecting oneself or the community through collective action.

  7. Approaches to environmental public health: Bogotá and Medellín. Literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina María Rincón Forero

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Environmental health is closely related with the prevention of diseases due to the fact that: physical, environmental, chemical, biological and social factors can inuence the outcome. Due to the tremendous growth and notorious increase in contamination, the national and regional government has been forced to intervene. They have tailored specic plans according to the city that is being affected, in order to better the population’s situation. Objective: To evaluate and compare the environmental health policies in Bogota and Medellin to determine their impact on the population. Materials and methods: A systematic review of literature was conducted in the cities of Bogotá and Medellín, about the impact and context of environmental health programs, to do that a search for articles and compilation of public policies was conducted by consulting various databases in the last decade. Results: We found that it is possible to obtain some quantitative results on the degree of pollution and changes in these over time intervention as development plans available in the city of Medellin. The available data for the city of Bogotá are unclear or nonexistent and therefore no proper monitoring for these. Conclusions: deciency is observed in the follow according to standards established by OMS because no continuity is given to the various projects by the change in administration. It is necessary to conduct a comparative analysis of environmental health programs and sustainable development through qualitative study.

  8. LINKING PUBLIC HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY DATA FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Program Area: Environmental HealthTopic Area: Linking Public Health Data into ActionTitle of Presentation: Linking Public Health and Air Quality Data for AccountabilityBackground and Significance Tracking environmental exposures to air pollutan...

  9. 21 CFR 25.16 - Public health and safety emergencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public health and safety emergencies. 25.16... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Agency Actions Requiring Environmental Consideration § 25.16 Public health... importance to the public health or safety, may make full adherence to the procedural provisions of NEPA and...

  10. The “geotoxicology” of airborne particulate matter: implications for public health, public policy, and environmental security (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plumlee, G. S.; Morman, S. A.

    2009-12-01

    substantial public health risk. PM is at the core of diverse policy issues related to air quality, public health, and environmental security, at scales from local to global. Interdisciplinary earth and health science investigations are crucial to the development of effective policy. For example, earth science input will be key for understanding and managing potential risks associated with living on or near asbestos-containing rocks. Particularly in dry climates, a better understanding of the roles of geogenic PM versus anthropogenic PM as triggers of disease is needed in the development of appropriate air quality regulations at local to regional scales; this issue will only increase in importance in the future as human inhabitation increases in some arid regions, and as arid regions expand or shift due to climate change or human-induced stresses. Over the last decade, it has been recognized that dusts can transport contaminants and pathogens between continents. Hence, human practices and policies that influence dust generation in one continent or country may ultimately have an impact on public health, policy, and environmental security in distant downwind countries.

  11. Public involvement in environmental, safety and health issues at the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Laura L.; Morgan, Robert P.

    1992-01-01

    The state of public involvement in environmental, safety, and health issues at the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex is assessed through identification of existing opportunities for public involvement and through interviews with representatives of ten local citizen groups active in these issues at weapons facilities in their communities. A framework for analyzing existing means of public involvement is developed. On the whole, opportunities for public involvement are inadequate. Provisions for public involvement are lacking in several key stages of the decision-making process. Consequently, adversarial means of public involvement have generally been more effective than cooperative means in motivating change in the Weapons Complex. Citizen advisory boards, both on the local and national level, may provide a means of improving public involvement in Weapons Complex issues. (author)

  12. ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS -RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, 7/30-31/2002

    Science.gov (United States)

    To better define ORD's Environmental Public Health Outcomes (EPHO) research agenda, a workshop was held 7/30-31/2002 at EPA facilities in Research Triangle Park, NC. The intent of this workshop was to engage federal and other organizations in a dialog that will assist ORD in deve...

  13. Environmental Public Health Research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Addressing Community Exposures and Outcomes from One Researcher’s Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA) mission is to protect human health and the environment. Those not familiar with U.S. EPA’s mission often do not realize that U.S. EPA is a public health agency. In this presentation, Dr. Danelle Lobdell will provid...

  14. Issues in public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sim, Fiona; McKee, Martin

    2011-01-01

    ..., there is increasing understanding of the inevitable limits of individual health care and of the need to complement such services with effective public health strategies. Major improvements in people's health will come from controlling communicable diseases, eradicating environmental hazards, improving people's diets and enhancing the availability ...

  15. Examining Public Perceptions about Lead in School Drinking Water: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Twitter Response to an Environmental Health Hazard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekenga, Christine C; McElwain, Cora-Ann; Sprague, Nadav

    2018-01-20

    Exposure to lead has long been a community health concern in St. Louis, Missouri. The objective of this study was to examine public response to reports of elevated lead levels in school drinking water in St. Louis, Missouri via Twitter, a microblogging platform with over 320 million active users. We used a mixed-methods design to examine Twitter user status updates, known as "tweets," from 18 August to 31 December 2016. The number of tweets each day was recorded, and Twitter users were classified into five user types (General Public, Journalist/News, Health Professional/Academic, Politician/Government Official, and Non-Governmental Organization). A total of 492 tweets were identified during the study period. The majority of discourse on Twitter occurred during the two-week period after initial media reports and was driven by members of the General Public. Thematic analysis of tweets revealed four themes: Information Sharing, Health Concerns, Sociodemographic Disparities, and Outrage. Twitter users characterized lead in school drinking water as an issue of environmental inequity. The findings of this study provide evidence that social media platforms can be utilized as valuable tools for public health researchers and practitioners to gauge public sentiment about environmental health issues, identify emerging community concerns, and inform future communication and research strategies regarding environmental health hazards.

  16. Evolution of public participation in the assessment and management of environmental health risks: a brief history of developments in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sexton, Ken

    2013-09-02

    Significance for public healthRisk-based decision making is a core feature of government actions aimed at protecting public health from the adverse effects of environmental hazards. In the past, it has often been an expert-driven, mostly obscure process used by federal agencies to justify and defend regulatory decisions made outside the public arena. But the nature of decision making has changed as it has become apparent that environmental health problems are more complicated, controversial, and costly to solve than originally thought. Meaningful public engagement is now an inherent component of all phases of the risk assessment - risk management paradigm because it promotes stakeholder buy in, taps into unique stakeholder knowledge, and promotes the concept of environmental democracy.In the United States, the risk assessment - risk management paradigm that underpins federal decisions about environmental health risks was first established in 1983. In the beginning, the importance of public participation was not explicitly recognized within the paradigm. Over time, however, it has become evident that not only must risk-based decisions be founded on the best available scientific knowledge and understanding, but also that they must take account of the knowledge, values, and preferences of interested and affected parties, including community members, business people, and environmental advocates. This article examines the gradually expanding role of public participation in risk-based decision making in the United States, and traces its evolution from a peripheral issue labeled as an external pressure to an integral element of the 21st century risk assessment - risk management paradigm. Today, and into the foreseeable future, public participation and stakeholder involvement are intrinsic features of the emerging American regulatory landscape, which emphasizes collaborative approaches for achieving cooperative and cost-effective solutions to complicated and often

  17. One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukhyun Ryu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.

  18. Children's Environmental Health Indicators in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sly, J Leith; Moore, Sophie E; Gore, Fiona; Brune, Marie Noel; Neira, Maria; Jagals, Paul; Sly, Peter D

    2016-01-01

    Adverse environmental exposures in early life increase the risk of chronic disease but do not attract the attention nor receive the public health priority warranted. A safe and healthy environment is essential for children's health and development, yet absent in many countries. A framework that aids in understanding the link between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes are environmental health indicators-numerical estimates of hazards and outcomes that can be applied at a population level. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a set of children's environmental health indicators (CEHI) for physical injuries, insect-borne disease, diarrheal diseases, perinatal diseases, and respiratory diseases; however, uptake of steps necessary to apply these indicators across the WHO regions has been incomplete. A first indication of such uptake is the management of data required to measure CEHI. The present study was undertaken to determine whether Australia has accurate up-to-date, publicly available, and readily accessible data on each CEHI for indigenous and nonindigenous Australian children. Data were not readily accessible for many of the exposure indicators, and much of the available data were not child specific or were only available for Australia's indigenous population. Readily accessible data were available for all but one of the outcome indicators and generally for both indigenous and nonindigenous children. Although Australia regularly collects data on key national indicators of child health, development, and well-being in several domains mostly thought to be of more relevance to Australians and Australian policy makers, these differ substantially from the WHO CEHI. The present study suggests that the majority of these WHO exposure and outcome indicators are relevant and important for monitoring Australian children's environmental health and establishing public health interventions at a local and national level and collection of appropriate

  19. Conflicts of Interest: Manipulating Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Richard; Davis, Devra Lee

    2014-01-01

    Evaluating the potential health impacts of chemical, physical, and biological environmental factors represents a challenging task with profound medical, public health, and historical implications. The history of public health is replete with instances, ranging from tobacco to lead and asbestos, where the ability to obtain evidence on potential…

  20. Integrating health and environmental impact analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, S; Morris, G; Fleming, L E; Beck, S; Taylor, T; White, M; Depledge, M H; Steinle, S; Sabel, C E; Cowie, H; Hurley, F; Dick, J McP; Smith, R I; Austen, M

    2015-10-01

    Scientific investigations have progressively refined our understanding of the influence of the environment on human health, and the many adverse impacts that human activities exert on the environment, from the local to the planetary level. Nonetheless, throughout the modern public health era, health has been pursued as though our lives and lifestyles are disconnected from ecosystems and their component organisms. The inadequacy of the societal and public health response to obesity, health inequities, and especially global environmental and climate change now calls for an ecological approach which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose a new conceptual model, the ecosystems-enriched Drivers, Pressures, State, Exposure, Effects, Actions or 'eDPSEEA' model, to address this shortcoming. The model recognizes convergence between the concept of ecosystems services which provides a human health and well-being slant to the value of ecosystems while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession. It will require outreach to political and other stakeholders including a currently largely disengaged general public. The need for an effective and robust science-policy interface has

  1. Science and social responsibility in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weed, Douglas L; McKeown, Robert E

    2003-01-01

    Epidemiologists and environmental health researchers have a joint responsibility to acquire scientific knowledge that matters to public health and to apply the knowledge gained in public health practice. We examine the nature and source of these social responsibilities, discuss a debate in the epidemiological literature on roles and responsibilities, and cite approaches to environmental justice as reflective of them. At one level, responsibility refers to accountability, as in being responsible for actions taken. A deeper meaning of responsibility corresponds to commitment to the pursuit and achievement of a valued end. Epidemiologists are committed to the scientific study of health and disease in human populations and to the application of scientific knowledge to improve the public's health. Responsibility is also closely linked to reliability. Responsible professionals reliably perform the tasks they set for themselves as well as the tasks society expects them to undertake. The defining axiom for our approach is that the health of the public is a social good we commit ourselves to pursue, thus assuming an obligation to contribute to its achievement. Epidemiologists cannot claim to be committed to public health as a social good and not accept the responsibility of ensuring that the knowledge gained in their roles as scientists is used to achieve that good. The social responsibilities of environmental health researchers are conspicuous in the environmental justice movement, for example, in community-based participatory research. Responsibility is an ethical concept particularly well suited to frame many key aspects of the ethics of our profession. PMID:14602514

  2. Impact of energy taxation on economy, environmental and public health quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Baoqing; Liu, Bowei; Niu, Honghong; Liu, Jianfeng; Yao, Shu

    2018-01-15

    This paper argues computable general equilibrium model and assess impact of energy taxation on economy, environmental and public health quality in Tianjin. In order to investigate different energy taxation based on medical cost and labor loss, the computable general equilibrium model integrating with input-output table and social accounting matrix (SAM) was constructed. The medical expense caused by air pollution of Tianjin in 2007 is 396 million yuan and death for 18104 people, which accounted for the total GDP and population 0.754‰ and 1.6‰, respectively. The results show that the enery taxes levy can improve the GDP, but it is only slightly. The energy taxes have adverse impact on energy sector because that the energy cost is increased. The scale of production is reduced, and the capital and labor resources are transferred to low energy consumption low emissions sector. The energy tax levy can reduce air pollutants concentration and improve air environmental quality. The PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 concentration in the energy taxes 5%-30% was reduced by 0.24%-0.24%, 0.09-0.52% and 0.29%-0.52% respectively. The medical expense has little impact on GDP, but labor loss has a certain effect on GDP. For higher energy taxes rate, the health effects on GDP can reach 0.06%-0.16%. This simultaneous economic and environmental improvement and health effect would thus have positive implications regarding energy taxes of the country. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Environmental Escherichia coli: Ecology and public health implications - A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Jeonghwan; Hur, Hor-Gil; Sadowsky, Michael J.; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Yan, Tao; Ishii, Satoshi

    2017-01-01

    Escherichia coli is classified as a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae. The bacterium mainly inhabits the lower intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and is often discharged into the environment through feces or wastewater effluent. The presence of E. coli in environmental waters has long been considered as an indicator of recent fecal pollution. However, numerous recent studies have reported that some specific strains of E. coli can survive for long periods of time, and potentially reproduce, in extra-intestinal environments. This indicates that E. coli can be integrated into indigenous microbial communities in the environment. This naturalization phenomenon calls into question the reliability of E. coli as a fecal indicator bacterium (FIB). Recently, many studies reported that E. coli populations in the environment are affected by ambient environmental conditions affecting their long-term survival. Large-scale studies of population genetics provide the diversity and complexity of E. coli strains in various environments, affected by multiple environmental factors. This review examines the current knowledge on the ecology of E. coli strains in various environments in regards to its role as a FIB and as a naturalized member of indigenous microbial communities. Special emphasis is given on the growth of pathogenic E. coli in the environment, and the population genetics of environmental members of the genus Escherichia. The impact of environmental E. coli on water quality and public health is also discussed.

  4. 75 FR 18831 - National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification of Public Teleconference and Public...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-13

    ... Act (FACA), Public Law 92-463, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hereby provides notice... liaisons to the Tribal Operations Commission and the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee School... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9136-1] National Environmental Justice Advisory Council...

  5. An ecological perspective on medical care: environmental, occupational, and public health impacts of medical supply and pharmaceutical chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vatovec, Christine; Senier, Laura; Bell, Michael

    2013-09-01

    Healthcare organizations are increasingly examining the impacts of their facilities and operations on the natural environment, their workers, and the broader community, but the ecological impacts of specific healthcare services provided within these institutions have not been assessed. This paper provides a qualitative assessment of healthcare practices that takes into account the life-cycle impacts of a variety of materials used in typical medical care. We conducted an ethnographic study of three medical inpatient units: a conventional cancer ward, palliative care unit, and a hospice center. Participant observations (73 participants) of healthcare and support staff including physicians, nurses, housekeepers, and administrators were made to inventory materials and document practices used in patient care. Semi-structured interviews provided insight into common practices. We identified three major domains that highlight the cumulative environmental, occupational health, and public health impacts of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals used at our research sites: (1) medical supply procurement; (2) generation, handling, and disposal of medical waste; and (3) pharmaceutical handling and disposal. Impacts discovered through ethnographic inquiry included occupational exposures to chemotherapy and infectious waste, and public health exposures to pharmaceutical waste. This study provides new insight into the environmental, occupational, and public health impacts resulting from medical practices. In many cases, the lack of clear guidance and regulations regarding environmental impacts contributed to elevated harms to the natural environment, workers, and the broader community.

  6. Environmental health action plan for Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-06-01

    This Environmental Health Action Plan for Europe was endorsed by the second European Conference on Environment and Health, held in Helsinki, 20 to 22 June 1994. It sets out directions for the attainment of long term environment and health policy objectives define in the European Charter on Environment and Health. The Action Plan is primarily addressed at the public health and environmental protection sectors. 10 refs, 4 figs, 2 tabs

  7. An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, Michael

    2014-09-01

    The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. How to characterize the public health workforce based on essential public health operations? environmental public health workers in the Netherlands as an example

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jambroes, M.; van Honschooten, R.; Doosje, J.; Stronks, K.; Essink-Bot, M. L.

    2015-01-01

    Public health workforce planning and policy development require adequate data on the public health workforce and the services provided. If existing data sources do not contain the necessary information, or apply to part of the workforce only, primary data collection is required. The aim of this

  9. Environmental Escherichia coli: ecology and public health implications-a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, J; Hur, H-G; Sadowsky, M J; Byappanahalli, M N; Yan, T; Ishii, S

    2017-09-01

    Escherichia coli is classified as a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae. The bacterium mainly inhabits the lower intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and is often discharged into the environment through faeces or wastewater effluent. The presence of E. coli in environmental waters has long been considered as an indicator of recent faecal pollution. However, numerous recent studies have reported that some specific strains of E. coli can survive for long periods of time, and potentially reproduce, in extraintestinal environments. This indicates that E. coli can be integrated into indigenous microbial communities in the environment. This naturalization phenomenon calls into question the reliability of E. coli as a faecal indicator bacterium (FIB). Recently, many studies reported that E. coli populations in the environment are affected by ambient environmental conditions affecting their long-term survival. Large-scale studies of population genetics revealed the diversity and complexity of E. coli strains in various environments, which are affected by multiple environmental factors. This review examines the current knowledge on the ecology of E. coli strains in various environments with regard to its role as a FIB and as a naturalized member of indigenous microbial communities. Special emphasis is given on the growth of pathogenic E. coli in the environment, and the population genetics of environmental members of the genus Escherichia. The impact of environmental E. coli on water quality and public health is also discussed. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  10. The Economic Crisis and Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Sidel

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The current global economic crisis seriously threatens the health of the public. Challenges include increases in malnutrition; homelessness and inadequate housing; unemployment; substance abuse, depression, and other mental health problems; mortality; child health problems; violence; environmental and occupational health problems; and social injustice and violation of human rights; as well as decreased availability, accessibility, and affordability of quality medical and dental care. Health professionals can respond by promoting surveillance and documentation of human needs, reassessing public health priorities, educating the public and policymakers about health problems worsened by the economic crisis, advocating for sound policies and programs to address these problems, and directly providing necessary programs and services.

  11. Nuclear education in public health and nursing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winder, A.E.; Stanitis, M.A.

    1988-01-01

    Twenty-three public health schools and 492 university schools of nursing were surveyed to gather specific information on educational programs related to nuclear war. Twenty public health schools and 240 nursing schools responded. Nuclear war-related content was most likely to appear in disaster nursing and in environmental health courses. Three schools of public health report that they currently offer elective courses on nuclear war. Innovative curricula included political action projects for nuclear war prevention

  12. Power distribution, the environment, and public health. A state-level analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyce, James K.; Klemer, Andrew R.; Templet, Paul H.; Willis, Cleve E.

    1999-01-01

    This paper examines relationships among power distribution, the environment, and public health by means of a cross-sectional analysis of the 50 US states. A measure of inter-state variations in power distribution is derived from data on voter participation, tax fairness, Medicaid access, and educational attainment. We develop and estimate a recursive model linking the distribution of power to environmental policy, environmental stress, and public health. The results support the hypothesis that greater power inequality leads to weaker environmental policies, which in turn lead to greater environmental degradation and to adverse public health outcomes

  13. Power distribution, the environment, and public health. A state-level analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyce, James K. [Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Klemer, Andrew R. [Department of Biology, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN (United States); Templet, Paul H. [Institute of Environmental Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA (United States); Willis, Cleve E. [Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States)

    1999-04-15

    This paper examines relationships among power distribution, the environment, and public health by means of a cross-sectional analysis of the 50 US states. A measure of inter-state variations in power distribution is derived from data on voter participation, tax fairness, Medicaid access, and educational attainment. We develop and estimate a recursive model linking the distribution of power to environmental policy, environmental stress, and public health. The results support the hypothesis that greater power inequality leads to weaker environmental policies, which in turn lead to greater environmental degradation and to adverse public health outcomes.

  14. Power distribution, the environment, and public health. A state-level analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyce, James K. [Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Klemer, Andrew R. [Department of Biology, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN (United States); Templet, Paul H. [Institute of Environmental Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA (United States); Willis, Cleve E. [Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States)

    1999-04-15

    This paper examines relationships among power distribution, the environment, and public health by means of a cross-sectional analysis of the 50 US states. A measure of inter-state variations in power distribution is derived from data on voter participation, tax fairness, Medicaid access, and educational attainment. We develop and estimate a recursive model linking the distribution of power to environmental policy, environmental stress, and public health. The results support the hypothesis that greater power inequality leads to weaker environmental policies, which in turn lead to greater environmental degradation and to adverse public health outcomes

  15. Management of environmental health issues for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: is enhanced integrated environmental health surveillance needed in every day routine operation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chervoni Julia

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Management of environmental health issues is an integral part of public health systems. An active integrated environmental health surveillance and response system was developed for the Athens Olympics to monitor and prevent exposure to environmental hazards. The potential for permanent implementation of the program was examined. Methods The environmental health surveillance and response system included standardization, computerization and electronic transmission of data concerning environmental inspections of 17 site categories (restaurants, swimming pools etc of public health interest, drinking and recreational water examinations and suggested corrective actions. The Olympic Planning Unit integrated and centrally managed data from 13 public health agencies, recommended, supervised and coordinated prompt corrective actions. Methods used to test the effectiveness of the program were the assessment of water quality test and inspection results trends over time using linear regression and epidemiological surveillance findings. Results Between January 2003 and September the 30th, 2004, 196 inspectors conducted 8562 inspections, collected 5024 water samples and recommended 17 027 corrective actions. In 10 cruise ships used as floating hotels inspectors conducted 10 full inspections, 2 re-inspections, and 27 follow-up inspections. Unsatisfactory inspection results (r = 0.44, p Conclusion Lessons learned for future events include timely implementation and installation of communication processes, and rapid and coordinated response to unsatisfactory inspection results. Routine national programs need to adopt enhanced environmental health surveillance aimed at public health decision-making, but with a different perspective.

  16. Management of environmental health issues for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: is enhanced integrated environmental health surveillance needed in every day routine operation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Mouchtouri, Varvara; Vaitsi, Vasiliki; Kapoula, Christina; Vousoureli, Anastasia; Kalivitis, Isidiros; Chervoni, Julia; Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Vasilogiannakopoulos, Antonios; Daniilidis, Vasilis D; Kremastinou, Jenny

    2006-12-18

    Management of environmental health issues is an integral part of public health systems. An active integrated environmental health surveillance and response system was developed for the Athens Olympics to monitor and prevent exposure to environmental hazards. The potential for permanent implementation of the program was examined. The environmental health surveillance and response system included standardization, computerization and electronic transmission of data concerning environmental inspections of 17 site categories (restaurants, swimming pools etc) of public health interest, drinking and recreational water examinations and suggested corrective actions. The Olympic Planning Unit integrated and centrally managed data from 13 public health agencies, recommended, supervised and coordinated prompt corrective actions. Methods used to test the effectiveness of the program were the assessment of water quality test and inspection results trends over time using linear regression and epidemiological surveillance findings. Between January 2003 and September the 30th, 2004, 196 inspectors conducted 8562 inspections, collected 5024 water samples and recommended 17 027 corrective actions. In 10 cruise ships used as floating hotels inspectors conducted 10 full inspections, 2 re-inspections, and 27 follow-up inspections. Unsatisfactory inspection results (r = 0.44, p quality tests (r = 0.39, p restaurant which accommodated athletes during a test event. Lessons learned for future events include timely implementation and installation of communication processes, and rapid and coordinated response to unsatisfactory inspection results. Routine national programs need to adopt enhanced environmental health surveillance aimed at public health decision-making, but with a different perspective.

  17. Ethics in public health: call for shared moral public health literacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeckelberghe, Els L M; Schröder-Bäck, Peter

    2017-10-01

    Public Health (PH) in Europe has become much more vocal about its moral understandings since 1992. The rising awareness that PH issues were inseparable from issues of human rights and social justice almost self-evidently directed the agenda of EUPHA and the European Public Health (EPH)-conferences. Problems of cultural and behavioural change, and environmental issues on a global scale were also added. The Section Ethics in PH invited the EPH community to join in 'arm chair thinking': coming together at conferences not only to share the 'how' and 'what' of PH research, practices and policies but also the 'why'. Time has been reserved to genuinely discuss what moral values are at stake in the work of PH and to actively develop a moral language and framework for PH Ethics. The challenge for the next decades is to find ways to involve the general public in the cultivation of a shared moral PH literacy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  18. The Cow in the Room: Public Knowledge of the Links Between Dietary Choices and Health and Environmental Impacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew W Joyce

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Issue Addressed: This paper describes results of a survey comparing people’s knowledge of health and environmental impacts of dietary choices. Dietary choice is one of the key ways in which individuals can reduce their environmental impact in relation to water use and greenhouse gas emissions but this may not be widely known amongst the public due to limited press coverage.Methods: A street intercept survey was conducted asking open ended questions on how people can help the environment, maintain or improve health and basic demographics. The sample size was 107 with a refusal rate of 51%.Results: Only 3.2% of the sample made a link between dietary choice and environmental impact whereas 85.6% of the sample referred to dietary choice in relation to personal health. Transport options and keeping active were popular responses to both health and environmental categories.Conclusions: It seems that very few people are aware that the livestock sector is the second largest contributor to equivalent greenhouse gas emissions and one of the largest users of fresh water. Reduction in red meat consumption could have both important positive health and environmental impacts.

  19. A bibliometric analysis in the fields of preventive medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, epidemiology, and public health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soteriades Elpidoforos S

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research in the fields of Preventive Medicine, Occupational/Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health play an important role in the advancement of knowledge. In order to map the research production around the world we performed a bibliometric analysis in the above fields. Methods All articles published by different world regions in the above mentioned scientific fields and cited in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI during the period 1995 and 2003, were evaluated. The research production of different world regions was adjusted for: a the gross domestic product in 1995 US dollars, and b the population size of each region. Results A total of 48,861 articles were retrieved and categorized. The USA led the research production in all three subcategories. The percentage of articles published by USA researchers was 43%, 44% and 61% in the Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health subcategories, respectively. Canada and Western Europe shared the second position in the first two subcategories, while Oceania researchers ranked second in the field of Public Health. Conclusion USA researchers maintain a leadership position in the production of scientific articles in the fields of Preventive Medicine, Occupational/Environmental Medicine and Epidemiology, at a level similar to other scientific disciplines, while USA contribution to science in the field of Public Health is by all means outstanding. Less developed regions would need to support their researchers in the above fields in order to improve scientific production and advancement of knowledge in their countries.

  20. How Many Principles for Public Health Ethics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlin, Steven S.

    2009-01-01

    General moral (ethical) principles play a prominent role in certain methods of moral reasoning and ethical decision-making in bioethics and public health. Examples include the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Some accounts of ethics in public health have pointed to additional principles related to social and environmental concerns, such as the precautionary principle and principles of solidarity or social cohesion. This article provides an overview of principle-based methods of moral reasoning as they apply to public health ethics including a summary of advantages and disadvantages of methods of moral reasoning that rely upon general principles of moral reasoning. Drawing upon the literature on public health ethics, examples are provided of additional principles, obligations, and rules that may be useful for analyzing complex ethical issues in public health. A framework is outlined that takes into consideration the interplay of ethical principles and rules at individual, community, national, and global levels. Concepts such as the precautionary principle and solidarity are shown to be useful to public health ethics to the extent that they can be shown to provide worthwhile guidance and information above and beyond principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, and the clusters of rules and maxims that are linked to these moral principles. Future directions likely to be productive include further work on areas of public health ethics such as public trust, community empowerment, the rights of individuals who are targeted (or not targeted) by public health interventions, individual and community resilience and wellbeing, and further clarification of principles, obligations, and rules in public health disciplines such as environmental science, prevention and control of chronic and infectious diseases, genomics, and global health. PMID:20072707

  1. GIS and Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Bertazzon

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This Special Issue on GIS and public health is the result of a highly selective process, which saw the participation of some 20 expert peer-reviewers and led to the acceptance of one half of the high-quality submissions received over the past year. Many threads link these papers to each other and, indeed, to our original call for papers, but the element that most clearly emerges from these works is the inextricable connection between public health and the environment. Indeed, GIS analysis of public health simply cannot disregard the geospatial dimension of environmental resources and risks. What consistently emerges from these analyses is that current geospatial research can only scratch the surface of the complex interactions of spatial resources, risks, and public health. In today’s world, or at least in the developed world, researchers and practitioners can count on virtually endless data, on inexpensive computational power, and on seamless connectivity. In this research environment, these papers point to the need for improved analytical tools, covering concepts, representation, modeling and reliability. These works are important contributions that help us to identify what advances in geospatial analysis can better address the complex interactions of public health with our physical and cultural environment, and bridge research and practice, so that geospatial analyses can inform public health policy making. [...

  2. Global Climate Change and Environmental Health: Proceedings of the 1997 Annual Conference of the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovats, Sari; Patz, Jonathan A.; Dobbins, Dennis

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of the conference was to bring together a diverse group of occupational and environmental health experts to address the potential effects of climate change and ozone depletion on the current and future incidence of disease, heat stress, food and water supplies, and air pollution; to discuss initial strategies for improving R and D, global health surveillance systems, disease prevention, medical and public health community education, international cooperation, and public outreach; to address this international occupational and environmental health problem; and to explore international challenges and opportunities for collaborative projects in addressing these potential effects

  3. Public health accreditation and metrics for ethics: a case study on environmental health and community engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernheim, Ruth Gaare; Stefanak, Matthew; Brandenburg, Terry; Pannone, Aaron; Melnick, Alan

    2013-01-01

    As public health departments around the country undergo accreditation using the Public Health Accreditation Board standards, the process provides a new opportunity to integrate ethics metrics into day-to-day public health practice. While the accreditation standards do not explicitly address ethics, ethical tools and considerations can enrich the accreditation process by helping health departments and their communities understand what ethical principles underlie the accreditation standards and how to use metrics based on these ethical principles to support decision making in public health practice. We provide a crosswalk between a public health essential service, Public Health Accreditation Board community engagement domain standards, and the relevant ethical principles in the Public Health Code of Ethics (Code). A case study illustrates how the accreditation standards and the ethical principles in the Code together can enhance the practice of engaging the community in decision making in the local health department.

  4. Zebrafish in Toxicology and Environmental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambino, Kathryn; Chu, Jaime

    2017-01-01

    As manufacturing processes and development of new synthetic compounds increase to keep pace with the expanding global demand, environmental health, and the effects of toxicant exposure are emerging as critical public health concerns. Additionally, chemicals that naturally occur in the environment, such as metals, have profound effects on human and animal health. Many of these compounds are in the news: lead, arsenic, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A have all been widely publicized as causing disease or damage to humans and wildlife in recent years. Despite the widespread appreciation that environmental toxins can be harmful, there is limited understanding of how many toxins cause disease. Zebrafish are at the forefront of toxicology research; this system has been widely used as a tool to detect toxins in water samples and to investigate the mechanisms of action of environmental toxins and their related diseases. The benefits of zebrafish for studying vertebrate development are equally useful for studying teratogens. Here, we review how zebrafish are being used both to detect the presence of some toxins as well as to identify how environmental exposures affect human health and disease. We focus on areas where zebrafish have been most effectively used in ecotoxicology and in environmental health, including investigation of exposures to endocrine disruptors, industrial waste byproducts, and arsenic. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Linking Asthma Exacerbation and Air Pollution Data: A Step Toward Public Health and Environmental Data Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faruque, Fazlay; Finley, Richard; Marshall, Gailen; Brackin, Bruce; Li, Hui; Williams, Worth; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Luvall, Jeffrey; Rickman, Doug; Crosson, Bill

    2006-01-01

    Studies have shown that reducing exposure to triggers such as air pollutants can reduce symptoms and the need for medication in asthma patients. However, systems that track asthma are generally not integrated with those that track environmental hazards related to asthma. Tlvs lack of integration hinders public health awareness and responsiveness to these environmental triggers. The current study is a collaboration between health and environmental professionals to utilize NASA-derived environmental data to develop a decision support system (DSS) for asthma prediction, surveillance, and intervention. The investigators link asthma morbidity data from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and Mississippi Department of Health (MDH) with air quality data from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and remote sensing data from NASA. Daily ambient environmental hazard data for PM2.5 and ozone are obtained from the MDEQ air quality monitoring locations and are combined with remotely sensed data from NASA to develop a state-wide spatial and time series profile of environmental air quality. These data are then used to study the correlation of these measures of air quality variation with the asthma exacerbation incidence throughout the state over time. The goal is to utilize these readily available measures to allow real-time risk assessment for asthma exacerbations. GeoMedStat, a DSS previously developed for biosurveillance, will integrate these measures to monitor, analyze and report the real-time risk assessment for asthma exacerbation throughout the state.

  6. The Developing Role of Evidence-Based Environmental Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surindar Dhesi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available There has been renewed recognition that proactive strategies and interventions can address the social determinants of health, and the environmental health profession is well placed to effect positive change in many of these determinants. This qualitative research has revealed differences in the perceptions, experiences, and understandings of evidence-based practice among public health professionals from different backgrounds across different services in health care and local government in England. The absence of a strong tradition of evidence-based practice in environmental health appears to be a disadvantage in securing funding and playing a full role, as it has become the expectation in the new public health system. This has, at times, resulted in tensions between professionals with different backgrounds and frustration on the part of environmental health practitioners, who have a tradition of responding quickly to new challenges and “getting on with the job.” There is generally a willingness to develop evidence-based practice in environmental health; however, this will take time and investment.

  7. Particle (Soot Pollution in Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria—Double Air Pollution Burden? Understanding and Tackling Potential Environmental Public Health Impacts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okhumode H. Yakubu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Residents of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria, and its environs have since the last quarter of 2016 been experiencing adverse environmental impacts of particle (soot pollution. This “double air pollution burden”—the unresolved prevailing widespread air pollution and the “added” emergence of particle pollution considered an environmental health threat, led to protests against government inaction in some parts of the state. In February 2017, several months following the onset of the pollution, the government declared an Emergency, and set up a Task Force to investigate and find a solution to the problem. Global research suggests that particle pollution correlates positively with a range of morbidities and an increased risk of mortality among exposed populations. This underscores the need for rigorous implementation of existing environmental legislations established to protect the environment and public health. Nigeria’s rapid response to the 2014–2015 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD and successful prevention of its spread provides some lessons for addressing such environmental health emergencies—strategic action, including effective environmental risk communication, environmental audit, and monitoring is key. Epidemiological studies of the affected population is imperative. A concerted effort by the Rivers State Ministries of Environment and Health, as well as academia and private organizations is required. Public service campaign in terms of government providing up to date information on the existing situation is required.

  8. Environmental, public health, and safety assessment of fuel pipelines and other freight transportation modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strogen, Bret; Bell, Kendon; Breunig, Hanna; Zilberman, David

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Externalities are examined for pipelines, truck, rail, and barge. • Safety impact factors include incidences of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. • Environmental impact factors include CO_2eq emissions and air pollution disease burden. • Externalities are estimated for constructing and operating a large domestic pipeline. • A large pipeline has lower cumulative impacts than other modes within ten years. - Abstract: The construction of pipelines along high-throughput fuel corridors can alleviate demand for rail, barge, and truck transportation. Pipelines have a very different externality profile than other freight transportation modes due to differences in construction, operation, and maintenance requirements; labor, energy, and material input intensity; location and profile of emissions from operations; and frequency and magnitude of environmental and safety incidents. Therefore, public policy makers have a strong justification to influence the economic viability of pipelines. We use data from prior literature and U.S. government statistics to estimate environmental, public health, and safety characterization factors for pipelines and other modes. In 2008, two pipeline companies proposed the construction of an ethanol pipeline from the Midwest to Northeast United States. This proposed project informs our case study of a 2735-km $3.5 billion pipeline (2009 USD), for which we evaluate potential long-term societal impacts including life-cycle costs, greenhouse gas emissions, employment, injuries, fatalities, and public health impacts. Although it may take decades to break even economically, and would result in lower cumulative employment, such a pipeline would likely have fewer safety incidents, pollution emissions, and health damages than the alternative multimodal system in less than ten years; these results stand even if comparing future cleaner ground transport modes to a pipeline that utilizes electricity produced from coal

  9. Social Science Collaboration with Environmental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Elizabeth; Renauld, Mia; Edelstein, Michael R; Brown, Phil

    2015-11-01

    Social science research has been central in documenting and analyzing community discovery of environmental exposure and consequential processes. Collaboration with environmental health science through team projects has advanced and improved our understanding of environmental health and justice. We sought to identify diverse methods and topics in which social scientists have expanded environmental health understandings at multiple levels, to examine how transdisciplinary environmental health research fosters better science, and to learn how these partnerships have been able to flourish because of the support from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). We analyzed various types of social science research to investigate how social science contributes to environmental health. We also examined NIEHS programs that foster social science. In addition, we developed a case study of a community-based participation research project in Akwesasne in order to demonstrate how social science has enhanced environmental health science. Social science has informed environmental health science through ethnographic studies of contaminated communities, analysis of spatial distribution of environmental injustice, psychological experience of contamination, social construction of risk and risk perception, and social impacts of disasters. Social science-environmental health team science has altered the way scientists traditionally explore exposure by pressing for cumulative exposure approaches and providing research data for policy applications. A transdisciplinary approach for environmental health practice has emerged that engages the social sciences to paint a full picture of the consequences of contamination so that policy makers, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders can better ameliorate impacts and prevent future exposure. Hoover E, Renauld M, Edelstein MR, Brown P. 2015. Social science collaboration with environmental health. Environ Health

  10. Public health and peace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laaser, Ulrich; Donev, Donco; Bjegović, Vesna; Sarolli, Ylli

    2002-04-01

    The modern concept of public health, the New Public Health, carries a great potential for healthy and therefore less aggressive societies. Its core disciplines are health promotion, environmental health, and health care management based on advanced epidemiological methodologies. The main principles of living together in healthy societies can be summarized as four ethical concepts of the New Public Health essential to violence reduction equity, participation, subsidiarity, and sustainability. The following issues are discussed as violence determinants: the process of urbanization; type of neighborhood and accommodation, and consequent stigmatization; level of education; employment status; socialization of the family; women's status; alcohol and drug consumption; availability of the firearms; religious, ethnic, and racial prejudices; and poverty. Development of the health systems has to contribute to peace, since aggression, violence, and warfare are among the greatest risks for health and the economic welfare. This contribution can be described as follows: 1) full and indiscriminate access to all necessary services, 2) monitoring of their quality, 3) providing special support to vulnerable groups, and 4) constant scientific and public accountability of the evaluation of the epidemiological outcome. Violence can also destroy solidarity and social cohesion of groups, such as family, team, neighborhood, or any other social organization. Durkheim coined the term anomie for a state in which social disruption of the community results in health risks for individuals. Health professionals can make a threefold contribution to peace by 1) analyzing the causal interrelationships of violence phenomena, 2) curbing the determinants of violence according to the professional standards, and 3) training professionals for this increasingly important task. Because tolerance is an essential part of an amended definition of health, monitoring of the early signs of public intolerance is

  11. Utilization of Radiation for Industrial Purposes, Environmental Protection and Public Health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilmy, N.

    1996-01-01

    This paper describes utilization of gamma-rays, electron beam and X-rays in industry, environment and public health in developed countries and in Indonesia. At Present (1995), 160 of Gamma Irradiations in 45 countries around the world and 280 of Electron Beam Machines mostly in Japan, United States of America and French have been operated to support industrial development. Two Gamma Irradiators and two Electron Beam Machines have been operated by BATAN for research and development and one of Gamma Irradiator is operated for industrial purposes by a private company in Jakarta. To support environmentally sustainable development, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as BATAN increase their activities in recycling of liquid and solid waste as well as flue gas by using radiation technology. (author)

  12. Environmental health indicators of climate change for the United States: findings from the State Environmental Health Indicator Collaborative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    English, Paul B; Sinclair, Amber H; Ross, Zev; Anderson, Henry; Boothe, Vicki; Davis, Christine; Ebi, Kristie; Kagey, Betsy; Malecki, Kristen; Shultz, Rebecca; Simms, Erin

    2009-11-01

    To develop public health adaptation strategies and to project the impacts of climate change on human health, indicators of vulnerability and preparedness along with accurate surveillance data on climate-sensitive health outcomes are needed. We researched and developed environmental health indicators for inputs into human health vulnerability assessments for climate change and to propose public health preventative actions. We conducted a review of the scientific literature to identify outcomes and actions that were related to climate change. Data sources included governmental and nongovernmental agencies and the published literature. Sources were identified and assessed for completeness, usability, and accuracy. Priority was then given to identifying longitudinal data sets that were applicable at the state and community level. We present a list of surveillance indicators for practitioners and policy makers that include climate-sensitive health outcomes and environmental and vulnerability indicators, as well as mitigation, adaptation, and policy indicators of climate change. A review of environmental health indicators for climate change shows that data exist for many of these measures, but more evaluation of their sensitivity and usefulness is needed. Further attention is necessary to increase data quality and availability and to develop new surveillance databases, especially for climate-sensitive morbidity.

  13. [Environmental justice as an approach to tackle environmental health inequalities].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolte, Gabriele; Bunge, Christiane; Hornberg, Claudia; Köckler, Heike

    2018-06-01

    Current international studies show that environment-related diseases disproportionately affect vulnerable people. This is a case of environmental injustice. Environmental justice goes beyond the mere description of environment- and health-related social inequalities by comprising two dimensions of justice as a normative approach: distributional and procedural justice. Attempts to explain the link between social circumstances, the environment and health deal with both the socially unequal distribution of environmental hazards and environmental resources (exposure variation) and social differences in vulnerability to the health effects of environmental exposures (effect modification). Integrated monitoring approaches provide the basis for deriving interventions under various aspects of environmental justice. Parting from public health research and embedded in the Health in All Policies (HiAP) concept, environmental justice has now been taken up in a number of fields, including politics, administration and practice. There are strategic considerations and attempts to anchor it in politics at the federal, state and the communal level, both by government and non-government groups. Health-promoting urban development is a core field for intervention. The Soziale Stadt (Social City) programme for promoting urban planning and construction as well as place oriented sectoral planning make an important contribution by helping to focus on urban spaces with multiple health hazards and to implement target group-oriented participation processes. There continues to be a need to develop methods and systematically implemented evaluations of political strategies and corresponding interventions regarding their effects on inequalities in health and environmental justice.

  14. Public health preparedness in Alberta: a systems-level study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Douglas; Shiell, Alan; Noseworthy, Tom; Russell, Margaret; Predy, Gerald

    2006-12-28

    Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.

  15. Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeSalvo, Karen B; Wang, Y Claire; Harris, Andrea; Auerbach, John; Koo, Denise; O'Carroll, Patrick

    2017-09-07

    Public health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which everyone can be healthy. Although many sectors play key roles, governmental public health is an essential component. Recent stressors on public health are driving many local governments to pioneer a new Public Health 3.0 model in which leaders serve as Chief Health Strategists, partnering across multiple sectors and leveraging data and resources to address social, environmental, and economic conditions that affect health and health equity. In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative and hosted listening sessions across the country. Local leaders and community members shared successes and provided insight on actions that would ensure a more supportive policy and resource environment to spread and scale this model. This article summarizes the key findings from those listening sessions and recommendations to achieve Public Health 3.0.

  16. Waste management, informal recycling, environmental pollution and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hong; Ma, Mingguo; Thompson, Julian R; Flower, Roger J

    2018-03-01

    With rapid population growth, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, the generation of waste is increasing at an unprecedented rate. For example, annual global waste arising from waste electrical and electronic equipment alone will have increased from 33.8 to 49.8 million tonnes between 2010 and 2018. Despite incineration and other waste treatment techniques, landfill still dominates waste disposal in low-income and middle-income countries. There is usually insufficient funding for adequate waste management in these countries and uptake of more advanced waste treatment technologies is poor. Without proper management, many landfills represent serious hazards as typified by the landslide in Shenzhen, China on 20 December 2015. In addition to formal waste recycling systems, approximately 15million people around the world are involved in informal waste recycling, mainly for plastics, metals, glass and paper. This review examines emerging public health challenges, in particular within low-income and middle-income countries, associated with the informal sector. While informal recyclers contribute to waste recycling and reuse, the relatively primitive techniques they employ, combined with improper management of secondary pollutants, exacerbate environmental pollution of air, soil and water. Even worse, insufficient occupational health measures expose informal waste workers to a range of pollutants, injuries, respiratory and dermatological problems, infections and other serious health issues that contribute to low life expectancy. Integration of the informal sector with its formal counterparts could improve waste management while addressing these serious health and livelihood issues. Progress in this direction has already been made notably in several Latin American countries where integrating the informal and formal sectors has had a positive influence on both waste management and poverty alleviation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless

  17. Injury prevention: a strategic priority for environmental health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, D H; Morris, G P

    2010-10-01

    Injury results from the acute transfer of energy (or the acute lack of a vital element) from the environment to human tissue. It is thus, ipso facto, an 'environmental health' issue par excellence. This paper argues that injury consequently deserves consideration as a major strategic priority by environmental health professionals. Two international agreements concerning children's health and the environment have major implications for safety. The Children's Environmental Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) and the European Environmental Health Strategy make reference to the need for improved evidence and greater co-operation between the environmental and health sectors. CEHAPE is particularly relevant to safety as it focuses on four regional priority goals, the second of which refers to the prevention and reduction of health consequences from injuries by promoting safe, secure and supportive human settlements for all children. The natural strategic 'home' for injury prevention may therefore lie within environmental health, a domain from which it has generally been excluded. In support of this assertion, Scotland's recent policy initiative on the environment and human health 'Good Places, Better Health' is cited, where injury in children up to 8 years of age is one of four child health priorities being tackled during its initial implementation. An important test of the initiative may be its capacity to inform policy, practice and research in the field of injury prevention and safety promotion. If successful, it will help to validate the environmental health approach to a field that remains relatively neglected by public agencies, policy makers, practitioners and researchers. Copyright © 2010 The Royal Institute of Public Health. All rights reserved.

  18. Seventh International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul B. Tchounwou

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is dedicated to the publication of selected papers presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The Symposium was organized by Jackson State University (JSU from September 12–15, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. It was built upon the overwhelming success of previous symposia hosted by JSU and co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH RCMI-Center for Environmental Health, the U.S. Department of Education Title III Graduate Education Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the JSU Office of Academic Affairs, and the JSU Office of Research and Federal Relations. [...

  19. A public health approach to eating disorders prevention: it's time for public health professionals to take a seat at the table.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, S Bryn

    2012-10-09

    The societal burden of eating disorders is clear, and though there is a compelling need for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention, public health professionals have yet to take up the challenge. The article lays out an argument for what steps need to be taken to bring a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. First, stock is taken of what the field has achieved so far, using tools from the prevention science literature, and, second, a research plan of action is offered that plays to the unique strengths of public health, drawing on a triggers-to-action framework from public health law. Minimal participation was found from public health professionals in eating disorders prevention research, and the vast majority of prevention research to date was found to be concentrated within the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. Extreme disciplinary concentration of the research has led to a preponderance of individually targeted prevention strategies with little research focused on environmental targets, particularly at the macro level. New environmental initiatives are now emerging, such as a government-sponsored mass media anti-dieting campaign, and legal bans on extremely thin models in advertising, but for the most part, they have yet to be evaluated. A triggers-to-action framework, which focuses on evidentiary base, practical considerations, and political will, developed in public health law provides a basis for a strategic research plan for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. There is enormous potential for growth in the scope and diversity of eating disorder prevention research strategies, particularly those targeting the macro environment. A public health approach will require a strategic plan for research that leverages the macro environment for prevention. The full engagement of public health professionals will bring to the field the much broader range of preventive strategies and perspectives needed to

  20. Health-related disparities: influence of environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olden, Kenneth; White, Sandra L

    2005-07-01

    populations, but their frequency can vary substantially,rendering individuals or groups more or less susceptible to particular environmental exposures. Such findings are consistent with the highly publicized analogy, "genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger." That is, one can inherit the genetic predisposition to develop a disease but will do so only if or when exposed to the environmental trigger. Poor people have approximately the same genetic makeup as everyone else,but they have the unfortunate experience of living and working in environments containing multiple and high levels of carcinogens or other toxicants capable of interacting with susceptibility genes to cause disease.Furthermore, certain disadvantaged ethnic groups may have a higher incidence of certain susceptible genes that render them more vulnerable to adverse effects of the environments they inhabit. For both of these reasons,much of the nation's disease burden could likely be reduced through better environmental protection practices, especially in low-income and minority communities. Of the many implications of polymorphisms and frequency variations for public health and the practice of medicine, however, none is more urgent than the choice of drugs in therapy. Using such knowledge,randomized trials have identified race-specific drug response differences between blacks and whites [42].To date, most knowledge of the health effects of environmental factors is derived from studies of single agents. The reality, though, is that environmental contributions to health disparities are mostly from multiple agents. These simultaneous exposures to multiple risk factors, which may accumulate or interact synergistically, remain to be fully explained and defined.Finally, health disparity is a significant public health problem that cannot be solved using "business as usual" approaches for funding and priority setting. The current emphasis on basic and clinical research at the exclusion of public

  1. Environmental health literacy in support of social action: an environmental justice perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Brandi M; Hall, Eric S; Johnson, Cheryl

    2014-01-01

    Different demographic groups in the U.S. experience unequal exposures to environmental hazards, i.e., 56% of the population in neighborhoods containing commercial waste facilities are people of color, with the associated poverty rates in those communities being 50% higher than in neighborhoods without commercial waste facilities. Developing programs to educate communities about environmental hazards affecting their health and quality of life is an essential component for a community to understand their true risk. The study described in this article examined the risk of environmental hazards as perceived by public housing residents and assessed the residents' preference for educational programs on environmental hazards. Residents perceived their risk factors in a broad context and they included environmental health risks caused by pollutants along with physical safety concerns from crime and law enforcement interactions. The most trusted sources of information on environmental health include community organizations, trusted individuals in the community, and television programs. Recommendations for developing community-specific environmental health education programs include using sources of environmental health information that community members trust.

  2. Contributions of a sociology of public problems to Environmental Justice in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauricio Berger

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The political struggles against the environmental, health, social, and economic impacts of neo-developmentalism and neo-extractivism in Latin America have been theoretically fertile. From the diversity of perspectives, we recover the contributions of a sociology of public problems for the struggles for Environmental Justice, basically because it promotes the practice of research as a reflexive and democratic form of cooperation between those directly environmentally affected and all those subject to a structure of environmental injustice. First, we present the epistemological, ethical and political dimension, defined by the active formation of a public. Secondly, we focus on the conceptual, strategic and institutional creativity of the public, with examples of the problems caused by the environmental and health impacts of the massive use of agrotoxics in gmo agriculture. Finally, we establish a bridge between the contributions of a sociology of public problems and Environmental Justice, the latter considered as a field of thought and action with competence in environmentalist discourses, meaning that the concept of justice is not reduced to state administration. Instead it refers to the diversity of practices in the public sphere, claiming and criticizing the unequal distribution of environmental risk and harm. At the same time, these practices creatively promote institutional reforms and transformations toward the full enforcement of rights and guarantees to life, health and the environment. A sociology of public problems aims to provide an understanding of the struggle for rights and recognition of forms of life, social and environmental equity and the right to democratic participation and the broad exercise of self-determination in building a society with environmental justice.

  3. Advancing environmental health surveillance in the US through a national human biomonitoring network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latshaw, Megan Weil; Degeberg, Ruhiyyih; Patel, Surili Sutaria; Rhodes, Blaine; King, Ewa; Chaudhuri, Sanwat; Nassif, Julianne

    2017-03-01

    The United States lacks a comprehensive, nationally-coordinated, state-based environmental health surveillance system. This lack of infrastructure leads to: • varying levels of understanding of chemical exposures at the state & local levels • often inefficient public health responses to chemical exposure emergencies (such as those that occurred in the Flint drinking water crisis, the Gold King mine spill, the Elk river spill and the Gulf Coast oil spill) • reduced ability to measure the impact of public health interventions or environmental policies • less efficient use of resources for cleaning up environmental contamination Establishing the National Biomonitoring Network serves as a step toward building a national, state-based environmental health surveillance system. The Network builds upon CDC investments in emergency preparedness and environmental public health tracking, which have created advanced chemical analysis and information sharing capabilities in the state public health systems. The short-term goal of the network is to harmonize approaches to human biomonitoring in the US, thus increasing the comparability of human biomonitoring data across states and communities. The long-term goal is to compile baseline data on exposures at the state level, similar to data found in CDC's National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Barriers to success for this network include: available resources, effective risk communication strategies, data comparability & sharing, and political will. Anticipated benefits include high quality data on which to base public health and environmental decisions, data with which to assess the success of public health interventions, improved risk assessments for chemicals, and new ways to prioritize environmental health research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  4. Public health preparedness in Alberta: a systems-level study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noseworthy Tom

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. Methods/Design We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. Discussion The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.

  5. PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN HUMANS AND WILDLIFE: EMERGING ISSUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aldo Pacheco Ferreira

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants persevere in the environment for a long time, are toxic to humans and/or wildlife, and have a resilient propensity to bioaccumulate in the food chain. Due to its chemical stability, their lipid solubility, and its ubiquitous prevalence in environmental, these pollutants are disposed to long-range transport. The success of modern societies is in part based on extensive achievements of chemistry with a systematic development of products in medicine, agriculture, and in almost all manufacturing industry sectors and materials for daily use. Although, these chemicals unequivocally contribute to the quality of life for billions of human beings, however, the negative impacts to environment and health are an important issue for ostensible monitoring. Social and environmental benefits should not be ignored, in spite of economic forces.The recognition that prevention is the best method to mitigate the risk of diseases to public health related to the environment, mainly driven by technological development, becomes essential the individuation and quantification of toxicological endpoints for systematic monitoring of these emerging pollutants.

  6. Public Health Perspectives on Aquaculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gormaz, Juan G; Fry, Jillian P; Erazo, Marcia; Love, David C

    2014-01-01

    Nearly half of all seafood consumed globally comes from aquaculture, a method of food production that has expanded rapidly in recent years. Increasing seafood consumption has been proposed as part of a strategy to combat the current non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic, but public health, environmental, social, and production challenges related to certain types of aquaculture production must be addressed. Resolving these complicated human health and ecologic trade-offs requires systems thinking and collaboration across many fields; the One Health concept is an integrative approach that brings veterinary and human health experts together to combat zoonotic disease. We propose applying and expanding the One Health approach to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders focused on increasing consumption of seafood and expanding aquaculture production, using methods that minimize risks to public health, animal health, and ecology. This expanded application of One Health may also have relevance to other complex systems with similar trade-offs.

  7. Environmental and public health implications of wastewater quality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The reuse of treated effluent (for agriculture and as supplement for drinking water needs) is currently receiving attention as a reliable water source. This paper is aimed at reviewing the environmental and health impacts of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater effluents. The quality of wastewater effluents is ...

  8. Photovoltaic energy technologies: Health and environmental effects document

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskowitz, P. D.; Hamilton, L. D.; Morris, S. C.; Rowe, M. D.

    1980-09-01

    The potential health and environmental consequences of producing electricity by photovoltaic energy systems was analyzed. Potential health and environmental risks are identified in representative fuel and material supply cycles including extraction, processing, refining, fabrication, installation, operation, and isposal for four photovoltaic energy systems (silicon N/P single crystal, silicon metal/insulator/semiconductor (MIS) cell, cadmium sulfide/copper sulfide backwall cell, and gallium arsenide heterojunction cell) delivering equal amounts of useful energy. Each step of the fuel and material supply cycles, materials demands, byproducts, public health, occupational health, and environmental hazards is identified.

  9. Human Health Screening and Public Health Significance of Contaminants of Emerging Concern Detected in Public Water Supplies

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Background information for human health margin of exposure paper. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Benson , B., O. Conerly , W. Sander, A....

  10. Public Swimming Pools | Florida Department of Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illness Disease Reporting and Surveillance Bureau of Public Health Laboratories Environmental Health Air Air Monitoring Carbon Monoxide Indoor Air Quality Mold Radon Water Aquatic Toxins Beach Water Quality purification, testing, treatment, and disinfection procedures. To ensure that the pool technicians are

  11. Public health safety and environment in inadequate hospital and healthcare settings: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baguma, D

    2017-03-01

    Public health safety and environmental management are concerns that pose challenges worldwide. This paper briefly assesses a selected impact of the environment on public health. The study used an assessment of environmental mechanism to analyse the underlying different pathways in which the health sector is affected in inadequate hospital and health care settings. We reviewed the limited available evidence of the association between the health sector and the environment, and the likely pathways through which the environment influences health. The paper also models the use of private health care as a function of costs and benefits relative to public care and no care. The need to enhancing policies to improve the administration of health services, strengthening interventions on environment using international agreements, like Rio Conventions, including measures to control hospital-related infection, planning for human resources and infrastructure construction development have linkage to improve environment care and public health. The present study findings partly also demonstrate the influence of demand for health on the environment. The list of possible interventions includes enhancing policies to improve the administration of health services, strengthening Rio Conventions implementation on environmental concerns, control of environmental hazards and public health. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Environmental health science at the U.S. Geological Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxton, Herbert T.; Bright, Patricia R.

    2013-01-01

    USGS environmental health science focuses on the environment-health interface. Research characterizes the processes that affect the interaction among the physical environment, the living environment, and people, as well as the factors that affect ecological and human exposure to disease agents and the resulting toxicologic or infectious disease. The mission of USGS in environmental health science is to contribute scientific information to environmental, natural resource, agricultural, and public-health managers, who use that information to support sound decisionmaking. Coordination with partners and stakeholders will enable USGS to focus on the highest priority environmental health issues, to make relevant, timely, and useable contributions, and to become a “partner of first choice” for environmental health science.

  13. Public health practitioner incubation plight: following the money trail.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, L J; McFarlane, D R

    1996-01-01

    Schools of public health have a proud history of educating personnel for leadership roles in the field of practice. Such personnel have played key roles in developing public health. Over the years, however, the missions of the schools of public health have become blurred. To a significant degree, a focus on health care has displaced public health as schools have followed the money trail. Often research takes precedence over teaching, so that, ironically, research findings are not disseminated to those who will practice public health. Educating personnel for practitioner leadership roles in environmental health and protection is inadequate. These and other trends have serious, long-term ramifications for public health practice. This article offers suggestions for improving the situation, including making use of practitioners in schools of public health, encouraging partnerships between practitioners and academics for research and funding support, developing paid student practica, developing a market for MPH graduates, and changing the accreditation requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health.

  14. How Many Principles for Public Health Ethics?

    OpenAIRE

    Coughlin, Steven S.

    2008-01-01

    General moral (ethical) principles play a prominent role in certain methods of moral reasoning and ethical decision-making in bioethics and public health. Examples include the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Some accounts of ethics in public health have pointed to additional principles related to social and environmental concerns, such as the precautionary principle and principles of solidarity or social cohesion. This article provides an overview...

  15. Environmental Public Health Surveillance for Exposure to Respiratory Health Hazards: A Joint NASA/CDC Project to Use Remote Sensing Data for Estimating Airborne Particulate Matter Over the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad; Estes, Maurice; Crosson, William

    2007-01-01

    As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN) the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELiX-Atlanta). The goal of developing the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is to improve the health of communities. Currently, few systems exist at the state or national level to concurrently track many of the exposures and health effects that might be associated with environmental hazards. An additional challenge is estimating exposure to environmental hazards such as particulate matter whose aerodynamic diameter is less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of Metropolitan Atlanta, GA. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) is collaborating with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of PM2.5 concentrations that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma. While use of the Air Quality System (AQS) PM2.5 data alone could meet HELIX-Atlanta specifications, there are only five AQS sites in the Atlanta area, thus the spatial coverage is not ideal. We are using NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data for estimating daily ground level PM2.5 at 10 km resolution over the metropolitan Atlanta area supplementing the AQS ground observations and filling their spatial and temporal gaps.

  16. Scientific publications in public, environmental and occupational health journals by authors from China, Japan and Korea in East Asia: A 10-year literature survey from 2003 to 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Meina; Liu, Xiaodong; Zhang, Lulu

    2015-01-01

    To compare the number and quality of public, environmental and occupational health articles published in international journals from the 3 major non-English speaking countries of East Asia: China, Japan and Korea. Public, environmental and occupational health articles from China, Japan and Korea that were published in 161 journals from 2003 to 2012 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database. We recorded the numbers of total articles, impact factors (IF), citations, number of articles in top 10 journals, references as well as the article distribution from various regions in China. From 2003 to 2012, China, Japan and Korea published 5713, 3802 and 1967 papers respectively, with accumulated impact factor of 14 934.55, 8758.36 and 6189.25, the average impact factor of 2.61, 2.30 and 3.15 and the average citation numbers per document of 5.08, 6.49 and 5.25. In the top 10 high-impact public, environmental and occupational health journals, China, Japan and Korea accounted for 50.19%, 20.34% and 29.47% of all the papers published in those journals, respectively. Total impact factors of the most popular 10 papers for China, Japan and Korea were: 26.23, 27.08 and 26.91. Distribution of scientific papers among regions was unbalanced in China, for Hong Kong and Taiwan it accounted for 47.31% of the papers from China. From 2003 to 2012, both the quality and number of papers from China published in public, environmental and occupational health journals have greatly improved. China exceeded Japan and Korea in the number, accumulated impact factor, total citation times and the average number of references, while Korea had the highest average impact factor. Japan had the highest journal impact factor among the most popular journals, and the highest average citation number per document. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  17. Using 10-essential-services training to revive, refocus, and strengthen your environmental health programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaki, Carl S; Hinchey, Deborah; Harris, Joy

    2007-01-01

    The 10 essential services of environmental health, which are based on the 10 essential public health services, can guide environmental health practitioners in systematically organizing and managing environmental public health programs and activities. The National Center for Environmental Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has used the 10 essential services of environmental health as a basis for its six goals for the revitalization of environmental health in the 21st century. Nevertheless, studies indicate that very few environmental health practitioners are aware of the 10 essential services. This article discusses how essential-services training has increased the awareness and knowledge of environmental health practitioners about the development, value, and use of the essential services. Examples of training outcomes are offered to illustrate how the use of the essential-services framework has improved environmental health performance and practice.

  18. 76 FR 59147 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-23

    ... Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meetings Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Development in the Environmental Health Sciences; 93.113, Biological Response to Environmental Health Hazards... Environmental Research Coordinating Committee. The meetings will be open to the public, with attendance limited...

  19. Regional Geographic Information Systems of Health and Environmental Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurolap Semen A.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes a new scientific and methodological approach to designing geographic information systems of health and environmental monitoring for urban areas. Geographic information systems (GIS are analytical tools of the regional health and environmental monitoring; they are used for an integrated assessment of the environmental status of a large industrial centre or a part of it. The authors analyse the environmental situation in Voronezh, a major industrial city, located in the Central Black Earth Region with a population of more than 1 million people. The proposed research methodology is based on modern approaches to the assessment of health risks caused by adverse environmental conditions. The research work was implemented using a GIS and multicriteria probabilistic and statistical evaluation to identify cause-and-effect links, a combination of action and reaction, in the dichotomy ‘environmental factors — public health’. The analysis of the obtained statistical data confirmed an increase in childhood diseases in some areas of the city. Environmentally induced diseases include congenital malformations, tumors, endocrine and urogenital pathologies. The main factors having an adverse impact on health are emissions of carcinogens into the atmosphere and the negative impact of transport on the environment. The authors identify and characterize environmentally vulnerable parts of the city and developed principles of creating an automated system of health monitoring and control of environmental risks. The article offers a number of measures aimed at the reduction of environmental risks, better protection of public health and a more efficient environmental monitoring.

  20. Impact of earthquakes and their secondary environmental effects on public health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavroulis, Spyridon; Mavrouli, Maria; Lekkas, Efthymios; Tsakris, Athanassios

    2017-04-01

    Earthquakes are among the most impressive geological processes with destructive effects on humans, nature and infrastructures. Secondary earthquake environmental effects (EEE) are induced by the ground shaking and are classified into ground cracks, slope movements, dust clouds, liquefactions, hydrological anomalies, tsunamis, trees shaking and jumping stones. Infectious diseases (ID) emerging during the post-earthquake period are considered as secondary earthquake effects on public health. This study involved an extensive and systematic literature review of 121 research publications related to the public health impact of 28 earthquakes from 1980 to 2015 with moment magnitude (Mw) from 6.1 to 9.2 and their secondary EEE including landslides, liquefaction and tsunamis generated in various tectonic environments (extensional, transform, compressional) around the world (21 events in Asia, 5 in America and one each in Oceania and Europe). The inclusion criteria were the literature type comprising journal articles and official reports, the natural disaster type including earthquakes and their secondary EEE (landslides, liquefaction, tsunamis), the population type including humans and the outcome measures characterized by disease incidence increase. The potential post-earthquake ID are classified into 14 groups including respiratory (detected after 15 of 28 earthquakes, 53.57%), water-borne (15, 53.57%), skin (8, 28.57%), vector-borne (8, 28.57%) wound-related (6, 21.43%), blood-borne (4, 14.29%), pulmonary (4, 14.29%), fecal-oral (3, 10.71%), food-borne (3, 10.71%), fungal (3, 10.71%), parasitic (3, 10.71%), eye (1, 3.57%), mite-borne (1, 3.57%) and soil-borne (1, 3.57%) infections. Based on age and genre data available for 15 earthquakes, the most vulnerable population groups are males, young children (age ≤ 10 years) and adults (age ≥ 65 years). Cholera, pneumonia and tetanus are the deadliest post-earthquake ID. The risk factors leading not only to disease

  1. How to change environmental conditions for health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Commers, Matthew J; Gottlieb, Nell; Kok, Gerjo

    2007-03-01

    Since the Lalonde report, contemporary public-health theory has given steadily more attention to the role of environments in influencing health status. Environments, both social and physical, influence health directly or through complex interactions with behavior, genetics and health-care systems. They are also important for public-health because environments are the complex systems through which people are both empowered and exercise their empowerment. If public-health professionals are to play a significant role in influencing environments for health, they need analytical instruments that enable them to link specific environmental conditions with the actions necessary to improve them. These instruments must also enable public-health professionals to identify points of leverage for stimulating key actors to take the actions necessary to make environments more promoting of health. This article first presents one such analytical instrument. Then, building on examples relating to socio-economic health inequities, the analytical instrument is applied to reveal how it can add value to health professionals' effectiveness in planning interventions for more health-promoting environments.

  2. Environmental remediation: Addressing public concerns through effective community relations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, S.; Heywood, J.; Wood, M.B.; Arellano, M.; Pfister, S.

    1998-01-01

    The public's perception of risk drives their response to any potential environmental remediation project. Even if the actual environmental and health risks may be relatively low, public perception of high risk may doom the project to an uphill struggle characterized by heated public meetings, negative media coverage, reluctant regulators, project delays and increased costs. The ultimate Catch 22 in such a case is that the contamination remains in-place until the public drama is concluded. This paper explores the development and implementation of a Community Relations Plan for the clean up of a Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site owned and operated by corporate predecessors of Arizona Public Service Company (APS) near the turn of the century. The unique challenges associated with this project were that the former MGP was located in downtown Phoenix at the site of a future federal courthouse. Although the MGP site had been under investigation for some time, the clean-up schedule was driven by a tight courthouse construction schedule. Compounding these challenges were the logistics associated with conducting a large-scale cleanup in a congested, highly visible downtown location. An effective Community Relations Plan can mean the difference between the success and failure of an environmental remediation project. Elements of an effective plan are: identifying key stakeholders and involving them in the project from the beginning; providing timely information and being open and honest about the potential environmental and health risks; involving your company's community relations and media staff; and educating affected company employees. The Community Relations Plan developed for this project was designed to alleviate public concern about potential risks (perceived or real) associated with the project by keeping key stakeholders informed of all activities well in advance

  3. Eighth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul B. Tchounwou

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is dedicated to the publication of selected papers presented at the Eighth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The Symposium was organized by Jackson State University (JSU from September 18-21, 2011 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi. It was built upon the overwhelming success of seven previous symposia hosted by JSU. [...

  4. Epigenetics: relevance and implications for public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozek, Laura S; Dolinoy, Dana C; Sartor, Maureen A; Omenn, Gilbert S

    2014-01-01

    Improved understanding of the multilayer regulation of the human genome has led to a greater appreciation of environmental, nutritional, and epigenetic risk factors for human disease. Chromatin remodeling, histone tail modifications, and DNA methylation are dynamic epigenetic changes responsive to external stimuli. Careful interpretation can provide insights for actionable public health through collaboration between population and basic scientists and through integration of multiple data sources. We review key findings in environmental epigenetics both in human population studies and in animal models, and discuss the implications of these results for risk assessment and public health protection. To ultimately succeed in identifying epigenetic mechanisms leading to complex phenotypes and disease, researchers must integrate the various animal models, human clinical approaches, and human population approaches while paying attention to life-stage sensitivity, to generate effective prescriptions for human health evaluation and disease prevention.

  5. A public health approach to eating disorders prevention: It’s time for public health professionals to take a seat at the table

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Austin S

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The societal burden of eating disorders is clear, and though there is a compelling need for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention, public health professionals have yet to take up the challenge. Discussion The article lays out an argument for what steps need to be taken to bring a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. First, stock is taken of what the field has achieved so far, using tools from the prevention science literature, and, second, a research plan of action is offered that plays to the unique strengths of public health, drawing on a triggers-to-action framework from public health law. Minimal participation was found from public health professionals in eating disorders prevention research, and the vast majority of prevention research to date was found to be concentrated within the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. Extreme disciplinary concentration of the research has led to a preponderance of individually targeted prevention strategies with little research focused on environmental targets, particularly at the macro level. New environmental initiatives are now emerging, such as a government-sponsored mass media anti-dieting campaign, and legal bans on extremely thin models in advertising, but for the most part, they have yet to be evaluated. A triggers-to-action framework, which focuses on evidentiary base, practical considerations, and political will, developed in public health law provides a basis for a strategic research plan for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. Summary There is enormous potential for growth in the scope and diversity of eating disorder prevention research strategies, particularly those targeting the macro environment. A public health approach will require a strategic plan for research that leverages the macro environment for prevention. The full engagement of public health professionals will bring to the field the much broader

  6. Bit of History and Some Lessons Learned in Using NASA Remote Sensing Data in Public Health Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Sue

    2011-01-01

    The NASA Applied Sciences Program's public health initiative began in 2004 to illustratethe potential benefits for using remote sensing in public health applications. Objectives/Purpose: The CDC initiated a st udy with NASA through the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) to establish a pilot effort to use remote sensing data as part of its Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN). As a consequence, the NCEH and NASA developed a project called HELIX-Atlanta (Health and Environment Linkage for Information Exchange) to demonstrate a process for developing a local environmental public health tracking and surveillance network that integrates non-infectious health and environment systems for the Atlanta metropolitan area. Methods: As an ongo ing, systematic integration, analysis and interpretation of data, an EPHTN focuses on: 1 -- environmental hazards; 2 -- human exposure to environmental hazards; and 3 -- health effects potentially related to exposure to environmental hazards. To satisfy the definition of a surveillance system the data must be disseminated to plan, implement, and evaluate environmental public health action. Results: A close working r elationship developed with NCEH where information was exchanged to assist in the development of an EPHTN that incorporated NASA remote sensing data into a surveillance network for disseminating public health tracking information to users. This project?s success provided NASA with the opportunity to work with other public health entities such as the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona. Conclusions: HELIX-Atlanta became a functioning part of the national EPHTN for tracking environmental hazards and exposure, particularly as related to air quality over Atlanta. Learning Objectives: 1 -- remote sensing data can be integral to an EPHTN; 2 -- public tracking objectives can be enhanced through remote sensing data; 3 -- NASA's involvement in

  7. Global environmental change: what can health care providers and the environmental health community do about it now?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Brian S; Parker, Cindy; Glass, Thomas A; Hu, Howard

    2006-12-01

    The debate about whether global environmental change is real is now over; in its wake is the realization that it is happening more rapidly than predicted. These changes constitute a profound challenge to human health, both as a direct threat and as a promoter of other risks. We call on health care providers to inform themselves about these issues and to become agents of change in their communities. It is our responsibility as clinicians to educate patients and their communities on the connections between regressive policies, unsustainable behaviors, global environmental changes, and threats to health and security. We call on professional organizations to assist in educating their members about these issues, in helping clinicians practice behavior change with their patients, and in adding their voices to this issue in our statehouses and Congress. We call for the development of carbon and other environmental-labeling of consumer products so individuals can make informed choices; we also call for the rapid implementation of policies that provide tangible economic incentives for choosing environmentally sustainable products and services. We urge the environmental health community to take up the challenge of developing a global environmental health index that will incorporate human health into available "planetary health" metrics and that can be used as a policy tool to evaluate the impact of interventions and document spatial and temporal shifts in the healthfulness of local areas. Finally, we urge our political, business, public health, and academic leaders to heed these environmental warnings and quickly develop regulatory and policy solutions so that the health of populations and the integrity of their environments will be ensured for future generations.

  8. Ninth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul B. Tchounwou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is dedicated to the publication of selected papers presented at the Eighth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The Symposium was organized by Jackson State University (JSU from 16–19 September, 2012 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. It was built upon the overwhelming success of seven previous symposia hosted by JSU.

  9. 75 FR 3474 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-21

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Environmental Health Sciences Council. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with... of Committee: National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council. Date: February 18-19, 2010...

  10. 75 FR 49500 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-13

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Environmental Health Sciences Council. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with... Committee: National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council. Date: September 1-2, 2010. Open...

  11. Global Environmental Change: What Can Health Care Providers and the Environmental Health Community Do About It Now?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Brian S.; Parker, Cindy; Glass, Thomas A.; Hu, Howard

    2006-01-01

    The debate about whether global environmental change is real is now over; in its wake is the realization that it is happening more rapidly than predicted. These changes constitute a profound challenge to human health, both as a direct threat and as a promoter of other risks. We call on health care providers to inform themselves about these issues and to become agents of change in their communities. It is our responsibility as clinicians to educate patients and their communities on the connections between regressive policies, unsustainable behaviors, global environmental changes, and threats to health and security. We call on professional organizations to assist in educating their members about these issues, in helping clinicians practice behavior change with their patients, and in adding their voices to this issue in our statehouses and Congress. We call for the development of carbon- and other environmental-labeling of consumer products so individuals can make informed choices; we also call for the rapid implementation of policies that provide tangible economic incentives for choosing environmentally sustainable products and services. We urge the environmental health community to take up the challenge of developing a global environmental health index that will incorporate human health into available “planetary health” metrics and that can be used as a policy tool to evaluate the impact of interventions and document spatial and temporal shifts in the healthfulness of local areas. Finally, we urge our political, business, public health, and academic leaders to heed these environmental warnings and quickly develop regulatory and policy solutions so that the health of populations and the integrity of their environments will be ensured for future generations. PMID:17185267

  12. 76 FR 46823 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-03

    ... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Environmental Health Sciences Council. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with...: Discussion of program policies and issues. Place: Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, Building 101...

  13. 77 FR 3480 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-24

    ... Environmental Health Sciences Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... Environmental Health Sciences Council. The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with...: Discussion of program policies and issues. Place: Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, Building 101...

  14. Offshore finfish aquaculture in the United States: An examination of federal laws that could be used to address environmental and occupational public health risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, Jillian P; Love, David C; Shukla, Arunima; Lee, Ryan M

    2014-11-19

    Half of the world's edible seafood comes from aquaculture, and the United States (US) government is working to develop an offshore finfish aquaculture industry in federal waters. To date, US aquaculture has largely been regulated at the state level, and creating an offshore aquaculture industry will require the development of a new regulatory structure. Some aquaculture practices involve hazardous working conditions and the use of veterinary drugs, agrochemicals, and questionable farming methods, which could raise environmental and occupational public health concerns if these methods are employed in the offshore finfish industry in the US. This policy analysis aims to inform public health professionals and other stakeholders in the policy debate regarding how offshore finfish aquaculture should be regulated in the US to protect human health; previous policy analyses on this topic have focused on environmental impacts. We identified 20 federal laws related to offshore finfish aquaculture, including 11 that are relevant to preventing, controlling, or monitoring potential public health risks. Given the novelty of the industry in the US, myriad relevant laws, and jurisdictional issues in an offshore setting, federal agencies need to work collaboratively and transparently to ensure that a comprehensive and functional regulatory structure is established that addresses the potential public health risks associated with this type of food production.

  15. [Health services research for the public health service (PHS) and the public health system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollederer, A; Wildner, M

    2015-03-01

    There is a great need for health services research in the public health system and in the German public health service. However, the public health service is underrepresented in health services research in Germany. This has several structural, historical and disciplinary-related reasons. The public health service is characterised by a broad range of activities, high qualification requirements and changing framework conditions. The concept of health services research is similar to that of the public health service and public health system, because it includes the principles of multidisciplinarity, multiprofessionalism and daily routine orientation. This article focuses on a specified system theory based model of health services research for the public health system and public health service. The model is based on established models of the health services research and health system research, which are further developed according to specific requirements of the public health service. It provides a theoretical foundation for health services research on the macro-, meso- and microlevels in public health service and the public health system. Prospects for public health service are seen in the development from "old public health" to "new public health" as well as in the integration of health services research and health system research. There is a significant potential for development in a better linkage between university research and public health service as is the case for the "Pettenkofer School of Public Health Munich". © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Environmental Performance Report 2013: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1-1B (Management Publication)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schlomberg, K.; Eickhoff, J.; Beatty, B.; Braus, G.; Durbin, L.; Fiehweg, R.; Ray, M.; Ryon, T.; Schmitz, E.

    2014-08-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities for 2013, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have affected or could adversely affect the health, safety, and security of the public or workers; the environment; or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report and is prepared in accordance with the DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

  17. Managing environmental and health impacts of uranium mining

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vance, R.E.; Cameron, R., E-mail: robert.vance@oecd.org, E-mail: ron.cameron@oecd.org [OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (France)

    2014-07-01

    As the raw material that fuels nuclear power plants that generate significant amounts of electricity with full life cycle carbon emissions as low as renewable energy sources, uranium is a valuable commodity. Yet uranium mining remains controversial, principally because of environmental and health impacts created when mining was undertaken by governments to meet Cold War strategic requirements. Uranium mining is conducted under significantly different circumstances today. Since the era of military production, societal expectations of environmental protection and the safety of workers and the public have evolved as the outcomes of the early era of mining became apparent, driving changes in regulatory oversight and mining practices. Key aspects of leading practice uranium mining are presented (conventional worker health and safety, worker radiation protection, public health and safety, water quality, tailings and waste rock management) and compared with historic practices to demonstrate the scale of differences. The application of additional aspects of uranium mine life cycle management (public consultation, environmental impact assessment, analysis of socio-economic impacts/benefits, environmental monitoring, financial assurance, product transport, security and safeguards, emergency planning and knowledge transfer), introduced as the industry matured, enhance overall management practices for the long term. Results from several case studies show that improved management of key aspects of uranium mining, combined with the incorporation of new life cycle parameters, have transformed the industry into the most regulated and arguably one of the safest and environmentally responsible types of mining in the world. (author)

  18. Housing and health: intersection of poverty and environmental exposures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauh, Virginia A; Landrigan, Philip J; Claudio, Luz

    2008-01-01

    The importance of adequate housing for the maintenance of health and well-being has long been a topic of scientific and public health policy discussion, but the links remain elusive. Here we explore the role of the residential environment in the etiology of illness (specifically asthma) and the persistence of socioeconomic health disparities. Housing conditions, shaped by social forces, affect exposure to physical and chemical "toxicants," thereby translating social adversities into individual illness and population health disparities. We discuss the mediating role of housing in determining health outcomes at multiple levels (social-structural, neighborhood, and individual family). To date, little attention has been paid by most environmental health scientists to the social-structural conditions underlying gross inequities in the distribution of toxic exposures, with even less attention to the processes whereby these social conditions may directly affect susceptibility to the toxic exposures themselves. This chapter goes beyond traditional medical and environmental science models to incorporate a range of social and physical determinants of environmental pollutions, illustrating how these conditions result in health and illness. We focus here on childhood asthma as an example of a serious public health problem that has been associated with low income, minority status, and characteristics of the home environment. We end the chapter with a discussion of the environmental justice movement and the role of housing as a potential agent of change and focus of interventions aimed to reduce the harmful effects of environmental pollutants.

  19. Maryland environmental public health tracking outreach with Spanish-speaking persons living in Baltimore city or county.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braggio, John T; Mitchell, Clifford S; Fierro-Luperini, Sonia

    2015-01-01

    The 2000 Pew reports became the impetus for the National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program, but there was no mention that Spanish-speaking persons are at increased risk of exposure to environmental hazards. To undertake successful EPHT outreach on Spanish-speaking persons (Hispanics), it is necessary to better understand their environmental health profile and barriers to health care access. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey questions were administered orally in Spanish to Spanish-speaking study participants. Volunteers were tested at a non-for-profit social service and referral agency in Baltimore. To control for acculturation, only Spanish-speaking persons who had lived in the United States for less than 10 years were selected. Responses to 40 BRFSS survey questions asked during the assessment and completion of 3 intervention activities. This study provides new information about Spanish-speaking persons, most of whom (85.3%) would not have been included in the landline administration of the BRFSS survey. Although 29.9% of the participants reported indoor pesticide use and another 9.2% reported outdoor pesticide use, lifetime (3.5%) and current (1.2%) asthma prevalence was significantly lower than asthma prevalence reported by Maryland Hispanics and all Maryland residents. There were significantly lower cholesterol screening (21.5%) and a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes (12.5%) in Spanish-speaking participants than in Maryland Hispanics and all Maryland residents. Among study participants, only 7.8% had health insurance and 39.9% reported that they could not see a doctor. Of the 3 outreach efforts completed, the most promising one involved asking Spanish-English-speaking health care professionals to distribute Spanish comic books about pesticides exposures and health outcomes in community settings where Spanish-only speakers and children were found. The effectiveness of passive and community-based EPHT

  20. Directive of the Minister of Public Health and Environmental Protection of 14 October 1975, Stcrt. 203 in implementation of Section 28 of the Nuclear Energy Act (Devices) Decree

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-01-01

    This Directive lays down the procedure for applications for licences under the Devices Decree. The competent authority in this respect is the Minister of Public Health and Environmental Protection, formerly the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Public Health. (NEA) [fr

  1. Environmental Health and Aging: Activity, Exposure and Biological Models to Improve Risk Assessment and Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other public health agencies are concerned that the environmental health of America’s growing population of older adults has not been taken into consideration in current approaches to risk assessment. The reduced capacity to respo...

  2. Global public health today: connecting the dots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Lomazzi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design: A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results: Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions: The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the

  3. Global public health today: connecting the dots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomazzi, Marta; Jenkins, Christopher; Borisch, Bettina

    2016-01-01

    Background Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the global level and should lead

  4. Neighborhood environments, mobility, and health: towards a new generation of studies in environmental health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaix, B; Méline, J; Duncan, S; Jardinier, L; Perchoux, C; Vallée, J; Merrien, C; Karusisi, N; Lewin, A; Brondeel, R; Kestens, Y

    2013-08-01

    While public policies seek to promote active transportation, there is a lack of information on the social and environmental factors associated with the adoption of active transportation modes. Moreover, despite the consensus on the importance of identifying obesogenic environmental factors, most published studies only take into account residential neighborhoods in the definition of exposures. There are at least three major reasons for incorporating daily mobility in public health research: (i) to identify specific population groups, including socially disadvantaged populations, who experience mobility or spatial accessibility deficits; (ii) to study the environmental determinants of transportation habits and investigate the complex relationships between transportation (as a source of physical activity, pollutants, and accidents) and physical activity and health; and (iii) to improve the assessment of spatial accessibility to resources and exposure to environmental hazards by accounting for daily trajectories for a better understanding of their health effects. There is urgent need to develop novel methods to better assess daily mobility. The RECORD Study relies on (i) an electronic survey of regular mobility to assess the chronic exposure to environmental conditions over a relatively long period, and (ii) Global Positioning System tracking to evaluate precisely acute environmental exposures over a much shorter period. The present article argues that future research should combine these two approaches. Gathering scientific evidence on the relationships between the environments, mobility/transportation, and health should allow public health and urban planning decision makers to better take into account the individual and environmental barriers to the adoption of active transportation and to define innovative intervention strategies addressing obesogenic environments to reduce disparities in excess weight. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  5. U.S. Geological Survey environmental health science strategy: Providing environmental health science for a changing world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bright, Patricia R.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Barber, Larry B.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Cross, Paul C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Tillitt, Donald E.; Toccalino, Patricia L.; Winton, James R.

    2013-01-01

    America has an abundance of natural resources. We have bountiful clean water, fertile soil, and unrivaled national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands. These resources enrich our lives and preserve our health and wellbeing. These resources have been maintained because of our history of respect for their value and an enduring commitment to their vigilant protection. Awareness of the social, economic, and personal value of the health of our environment is increasing. The emergence of environmentally driven diseases caused by exposure to contaminants and pathogens is a growing concern worldwide. New health threats and patterns of established threats are affected by both natural and anthropogenic changes to the environment. Human activities are key drivers of emerging (new and re-emerging) health threats. Societal demands for land and natural resources, quality of life, and economic prosperity lead to environmental change. Natural earth processes, climate trends, and related climatic events will compound the environmental impact of human activities. These environmental drivers will influence exposure to disease agents, including viral, bacterial, prion, and fungal pathogens, parasites, synthetic chemicals and substances, natural earth materials, toxins, and other biogenic compounds.

  6. Publications in biomedical and environmental sciences programs, 1980

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pfuderer, H.A.; Moody, J.B.

    1981-07-01

    This bibliography contains 690 references to articles in journals, books, and reports published in the subject area of biomedical and environmental sciences during 1980. There are 529 references to articles published in journals and books and 161 references to reports. Staff members in the Biomedical and Environmental Sciences divisions have other publications not included in this bibliography; for example, theses, book reviews, abstracts published in journals or symposia proceedings, pending journal publications and reports such as monthly and bimonthly progress reports, contractor reports, and reports for internal distribution. This document is sorted by the division, and then alphabetically by author. The sorting by divisions separates the references by subject area in a simple way. The divisions represented in the order that they appear in the bibliography are Analytical Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Technology, Information R and D, Health and Safety Research, Energy, Environmental Sciences, and Computer Sciences.

  7. Publications in biomedical and environmental sciences programs, 1980

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfuderer, H.A.; Moody, J.B.

    1981-07-01

    This bibliography contains 690 references to articles in journals, books, and reports published in the subject area of biomedical and environmental sciences during 1980. There are 529 references to articles published in journals and books and 161 references to reports. Staff members in the Biomedical and Environmental Sciences divisions have other publications not included in this bibliography; for example, theses, book reviews, abstracts published in journals or symposia proceedings, pending journal publications and reports such as monthly and bimonthly progress reports, contractor reports, and reports for internal distribution. This document is sorted by the division, and then alphabetically by author. The sorting by divisions separates the references by subject area in a simple way. The divisions represented in the order that they appear in the bibliography are Analytical Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Technology, Information R and D, Health and Safety Research, Energy, Environmental Sciences, and Computer Sciences

  8. Environmental policy and public health: air pollution, global climate change, and wilderness

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rom, William N

    2012-01-01

    .... It scrutinizes the sources of pollution and threats to environmental integrity, the consequences of pollution on the environment and health and explains the legal basis for environmental action...

  9. Experiences of community service environmental health practitioners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anusha Karamchand

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: The community service initiative, a 1-year placement of health graduates, significantly improved human resource availability in the South African public health sector, even though the process was fraught with challenges. Although experiences in the curative health sector were assessed, the experiences of environmental health practitioners were yet to be studied. Research purpose: This study assessed the experiences of environmental health practitioners during their community service year. Motivation for the study: Anecdotal evidence suggested problems with the process. This study endeavoured to identify the challenges whilst taking cognisance of its effectiveness. Method: A total of n = 40 environmental health graduates from the Durban University of Technology who had concluded community service completed questionnaires in this crosssectional quantitative study. Descriptive statistics, means and standard deviations were used to analyse the data. Main findings: The timing of community service placements was critical as 58% of respondents had to repay study loans. The placement of married respondents (10% outside KwaZuluNatal, however, could have had impacts on family structures. Only 68% felt stimulated by their job functions, and there arose challenges with accommodation and overtime duties. Respondents felt that their tertiary education did equip them and that engagement with senior personnel helped in their professional development. Even though most of the review of the community service year appeared to be positive, a majority of respondents did not intend to continue working or recommending their workplaces. Future career pathing showed that 79% would prefer to be employed outside the public sector. Practical and managerial implications: The process needs to be reviewed to strengthen human resource management and enhance retention in the often overloaded and under-resourced South African public health sector. Contribution

  10. 40 CFR 166.20 - Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., or public health exemption. 166.20 Section 166.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public Health Exemptions § 166.20 Application for a specific, quarantine, or public health exemption. (a) General information required in an application for a specific...

  11. The environmental and public health benefits of achieving high penetrations of solar energy in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiser, Ryan; Millstein, Dev; Mai, Trieu; Macknick, Jordan; Carpenter, Alberta; Cohen, Stuart; Cole, Wesley; Frew, Bethany; Heath, Garvin

    2016-01-01

    We estimate the environmental and public health benefits that may be realized if solar energy cost reductions continue until solar power is competitive across the U.S. without subsidies. Specifically, we model, from 2015 to 2050, solar power–induced reductions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutant emissions, and water usage. To find the incremental benefits of new solar deployment, we compare the difference between two scenarios, one where solar costs have fallen such that solar supplies 14% of the nation's electricity by 2030 and 27% by 2050, and a baseline scenario in which no solar is added after 2014. We monetize benefits, where credible methods exist to do so. We find that under these scenarios, solar power reduces GHG and air pollutants by ∼10%, from 2015 to 2050, providing a discounted present value of $56–$789 billion (central value of ∼$250 billion, equivalent to ∼2 ¢/kWh-solar) in climate benefits and $77–$298 billion (central value of $167 billion, or ∼1.4 ¢/kWh-solar) in air quality and public health benefits. The ranges reflect uncertainty within the literature about the marginal impact of emissions of GHG and air pollutants. Solar power is also found to reduce water withdrawals and consumption by 4% and 9%, respectively, including in many drought-prone states. - Highlights: • With feasible cost reductions, solar power can provide major environmental benefits. • U.S. electric-sector modeling indicates climate benefits worth ∼2 ¢/kWh-solar. • Further modeling indicates air quality public health benefits worth 1.4 ¢/kWh-solar. • Solar could reduce power-sector water withdrawals and consumption by 4% and 9%.

  12. Public health research: lost in translation or speaking the wrong language?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kansagra, Susan M; Farley, Thomas A

    2011-12-01

    Public health leaders, like physicians, need to make decisions that impact health based on strong evidence. To generate useful evidence for public health leaders, research must focus on interventions that have potential to impact population-level health. Often policy and environmental changes are the interventions with the greatest potential impact on population health, but studying these is difficult because of limitations in the methods typically used and emphasized in health research. To create useful evidence for policy and environmental interventions, other research methods are needed, including observational studies, the use of surveillance data for evaluation, and predictive mathematical modeling. More emphasis is needed on these types of study designs by researchers, funding agencies, and scientific journals.

  13. Public health emergencies and the public health/managed care challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenbaum, Sara; Skivington, Skip; Praeger, Sandra

    2002-01-01

    The relationship between insurance and public health is an enduring topic in public health policy and practice. Insurers share certain attributes with public health. But public health agencies operate in relation to the entire community that they are empowered by public law to serve and without regard to the insurance status of community residents; on the other hand, insurers (whether managed care or otherwise) are risk-bearing entities whose obligations are contractually defined and limited to enrolled members and sponsors. Public insurers such as Medicare and Medicaid operate under similar constraints. The fundamental characteristics that distinguish managed care-style insurance and public health become particularly evident during periods of public health emergency, when a public health agency's basic obligations to act with speed and flexibility may come face to face with the constraints on available financing that are inherent in the structure of insurance. Because more than 70% of all personal health care in the United States is financed through insurance, public health agencies effectively depend on insurers to finance necessary care and provide essential patient-level data to the public health system. Critical issues of state and federal policy arise in the context of the public health/insurance relations during public health emergencies. These issues focus on coverage and the power to make coverage decisions, as well as the power to define service networks and classify certain data as exempt from public reporting. The extent to which a formal regulatory approach may become necessary is significantly affected by the extent to which private entities themselves respond to the problem with active efforts to redesign their services and operations to include capabilities and accountability in the realm of public health emergency response.

  14. Training public health superheroes: five talents for public health leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Matthew; Shickle, Darren; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Public health leaders have been criticized for their policy stances, relationships with governments and failure to train the next generation. New approaches to the identification and training of public health leaders may be required. To inform these, lessons can be drawn from public health 'superheroes'; public health leaders perceived to be the most admired and effective by their peers. Members and Fellows of the UK Faculty of Public Health were contacted via e-newsletter and magazine and asked to nominate their 'Public Health Superhero'. Twenty-six responses were received, nominating 40 different people. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis, based on 'grounded theory', was conducted. Five leadership 'talents' for public health were identified: mentoring-nurturing, shaping-organizing, networking-connecting, knowing-interpreting and advocating-impacting. Talent-based approaches have been effective for leadership development in other sectors. These talents are the first specific to the practice of public health and align with some aspects of existing frameworks. An increased focus on identifying and developing talents during public health training, as opposed to 'competency'-based approaches, may be effective in strengthening public health leadership. Further research to understand the combination and intensity of talents across a larger sample of public health leaders is required. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. [Blind alleys and misconceptions in public health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, H E

    1995-07-01

    The concept of hygiene was created in the 19th century although Hippocrates had already conceived an influence of atmosphere, soil and water on human health. The concept of a public health organisation, however, is a fairly recent one. Environmental and social hygiene were the two poles of the new discipline that focussed on public health. However, the ideologies of capitalism, communism and socialism as well as of social darwinism and "survival of the elite" discredited social hygiene. The decline of totalitarianism was associated with a "loss of face" of state-controlled medicine, including social hygiene. Both the post-World War II German constitution and the previous German statutory health insurance ordinance had blocked it, and hence, no Federal bill on public health was carried. The consequences of this disregard of public health are poor protection by vaccination, a gap in compulsory notification and in epidemics control and high rates of nosocomial infections. Absolutely no development of the science of epidemiology was possible whereas that of medical microbiology is choked by the system now in existence. There is a great misconception within individual hygiene by identifying it merely with cleanliness. Hygiene became a synonym for cleanliness, although that had evolved during a long cultural sociological process centuries before hygiene was established. The modern evolution of the science of hygiene shows the danger that emphasis on healthy lifestyles or on environmental protection may result in regulations and finally in a tyranny that may threaten the liberty of human rights. The so-called "principle of concern" is an example of such irrationality because there is no sensible proportion between risk and expense.

  16. Public health and demographic statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patrick, C.H.; Loebl, A.S.; Miller, F.L.; Ritchey, P.N. Jr.

    1976-01-01

    The purpose of this program is to assess the methodology and available data sources appropriate for use in analytical studies and environmental impact statements concerning the health effects of nuclear power plants. The techniques developed should be applicable as well to evaluation of the known risks of high levels of radiation exposure and of conflicting evidence on low-level effects, such as those associated with the normal operations of nuclear power plants. To accomplish this purpose, a two-pronged approach has been developed. The first involves a determination of the public health and demographic data sources of local, state, and federal origin that are available for use in analyses of health effects and environmental impact statements. The second part involves assessment of the methods used by epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and other scientists as found in the literature on health effects. This two-pronged approach provides a means of assessing the strength and shortcomings of studies of the impact of nuclear facilities on the health of the general population in a given locality

  17. [Public health services between "new public health" and "new public management"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppen, M

    1996-04-01

    Today, a substantial reorientation of the Public Health services in the Federal Republic of Germany is broadly seen necessary. Patterns of functional and organisational restructuring of Public Health services on the regional and the communal level are closely linked with concepts of prevention and health promotion. Hence, a number of agencies have already adopted new tasks and functions like comprehensive and transorganizational planning, coordination and evaluation as well as the establishment of new reporting systems. Presently, the transformation process from the bureaucratic mode of administering matters of health to a new Public Health orientation receives new impacts from the international "New Public Management" movement. Comparatively late, with the beginning of the 1990s, a growing number of German municipalities has introduced new concepts of administration. Local government administrations, of which the Public Health services are a part, follow the model of modern service organizations producing services in a more efficient, professionalized and consumer-oriented way. Specific elements of economising modernisation programmes like re-distribution of tasks, de-centralisation, extension of managerial capacities, setting of stimulating working conditions that provide employees with greater independence of action as well as career opportunities, are at the same time prerequisites for innovative strategies of health protection and coordination policies of Public Health services.

  18. [Evaluating health effects--a preventive medicine responsibility of public health offices. Summary of a workshop presentation by the public health services at the Travemünde federal congress 1989].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wodarg, W

    1989-11-01

    It appears that Federal Public Health services are getting increasingly engaged in curative activities both in individual medicine and in medicine concerned with the general population. Public Health services are expected to draw attention to this fact and to demand that suitable methods be employed to ensure that all the people live in healthy conditions. Such environmental health protection should not be just a safety valve to "let off steam" if planning had been based on miscalculations and false appraisals--it should function in advance to prevent such social and political mishaps. A method is presented utilising the systematic scrutiny of the effects of projects on healthy as an interactive process. Since Public Health offices possess multidisciplinary competence, they are likely to cope with the multifarious problems of environmental medicine. They should act as though they were the attorneys of the population in respect of popular health demands, and must enlist competent staff capable of handling the pertinent problems. It has become apparent that the average citizen is most inclined to comply with the demands made on him by the environment if he becomes aware of the ecological linkups via his own experience. This is precisely where Public Health offices have important educational chances to accomplish their mission.

  19. Integrating medical and environmental sociology with environmental health: crossing boundaries and building connections through advocacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Phil

    2013-06-01

    This article reviews the personal and professional processes of developing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complex issues of environmental health in their community, political-economic, social science, and scientific contexts. This interdisciplinary approach includes a synthesis of research, policy work, and advocacy. To examine multiple forms of interdisciplinarity, I examine pathways of integrating medical and environmental sociology via three challenges to the boundaries of traditional research: (1) crossing the boundaries of medical and environmental sociology, (2) linking social science and environmental health science, and (3) crossing the boundary of research and advocacy. These boundary crossings are discussed in light of conceptual and theoretical developments of popular epidemiology, contested illnesses, and health social movements. This interdisciplinary work offers a more comprehensive sociological lens for understanding complex problems and a practical ability to join with scientists, activists, and officials to meet public health needs for amelioration and prevention of environmental health threats.

  20. Feframing Climate Change for Environmental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weems, Caitlin; Subramaniam, Prithwi Raj

    2017-04-01

    Repeated warnings by the scientific community on the dire consequences of climate change through global warming to the ecology and sustenance of our planet have not been give appropriate attention by the U.S. public. Research has shown that climate change is responsible for catastrophic weather occurrences--such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and heat waves--resulting in environmental and public health issues. The purpose of this report is to examine factors influencing public views on climate change. Theoretical and political perspectives are examined to unpack opinions held by the public in the U.S. on climate change. The Health Belief Model is used as an example to showcase the efficacy of an individual behavior change program in providing the synergy to understand climate change at the microlevel. The concept of reframing is discussed as a strategy to alter how the public views climate change.

  1. Urban public health assessment and pattern analysis: comparison of four cities in different countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Meirong; Chen, Chen; Lu, Weiwei; Liu, Gengyuan; Yang, Zhifeng; Chen, Bin

    2013-06-01

    Urban public health is an important global issue, and receives extensive attention. It is necessary to compare urban public health status among different cities, so that each city can define its own health patterns and limiting factors. The following assessment indicators were established to evaluate urban public health status: living conditions, physical health, education and culture, environmental quality, and social security. A weighted-sum model was used in combination with these indicators to compare the urban public health status in four cities—Beijing, New York, London, and Tokyo—using data for 2000-2009. Although the urban public health level of Beijing was lower than that of the other cities, it showed the greatest increase in this level over the study period. Different patterns of urban public health were identified: London had the most balanced, steady pattern (almost all factors performed well and developed stably); New York and Tokyo showed balanced, but unsteady patterns (most factors remained high, though social security and environmental quality fluctuated); Beijing had the most unbalanced, unsteady pattern (the different factors were at different levels, and education and culture and social security fluctuated). For enhanced urban public health status, environmental quality and education and culture clearly need to be improved in Beijing. This study demonstrates that a comparison of different cities is helpful in identifying limiting factors for urban public health and providing an orientation for future urban development.

  2. Offshore Finfish Aquaculture in the United States: An Examination of Federal Laws That Could be Used to Address Environmental and Occupational Public Health Risks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jillian P. Fry

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Half of the world’s edible seafood comes from aquaculture, and the United States (US government is working to develop an offshore finfish aquaculture industry in federal waters. To date, US aquaculture has largely been regulated at the state level, and creating an offshore aquaculture industry will require the development of a new regulatory structure. Some aquaculture practices involve hazardous working conditions and the use of veterinary drugs, agrochemicals, and questionable farming methods, which could raise environmental and occupational public health concerns if these methods are employed in the offshore finfish industry in the US. This policy analysis aims to inform public health professionals and other stakeholders in the policy debate regarding how offshore finfish aquaculture should be regulated in the US to protect human health; previous policy analyses on this topic have focused on environmental impacts. We identified 20 federal laws related to offshore finfish aquaculture, including 11 that are relevant to preventing, controlling, or monitoring potential public health risks. Given the novelty of the industry in the US, myriad relevant laws, and jurisdictional issues in an offshore setting, federal agencies need to work collaboratively and transparently to ensure that a comprehensive and functional regulatory structure is established that addresses the potential public health risks associated with this type of food production.

  3. Waterborne Disease Case Investigation: Public Health Nursing Simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Gina K; Canclini, Sharon B; Fripp, Jon; Fripp, William

    2017-01-01

    The lack of safe drinking water is a significant public health threat worldwide. Registered nurses assess the physical environment, including the quality of the water supply, and apply environmental health knowledge to reduce environmental exposures. The purpose of this research brief is to describe a waterborne disease simulation for students enrolled in a public health nursing (PHN) course. A total of 157 undergraduate students completed the simulation in teams, using the SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) reporting tool. Simulation evaluation consisted of content analysis of the SBAR tools and debriefing notes. Student teams completed the simulation and articulated the implications for PHN practice. Student teams discussed assessment findings and primarily recommended four nursing interventions: health teaching focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene; community organizing; collaboration; and advocacy to ensure a safe water supply. With advanced planning and collaboration with partners, waterborne disease simulation may enhance PHN education. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(1):39-42.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  4. Environmental health implications of global climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watson, Robert T.; Patz, Jonathan; Gubler, Duane J.; Parson, Edward A.; Vincent, James H.

    2005-07-01

    This paper reviews the background that has led to the now almost-universally held opinion in the scientific community that global climate change is occurring and is inescapably linked with anthropogenic activity. The potential implications to human health are considerable and very diverse. These include, for example, the increased direct impacts of heat and of rises in sea level, exacerbated air and water-borne harmful agents, and - associated with all the preceding - the emergence of environmental refugees. Vector-borne diseases, in particular those associated with blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes, may be significantly impacted, including redistribution of some of those diseases to areas not previously affected. Responses to possible impending environmental and public health crises must involve political and socio-economic considerations, adding even greater complexity to what is already a difficult challenge. In some areas, adjustments to national and international public health practices and policies may be effective, at least in the short and medium terms. But in others, more drastic measures will be required. Environmental monitoring, in its widest sense, will play a significant role in the future management of the problem. (Author)

  5. Environmental health literacy within the Italian Asbestos Project: experience in Italy and Latin American contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Marsili

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The adoption of multidisciplinary approaches to foster scientific research in public health and strengthen its impact on society is nowadays unavoidable. Environmental health literacy (EHL may be defined as the ability to search for, understand, evaluate, and use environmental health information to promote the adoption of informed choices, the reduction of health risks, the improvement of quality of life and the protection of the environment. Both public health and environmental health literacy involve access to and dissemination of scientific information (including research findings, individual and collective decision-making and critical thinking. Specific experiences in environmental health literacy have been developed within the Italian National Asbestos Project (Progetto Amianto in Latin American countries where the use of asbestos is still permitted, and in Italy where a specific effort in EHL has been dedicated to the risks caused by the presence of fluoro-edenite fibers in the town of Biancavilla (Sicily. Taking into account the different geographical and socio-economic contexts, both public health and environmental health literacy were addressed to a wide range of stakeholders, within and outside the health domain.

  6. Environmental guidance for public participation in environmental restoration activities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-11-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this document, entitled Guidance on Public Participation for US Department of Energy Environmental Restoration Activities, to summarize policy and provide guidance for public participation in environmental restoration activities at DOE Headquarters, Field Offices, facilities, and laboratories. While the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) has environmental restoration responsibility for the majority of DOE sites and facilities, other DOE Project Offices have similar responsibilities at their sites and facilities. This guidance is applicable to all environment restoration activities conducted by or for DOE under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) (corrective actions only); and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This guidance also is applicable to CERCLA remedial action programs under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 and the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, where DOE is the designated lead. The primary objectives of this guidance document are as follows: acclimate DOE staff to a changing culture that emphasizes the importance of public participation activities; provide direction on implementing these public participation activities; and, provide consistent guidance for all DOE Field Offices and facilities. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on conducting effective public participation activities for environmental restoration activities under CERCLA; RCRA corrective actions under sections 3004(u), 3004(v), and 3008(h); and NEPA public participation activities.

  7. Responsibility for health: personal, social, and environmental.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnik, D B

    2007-08-01

    Most of the discussion in bioethics and health policy concerning social responsibility for health has focused on society's obligation to provide access to healthcare. While ensuring access to healthcare is an important social responsibility, societies can promote health in many other ways, such as through sanitation, pollution control, food and drug safety, health education, disease surveillance, urban planning and occupational health. Greater attention should be paid to strategies for health promotion other than access to healthcare, such as environmental and public health and health research.

  8. Feeding Health: Michael Pollan on Improving Public Health through the Food Systems

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-08-19

    In this podcast, author Michael Pollan discusses his March 2009 visit to CDC and offers his thoughts on the intersection between the government, the food systems, and public health.  Created: 8/19/2009 by National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Office of Sustainability.   Date Released: 4/15/2010.

  9. Female non-smokers' environmental tobacco smoking exposure by public transportation mode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seyoung; Park, Jin-Soo; Park, Minkyu; Kim, Yeji; Lim, Sinye; Lee, Hye-Eun

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to analyze environmental tobacco smoking exposure in female nonsmokers by public transportation mode using representative data of Koreans. Data from the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2012-2014) were analyzed. Urine cotinine was analyzed by public transport behavior, secondhand smoke exposure, socioeconomic factors, and health-related factors. Participants were 1322 adult females; those with the top 75% urine cotinine concentrations were assigned to the high exposure group. A logistic regression analysis was performed considering appropriate weights and stratification according to the sample design of the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey. The geometric mean of urine cotinine concentrations differed according to public transportation modes: subway (1.66 μg/g creatinine) bus (1.77 μg/g creatinine), and taxi (1.94 μg/g creatinine). The odds ratio [OR] was calculated for the high exposure group. The OR of the taxi (2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-5.69) was statistically significantly higher than the subway value (reference), and marginally significant after adjusted with life style, sociodemographic factors and involuntary smoking frequency (2.42, 95% confidence interval, 0.97-6.04). The odds ratio of passengers who mainly used taxis was marginally significantly higher than those of passengers who used subways and buses after adjusted with life style and sociodemographic factors. Implementation of supplementary measures and further studies on exposure to environmental tobacco smoking in taxis are warranted.

  10. Publications in biomedical and environmental sciences programs, 1981

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moody, J.B. (comp.)

    1982-07-01

    This bibliography contains 698 references to articles in journals, books, and reports published in the subject area of biomedical and environmental sciences during 1981. There are 520 references to articles published in journals and books and 178 references to reports. Staff members in the Biomedical and Environmental Sciences divisions have other publications not included in this bibliography; for example, theses, book reviews, abstracts published in journals or symposia proceedings, pending journal publications and reports such as monthly, bimonthly, and quarterly progress reports, contractor reports, and reports for internal distribution. This document is sorted by the division, and then alphabetically by author. The sorting by divisions separates the references by subject area in a simple way. The divisions represented in the order that they appear in the bibliography are Analytical Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Technology, Information R and D, Health and Safety Research, Instrumentation and Controls, Computer Sciences, Energy, Engineering Technology, Solid State, Central Management, Operations, and Environmental Sciences. Indexes are provided by author, title, and journal reference.

  11. Publications in biomedical and environmental sciences programs, 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moody, J.B.

    1982-07-01

    This bibliography contains 698 references to articles in journals, books, and reports published in the subject area of biomedical and environmental sciences during 1981. There are 520 references to articles published in journals and books and 178 references to reports. Staff members in the Biomedical and Environmental Sciences divisions have other publications not included in this bibliography; for example, theses, book reviews, abstracts published in journals or symposia proceedings, pending journal publications and reports such as monthly, bimonthly, and quarterly progress reports, contractor reports, and reports for internal distribution. This document is sorted by the division, and then alphabetically by author. The sorting by divisions separates the references by subject area in a simple way. The divisions represented in the order that they appear in the bibliography are Analytical Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Technology, Information R and D, Health and Safety Research, Instrumentation and Controls, Computer Sciences, Energy, Engineering Technology, Solid State, Central Management, Operations, and Environmental Sciences. Indexes are provided by author, title, and journal reference

  12. An urban survey of paediatric environmental health concerns: Perceptions of parents, guardians and health care professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buka, Irena; Rogers, W Todd; Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro R; Hoffman, Harold; Pearce, Marni; Li, Yuen Yee

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey in Edmonton, Alberta, to gather information regarding concerns about the influence of environmental factors on children’s health and to use the information to set an agenda for the resources of the Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Misericordia Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta). METHODS Two questionnaires with 28 closed-ended questions were developed to examine parents’, guardians’ and health care professionals’ concerns. They comprised items about six environmental factors (air, water and food quality; household supplies; radiation; and waste disposal). Health care professionals were also asked four questions about their knowledge of and their needs in Paediatric Environmental Health. Parents and guardians attending the public health centres and nurses working therein received questionnaires. Physicians were surveyed by e-mail. RESULTS After verification, the questionnaire data from 400 parents or guardians and 152 health care professionals were used for analyses. Results from contingency table, Hotelling’s T2 and effect size analyses revealed similarities in the levels of concern in both groups, and the results were combined. The greatest concern of both groups was with environmental tobacco smoke, followed by pesticides in water. Concerns about six additional environmental elements were also expressed. The health care professionals showed a high level of concern about the need for resources, specific training and public education regarding paediatric environmental health. CONCLUSION A significant level of concern was consistently found between the two groups studied, regardless of professional training. The highest level of concern was with a well-documented topic (ie, environmental tobacco smoke). Less concern associated with decreased documentation calls for increasing the knowledge of society, including health care professionals, to address the adverse effects of environmental factors on children. PMID

  13. Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niyi Awofeso

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption of public health policies by nation-states, and encumber disinvestment from ineffective or anachronistic policies. This article reviews seven public health eras and highlights how each era has influenced international policy formulation for leprosy control—“the fertile soil for policy learning”. The author reiterates the role of health leadership and health activism in facilitating consistency in international health policy formulation and implementation for leprosy control.

  14. The insertion of the environmental health surveillance in the unified health system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edenilo Baltazar Barreira Filho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The integration of environmental monitoring activities in the Unified Health System (SUS shows some characteristics that differentiate it from the practice of epidemiological surveillance. This occurs mainly because much data on exposure to environmental factors is obtained outside the health sector and the adoption of actions that seek to control and/or prevent requires, in most cases, an intra andintersectoral understanding and articulation, since the health sector is not able, by itself, to provide answers to environmental health issues.In recent years, there has been an increasingly consolidation of the field of environmental health, which includes the area of public health, accustomed to scientific knowledge, to the formulation of public policies and the corresponding interventions (actions related to the interaction between human health and both natural and anthropic environmental factors, which determine, modulate and influence such interaction, in order to improve the quality of human life from the point of view of sustainability(1.As agreed at the Ist Seminar of the National Environmental Health, held in October 2005 and consolidated in the first National Conference on Environmental Health, held in December 2009, it is understood as an area of intersectoral and interdisciplinarypractice focused on the outcomes, in human health, of ecogeossocialrelations between man and environment(1.Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has been implementing, throughout the country, a Surveillance System in Environmental Health (SINVISA, seeking the improvement of this “model” of activities, establishing expertise into the three levels of government, aiming to consolidate the practice of Environmental Health within the SUS.Normative Instruction No. 1, March 7, 2005, creates SINVISA, establishes the area of action, the scope of the three levels of management within SUS and defines the Environmental Health Surveillance as a set of actions and services

  15. Do natural science experiments influence public attitudes towards environmental problems?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallner, A.; Hunziker, M.; Kienast, F.

    2003-01-01

    We investigated the significance of risk assessment studies in the public discussion on CO 2 emissions. Politicians and representatives from the public were interviewed by using the social-science technique of qualitative in-depth interviews. Three different types of attitudes towards natural science were found among politicians. Depending on which attitude a politician holds, risk assessment studies can have an impact on his/her readiness to support environmental policy measures. Regarding lay people, key factors affecting the acceptance of environmental policy measures are knowledge of environmental problems, their impacts on ecosystems or human health as well as direct personal perception of those impacts. Since direct perception is not always possible in everyday life, natural science experiments might be a means for successfully mediating this lacking perception. (author)

  16. Association of air pollution on birth outcomes in New Delhi - a pilot study on the potential of HMIS data for environmental public health tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magsumbol, Melina S; Singh, Archna; Ghosh, Arpita; Kler, Neelam; Garg, Pankaj; Thakur, Anup; Beg, Arshad; Srivastava, Atul; Hajat, Shakoor

    The study objective was to assess the gaps in current hospital health management information systems (ie. paper based records of prenatal, delivery, neonatal, discharge data) for environmental studies. This study also considers the feasibility of linking patient-level hospital data with ambient air pollution data recorded in real time by air quality monitoring stations. This retrospective hospital based cohort study used a semi-ecologic design to explore the association of air pollution with a neonate's birth weight and gestational age. Maternal and neonatal data from 2007-2012 were encoded and linked with air pollution data based on distance to the nearest air quality monitoring station. Completeness and accuracy of neonatal anthropometric measures, maternal demographic information, nutritional status and maternal risk factors (gestational diabetes, anaemia, hypertension, etc.) were assessed. The records of 10,565 births in Sir Ganga Ram hospital in New Delhi were encoded and linked with real time air quality data. These were records of women who reported a New Delhi address during the time of delivery. The distance of each address to all the monitoring stations were recorded. Birth records were assigned pollution exposure levels averaged across records from monitoring stations within 10 kilometers of the address during the pregnancy period. This pilot study will highlight the potential of hospital management information system in linking administrative hospital record data with information on environmental exposure. The linked health-exposure dataset can then be used for studying the impact of various environmental exposures on health outcomes. Mother's educational attainment, occupation, residential history, nutritional status, tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy need to be documented for better health risk assessments or case management. Health institutions can provide data for public health researchers and environmental scientists and can serve as the

  17. The Energy Burden and Environmental Impact of Health Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buettner, Petra G.; Canyon, Deon V.

    2012-01-01

    Objectives. We reviewed the English-language literature on the energy burden and environmental impact of health services. Methods. We searched all years of the PubMed, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect databases for publications reporting energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, or the environmental impact of health-related activities. We extracted and tabulated data to enable cross-comparisons among different activities and services; where possible, we calculated per patient or per event emissions. Results. We identified 38 relevant publications. Per patient or per event, health-related energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are quite modest; in the aggregate, however, they are considerable. In England and the United States, health-related emissions account for 3% and 8% of total national emissions, respectively. Conclusions. Although reducing health-related energy consumption and emissions alone will not resolve all of the problems of energy scarcity and climate change, it could make a meaningful contribution. PMID:23078475

  18. Politics of coordination in environmental health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Jesper; Kjærgård, Bente; Jelsøe, Erling

    2015-01-01

    on environmental policy integration, for studying the efforts and paradoxes in sector co-ordination, in order to reflect on the pro et cons of integrative approaches to environment and public health. We will give an overview of the various approaches to coordinative efforts from an international to a national...

  19. Migration, environmental hazards, and health outcomes in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Juan; Chen, Shuo; Landry, Pierre F

    2013-03-01

    China's rapid economic growth has had a serious impact on the environment. Environmental hazards are major sources of health risk factors. The migration of over 200 million people to heavily polluted urban areas is likely to be significantly detrimental to health. Based on data from the 2009 national household survey "Chinese Attitudes toward Inequality and Distributive Injustice" (N = 2866) and various county-level and municipal indicators, we investigate the disparities in subjective exposure to environmental hazards and associated health outcomes in China. This study focuses particularly on migration-residency status and county-level socio-economic development. We employ multiple regressions that account for the complex multi-stage survey design to assess the associations between perceived environmental hazards and individual and county-level indicators and between perceived environmental hazards and health outcomes, controlling for physical and social environments at multiple levels. We find that perceived environmental hazards are associated with county-level industrialization and economic development: respondents living in more industrialized counties report greater exposure to environmental hazards. Rural-to-urban migrants are exposed to more water pollution and a higher measure of overall environmental hazard. Perceived environmental risk factors severely affect the physical and mental health of the respondents. The negative effects of perceived overall environmental hazard on physical health are more detrimental for rural-to-urban migrants than for urban residents. The research findings call for restructuring the household registration system in order to equalize access to public services and mitigate adverse environmental health effects, particularly among the migrant population. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Sixth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul B. Tchounwou

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available This special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health highlights selected papers presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research organized by Jackson State University (JSU from September 13−16, 2009 at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. The Symposium was built upon the overwhelming success of previous symposia hosted by JSU and co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH RCMI-Center for Environmental Health, the U.S. Department of Education Title III Graduate Education Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the JSU Office of Academic Affairs, and the JSU Office of Research and Federal Relations. [...

  1. Interdisciplinary Environmental-health Science Throughout Disaster Lifecycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plumlee, G. S.; Morman, S. A.; Hoefen, T. M.

    2014-12-01

    Potential human health effects from exposures to hazardous disaster materials and environmental contamination are common concerns following disasters. Using several examples from US Geological Survey environmental disaster responses (e.g., 2001 World Trade Center, mine tailings spills, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, 2007-2013 wildfires, 2011 Gulf oil spill, 2012 Hurricane Sandy, 2013 Colorado floods) and disaster scenarios (2011 ARkStorm, 2013 SAFRR tsunami) this presentation will illustrate the role for collaborative earth, environmental, and health science throughout disaster lifecycles. Pre-disaster environmental baseline measurements are needed to help understand environmental influences on pre-disaster health baselines, and to constrain the magnitude of a disaster's impacts. During and following disasters, there is a need for interdisciplinary rapid-response and longer-term assessments that: sample and characterize the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of complex materials generated by the disasters; fingerprint material sources; monitor, map, and model dispersal and evolution of disaster materials in the environment; help understand how the materials are modified by environmental processes; and, identify key characteristics and processes that influence the exposures and toxicity of disaster materials to humans and the living environment. This information helps emergency responders, public health experts, and cleanup managers: 1) identify short- and long-term exposures to disaster materials that may affect health; 2) prioritize areas for cleanup; and 3) develop appropriate disposal solutions or restoration uses for disaster materials. By integrating lessons learned from past disasters with geospatial information on vulnerable sources of natural or anthropogenic contaminants, the environmental health implications of looming disasters or disaster scenarios can be better anticipated, which helps enhance preparedness and resilience. Understanding economic costs of

  2. The impact of the economic downturn on environmental health services and professionals in North Carolina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weston-Cox, Paula

    2012-06-01

    The objective of the authors' study was to examine the impact of the economic recession on the environmental health profession between budget year (BY) 2006-2007 and BY 2010-2011 in the following areas: (1) environmental health department fees for services; (2) changes in staffing levels, benefits, or pay; (3) changes in staff responsibilities; and (4) the impact to the private environmental sector compared to public environmental health professionals. Data were summarized from the following surveys: North Carolina Environmental Health Supervisors Association Fee and Economic Surveys; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Government Current Salary Index; and a created online survey of private-sector environmental professionals. Total fees in the public sector for services have risen for most environmental health departments, but not enough to offset budget reductions. All of the counties that participated in the survey either have reduced staff, pay, or benefits due to budget cuts, and some counties utilized staff in other areas through cross-training. The private environmental sector also reduced staff in response to a reduced workload. Public sector employers may have difficulties retaining existing employees and recruiting new employees over the long-term in the current economic climate.

  3. Workplace health improvement: perspectives of environmental health officers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, J; Wills, J

    2012-01-01

    Environmental health practice in the field of occupational health and safety is traditionally concerned with protecting health relating to the workplace. However, little is currently known about environmental health officers' (EHOs) perceptions of their role in workplace health improvement, a pertinent topic in light of the recent government agenda for improving the health of the workforce in the UK. To explore how EHOs perceive workplace health improvement and its relevance to their professional role. A qualitative methodology was employed, using a case-study design with thematic analysis of 15 transcripts of in-depth telephone interviews with EHOs working in London, UK. EHOs view themselves primarily as enforcement officers, with legislation guiding their understandings of workplace health. Many interpret work-related ill health in terms of safety and physical injury and do not feel competent in assessing broader psychosocial elements of ill health. However, a few EHOs welcomed the opportunity to promote health in the workplace, recognizing the importance of prevention. This study indicates a gap between the contemporary EHO role framed by professional bodies as holistic and contributing to public health goals and the role perceived by EHOs 'on the ground'. A more traditional, protective and enforcement-based approach persists among EHOs in this sample, and few feel they have skills to address determinants beyond physical hazards to health. Yet, a minority of EHOs adopted a more health-promoting approach, suggesting that the potential contribution of EHOs to the workplace health improvement agenda should be explored further.

  4. Public participation, Good Environmental Governance and fulfilment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Public participation, Good Environmental Governance and fulfilment of Environmental rights. ... international developments the role that public participation is expected to play in state governments\\' fulfilment of citizens\\' environmental rights.

  5. Partners in Public Health: Public Health Collaborations With Schools of Pharmacy, 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiPietro Mager, Natalie A; Ochs, Leslie; Ranelli, Paul L; Kahaleh, Abby A; Lahoz, Monina R; Patel, Radha V; Garza, Oscar W; Isaacs, Diana; Clark, Suzanne

    To collect data on public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy, we sent a short electronic survey to accredited and preaccredited pharmacy programs in 2015. We categorized public health collaborations as working or partnering with local and/or state public health departments, local and/or state public health organizations, academic schools or programs of public health, and other public health collaborations. Of 134 schools, 65 responded (49% response rate). Forty-six (71%) responding institutions indicated collaborations with local and/or state public health departments, 34 (52%) with schools or programs of public health, and 24 (37%) with local and/or state public health organizations. Common themes of collaborations included educational programs, community outreach, research, and teaching in areas such as tobacco control, emergency preparedness, chronic disease, drug abuse, immunizations, and medication therapy management. Interdisciplinary public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy provide additional resources for ensuring the health of communities and expose student pharmacists to opportunities to use their training and abilities to affect public health. Examples of these partnerships may stimulate additional ideas for possible collaborations between public health organizations and schools of pharmacy.

  6. Children's environmental health: an under-recognised area in paediatric health care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sly Peter D

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The knowledge that the environment in which we live, grow and play, can have negative or positive impacts on our health and development is not new. However the recognition that adverse environments can significantly and specifically affect the growth and development of a child from early intrauterine life through to adolescence, as well as impact their health later in adulthood, is relatively recent and has not fully reached health care providers involved in paediatric care. Over the past 15 years, world declarations and statements on children's rights, sustainable development, chemical safety and most recently climate change, have succeeded in cultivating a global focus on children's health and their right to a healthy environment. Many international calls for research in the area, have also been able to identify patterns of environmental diseases in children, assess children's exposures to many environmental toxicants, identify developmental periods of vulnerability, and quantify the cost benefits to public health systems and beyond, of addressing environmentally related diseases in children. Transferring this information to front-line health care providers and increasing their awareness about the global burden of disease attributed to the environment and children's especial vulnerability to environmental threats is the salient aim of this commentary.

  7. Children's environmental health: an under-recognised area in paediatric health care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavidia, Tania G; Pronczuk de Garbino, Jenny; Sly, Peter D

    2009-01-01

    The knowledge that the environment in which we live, grow and play, can have negative or positive impacts on our health and development is not new. However the recognition that adverse environments can significantly and specifically affect the growth and development of a child from early intrauterine life through to adolescence, as well as impact their health later in adulthood, is relatively recent and has not fully reached health care providers involved in paediatric care. Over the past 15 years, world declarations and statements on children's rights, sustainable development, chemical safety and most recently climate change, have succeeded in cultivating a global focus on children's health and their right to a healthy environment. Many international calls for research in the area, have also been able to identify patterns of environmental diseases in children, assess children's exposures to many environmental toxicants, identify developmental periods of vulnerability, and quantify the cost benefits to public health systems and beyond, of addressing environmentally related diseases in children. Transferring this information to front-line health care providers and increasing their awareness about the global burden of disease attributed to the environment and children's especial vulnerability to environmental threats is the salient aim of this commentary. PMID:19196484

  8. An Updated Review of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Clinical, Epidemiological, Environmental, and Public Health Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa A. Friedman

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP is the most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world. It causes substantial human health, social, and economic impacts. The illness produces a complex array of gastrointestinal, neurological and neuropsychological, and cardiovascular symptoms, which may last days, weeks, or months. This paper is a general review of CFP including the human health effects of exposure to ciguatoxins (CTXs, diagnosis, human pathophysiology of CFP, treatment, detection of CTXs in fish, epidemiology of the illness, global dimensions, prevention, future directions, and recommendations for clinicians and patients. It updates and expands upon the previous review of CFP published by Friedman et al. (2008 and addresses new insights and relevant emerging global themes such as climate and environmental change, international market issues, and socioeconomic impacts of CFP. It also provides a proposed universal case definition for CFP designed to account for the variability in symptom presentation across different geographic regions. Information that is important but unchanged since the previous review has been reiterated. This article is intended for a broad audience, including resource and fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishers, public health officials, medical professionals, and other interested parties.

  9. An Updated Review of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Clinical, Epidemiological, Environmental, and Public Health Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Melissa A; Fernandez, Mercedes; Backer, Lorraine C; Dickey, Robert W; Bernstein, Jeffrey; Schrank, Kathleen; Kibler, Steven; Stephan, Wendy; Gribble, Matthew O; Bienfang, Paul; Bowen, Robert E; Degrasse, Stacey; Flores Quintana, Harold A; Loeffler, Christopher R; Weisman, Richard; Blythe, Donna; Berdalet, Elisa; Ayyar, Ram; Clarkson-Townsend, Danielle; Swajian, Karen; Benner, Ronald; Brewer, Tom; Fleming, Lora E

    2017-03-14

    Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is the most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world. It causes substantial human health, social, and economic impacts. The illness produces a complex array of gastrointestinal, neurological and neuropsychological, and cardiovascular symptoms, which may last days, weeks, or months. This paper is a general review of CFP including the human health effects of exposure to ciguatoxins (CTXs), diagnosis, human pathophysiology of CFP, treatment, detection of CTXs in fish, epidemiology of the illness, global dimensions, prevention, future directions, and recommendations for clinicians and patients. It updates and expands upon the previous review of CFP published by Friedman et al. (2008) and addresses new insights and relevant emerging global themes such as climate and environmental change, international market issues, and socioeconomic impacts of CFP. It also provides a proposed universal case definition for CFP designed to account for the variability in symptom presentation across different geographic regions. Information that is important but unchanged since the previous review has been reiterated. This article is intended for a broad audience, including resource and fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishers, public health officials, medical professionals, and other interested parties.

  10. An Updated Review of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Clinical, Epidemiological, Environmental, and Public Health Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Melissa A.; Fernandez, Mercedes; Backer, Lorraine C.; Dickey, Robert W.; Bernstein, Jeffrey; Schrank, Kathleen; Kibler, Steven; Stephan, Wendy; Gribble, Matthew O.; Bienfang, Paul; Bowen, Robert E.; Degrasse, Stacey; Flores Quintana, Harold A.; Loeffler, Christopher R.; Weisman, Richard; Blythe, Donna; Berdalet, Elisa; Ayyar, Ram; Clarkson-Townsend, Danielle; Swajian, Karen; Benner, Ronald; Brewer, Tom; Fleming, Lora E.

    2017-01-01

    Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is the most frequently reported seafood-toxin illness in the world. It causes substantial human health, social, and economic impacts. The illness produces a complex array of gastrointestinal, neurological and neuropsychological, and cardiovascular symptoms, which may last days, weeks, or months. This paper is a general review of CFP including the human health effects of exposure to ciguatoxins (CTXs), diagnosis, human pathophysiology of CFP, treatment, detection of CTXs in fish, epidemiology of the illness, global dimensions, prevention, future directions, and recommendations for clinicians and patients. It updates and expands upon the previous review of CFP published by Friedman et al. (2008) and addresses new insights and relevant emerging global themes such as climate and environmental change, international market issues, and socioeconomic impacts of CFP. It also provides a proposed universal case definition for CFP designed to account for the variability in symptom presentation across different geographic regions. Information that is important but unchanged since the previous review has been reiterated. This article is intended for a broad audience, including resource and fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishers, public health officials, medical professionals, and other interested parties. PMID:28335428

  11. Targeting Environmental Quality to Improve Population Health ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Key goals of health care reform are to stimulate innovative approaches to improve healthcare quality and clinical outcomes while holding down costs. To achieve these goals value-based payment places the needs of the patient first and encourages multi-stakeholder cooperation. Yet, the stakeholders are typically all within the healthcare system, e.g. the Accountable Care Organization or Patient-Centered Medical Home, leaving important contributors to the health of the population such as the public health and environmental health systems absent. And rarely is the quality of the environment regarded as a modifiable factor capable of imparting a health benefit. Underscoring this point, a PubMed search of the search terms “environmental quality” with “value-based payment”, “value-based healthcare” or “value-based reimbursement” returned no relevant articles, providing further evidence that the healthcare industry largely disregards the quality of the environment as a significant determinant of wellbeing and an actionable risk factor for clinical disease management and population health intervention. Yet, the quality of the environment is unequivocally related to indicators of population health including all-cause mortality. The EPA’s Environmental Quality Index (EQI) composed of five different domains (air, land use, water, built environment and social) has provided new estimates of the associations between environmental quality and health stat

  12. The ghost of public health journalism: past, present, and future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Glinda S; Brown, Rebecca C

    2010-03-01

    The news industry is undergoing shrinking newspaper circulations, cuts in science and health coverage, and expansion of Internet news sources. We examine the impact of these changes using a case study set in Libby, Montana. In 1999, a Seattle newspaper story focused attention on asbestos exposure and related diseases in this small town. In 2009, that newspaper became an online-only newspaper, just as coverage of a related criminal trial began. Later that year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a public health emergency. Online newspaper archives and a collaboration between the University of Montana's journalism and law schools contributed to coverage of these developments. Continued efforts to promote interest in and skills needed for high-quality public health and environmental reporting are needed.

  13. Earth Science and Public Health: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxton, Herbert T.; Griffin, Dale W.; Pierce, Brenda S.

    2007-01-01

    The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. As the Nation?s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS can play a significant role in providing scientific knowledge and information that will improve our understanding of the relations of environment and wildlife to human health and disease. USGS human health-related research is unique in the Federal government because it brings together a broad spectrum of natural science expertise and information, including extensive data collection and monitoring on varied landscapes and ecosystems across the Nation. USGS can provide a great service to the public health community by synthesizing the scientific information and knowledge on our natural and living resources that influence human health, and by bringing this science to the public health community in a manner that is most useful. Partnerships with health scientists and managers are essential to the success of these efforts. USGS scientists already are working closely with the public health community to pursue rigorous inquiries into the connections between natural science and public health. Partnering agencies include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Collaborations between public

  14. Management of clandestine drug laboratories: need for evidence-based environmental health policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Obaidi, Tamara A; Fletcher, Stephanie M

    2014-01-01

    Clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) have been emerging and increasing as a public health problem in Australia, with methamphetamine being the dominant illegally manufactured drug. However, management and remediation of contaminated properties are still limited in terms of regulation and direction, especially in relation to public and environmental health practice. Therefore, this review provides an update on the hazards and health effects associated with CDLs, with a specific look at the management of these labs from an Australian perspective. Particularly, the paper attempts to describe the policy landscape for management of CDLs, and identifies current gaps and how further research may be utilised to advance understanding and management of CDLs and inform public health policies. The paper highlights a significant lack of evidence-based policies and guidelines to guide regulatory authority including environmental health officers in Australia. Only recently, the national Clandestine Drug Laboratory Guidelines were developed to assist relevant authority and specialists manage and carry out investigations and remediation of contaminated sites. However, only three states have developed state-based guidelines, some of which are inadequate to meet environmental health requirements. The review recommends well-needed inter-sectoral collaborations and further research to provide an evidence base for the development of robust policies and standard operating procedures for safe and effective environmental health management and remediation of CDLs.

  15. Reflections on Public Health: Captain Hart and Sanitation

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    This podcast consists of segments of an interview conducted by Capt. Kathleen McDuffie, CDC, with Capt. Russell Hart, a 100 year old retired sanitary engineer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps as he reflects on his work in environmental sanitation and the development of local health departments. The interview was conducted in 2006.

  16. Amendments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's public health and environmental radiation protection standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (40 CFR PART 197) - 16156

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, Raymond L.; Czyscinski, Kenneth; Rosnick, Reid J.; Schultheisz, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    In 2001, as directed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued public health and environmental radiation protection standards for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Several parties sued the Agency on numerous aspects of the rule. A Federal Court upheld EPA on all counts except for the compliance period associated with the individual-protection standard, which the Agency had limited to 10,000 years for a number of technical and policy reasons. However, the National Academy of Sciences WAS) had recommended that the standard be set for the time of peak risk, within the limits imposed by the long-term stability of the geologic environment, which NAS estimated at 1 million years. EPA's standards required that the Department of Energy (DOE) project doses to the time of peak dose but did not apply a compliance standard to these longer term projections. The Court ruled that EPA's 10,000-year compliance period was inconsistent with the NAS recommendation. This aspect of the rule was vacated and remanded to the Agency for revision. In 2005, EPA proposed amendments to the standards. Following public hearings and a public review period, the final amendments were issued in September 2008. This paper discusses the new requirements. (authors)

  17. Undergraduate Public Health Majors: Why They Choose Public Health or Medicine?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Warren

    2013-01-01

    This mixed methods study examined the relationship between the motivations for attending college of undergraduate students with a focus on students with a public health major, and their desire to pursue graduate training in public health and subsequently, public health careers. The study highlighted the current public health workforce shortage and…

  18. Lay perceptions of health and environmental inequalities and their associations to mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, Maria Luisa; Morais, Rita

    2015-11-01

    Health inequalities are very well documented in epidemiological research: rich people live longer and have fewer diseases than poor people. Recently, a growing amount of evidence from environmental sciences confirms that poor people are also more exposed to pollution and other environmental threats. However, research in the social sciences has shown a broad lack of awareness about health inequalities. In this paper, based on data collected in Portugal, we will analyze the consciousness of both health and environmental injustices and test one hypothesis for this social blindness. The results show, even more clearly than before, that public opinion tends to see rich and poor people as being equally susceptible to health and environmental events. Furthermore, those who have this equal view of the world present lower levels of depression and anxiety. Following cognitive adaptation theory, this "belief in an equal world" can be interpreted as a protective positive illusion about social justice, particularly relevant in one of the most unequal countries in Europe.

  19. [Integration of sex/gender into environmental health research. Results of the interdisciplinary research network Sex/Gender-Environment-Health (GeUmGe-NET)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolte, Gabriele; David, Madlen; Dębiak, Małgorzata; Fiedel, Lotta; Hornberg, Claudia; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Kraus, Ute; Lätzsch, Rebecca; Paeck, Tatjana; Palm, Kerstin; Schneider, Alexandra

    2018-06-01

    The comprehensive consideration of sex/gender in health research is essential to increase relevance and validity of research results. Contrary to other areas of health research, there is no systematic summary of the current state of research on the significance of sex/gender in environmental health. Within the interdisciplinary research network Sex/Gender-Environment-Health (GeUmGe-NET) the current state of integration of sex/gender aspects or, respectively, gender theoretical concepts into research was systematically assessed within selected topics of the research areas environmental toxicology, environmental medicine, environmental epidemiology and public health research on environment and health. Knowledge gaps and research needs were identified in all research areas. Furthermore, the potential for methodological advancements by using gender theoretical concepts was depicted. A dialogue between biomedical research, public health research, and gender studies was started with the research network GeUmGe-NET. This dialogue has to be continued particularly regarding a common testing of methodological innovations in data collection and data analysis. Insights of this interdisciplinary research are relevant for practice areas such as environmental health protection, health promotion, environmental justice, and environmental health monitoring.

  20. Keeping the "public" in schools of public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freudenberg, Nicholas; Klitzman, Susan; Diamond, Catherine; El-Mohandes, Ayman

    2015-03-01

    In this article, we compared the characteristics of public and private accredited public health training programs. We analyzed the distinct opportunities and challenges that publicly funded schools of public health face in preparing the nation's public health workforce. Using our experience in creating a new, collaborative public school of public health in the nation's largest urban public university system, we described efforts to use our public status and mission to develop new approaches to educating a workforce that meets the health needs of our region and contributes to the goal of reducing health inequalities. Finally, we considered policies that could protect and strengthen the distinct contributions that public schools of public health make to improving population health and reducing health inequalities.

  1. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor; Charles, Joanna Mary; Lloyd-Williams, Huw

    2013-10-24

    If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990-2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may find it useful to think in this broader

  2. Environmental sustainability in European public healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiarini, Andrea; Vagnoni, Emidia

    2016-01-01

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the debate concerning the influence of leadership on environmental sustainability implementation in European public healthcare organisations. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is a viewpoint. It is based on preliminary analysis of European standards dedicated to environmental sustainability and their spread across Europe in public healthcare organisations. Viewpoints concerning leadership are then discussed and asserted. Findings - This paper found a limited implementation of standards such as Green Public Procurement criteria, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme and ISO 14001 in public healthcare. Some clues indicate that the lack of implementation is related to leadership and management commitment. Originality/value - For the first time, this paper investigates relationships between leadership and environmental sustainability in European public healthcare opening further avenues of research on the subject.

  3. Are Australians concerned about nanoparticles? A comparative analysis with established and emerging environmental health issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capon, Adam; Rolfe, Margaret; Gillespie, James; Smith, Wayne

    2015-02-01

    Introducing new technologies into society raises considerable public concern. We determine the public concern about nanoparticles, and compare this concern to other environmental health issues such as wind farms and coal seam gas production. A repeat cross sectional survey examining views on environmental health issues, risk, chemicals and trust was undertaken in more than 1,300 Australian residents in 2000 and 2013. Logistic regression and principal component analysis was used to investigate predictors of nanoparticle concern and identify a component structure for environmental health issues that could explain a trend of future nanoparticle concern. Australians have a relatively low level of concern about the risks of nanoparticles to health when compared to their concerns about other environmental health issues. Items associated with concern included gender, a general wish to avoid chemicals and possibly trust in politicians. Concern over nanoparticles clustered with similar views on technological risks. Current public concern over the risks of nanoparticles is low. However, a reframing of the issue towards 'chemicals' is likely to have a negative effect on risk perceptions. This paper raises questions about appropriate channels for the effective communication of risk. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

  4. Environmental quality as a public health issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-03-01

    Mercury is a persistent, bio-accumulative toxin that has been linked to numerous health effects in wildlife and humans. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin which may also harm the brain, kidneys and lungs. The unborn child and young infants are at special risk of brain damage from mercury exposure. Hospitals' use of mercury in chemical solutions, thermometers, blood pressure gauges, batteries, and fluorescent lamps make them large contributors to the overall mercury emission into the environment. Most hospitals recognize the dangers of mercury. In a recent survey, 4 out of 5 hospitals asked have policies in place to eliminate the use of mercury containing products and 62% require vendors to disclose the presence of mercury in chemicals that the hospital purchases. Only 12% distribute mercury-containing thermometers to new parent. Ninety two percent teach their employees about the health and environmental effects of mercury and 46 percent teach all employees how to clean up mercury spills. However, the same study showed that many hospitals have not implemented those policies. Forty two percent were not aware if they still purchased items containing mercury. In addition, 49% still purchase mercury thermometers, 44% purchase mercury gastrointestinal diagnostic equipment, and 64% still purchase mercury lab thermometers.

  5. Ecological public health and climate change policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, George P

    2010-01-01

    The fact that health and disease are products of a complex interaction of factors has long been recognized in public health circles. More recently, the term 'ecological public health' has been used to characterize an era underpinned by the paradigm that, when it comes to health and well-being, 'everything matters'. The challenge for policy makers is one of navigating this complexity to deliver better health and greater equality in health. Recent work in Scotland has been concerned to develop a strategic approach to environment and health. This seeks to embrace complexity within that agenda and recognize a more subtle relationship between health and place but remain practical and relevant to a more traditional hazard-focused environmental health approach. The Good Places, Better Health initiative is underpinned by a new problem-framing approach using a conceptual model developed for that purpose. This requires consideration of a wider social, behavioural etc, context. The approach is also used to configure the core systems of the strategy which gather relevant intelligence, subject it to a process of evaluation and direct its outputs to a broad policy constituency extending beyond health and environment. This paper highlights that an approach, conceived and developed to deliver better health and greater equality in health through action on physical environment, also speaks to a wider public health agenda. Specifically it offers a way to help bridge a gap between paradigm and policy in public health. The author considers that with development, a systems-based approach with close attention to problem-framing/situational modelling may prove useful in orchestrating what is a necessarily complex policy response to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

  6. Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, F. H.; Wheeler, A. J.; Williamson, G. J.; Campbell, S. L.; Jones, P. J.; Koolhof, I. S.; Lucani, C.; Cooling, N. B.; Bowman, D. M. J. S.

    2018-04-01

    Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings. Method: We describe AirRater, an integrated online platform that combines symptom surveillance, environmental monitoring, and notifications of changing environmental conditions via a free smartphone app. It was developed and launched in Tasmania, Australia (population 510 000), with the aim of reducing health impacts and improving quality of life in people with conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. We present environmental data, user uptake and results from three online evaluation surveys conducted during the first 22 months of operation, from October 2015 through August 2017. Results: There were 3,443 downloads of the app from all regions of Tasmania. Of the 1,959 individuals who registered, 79% reported having either asthma or allergic rhinitis. Downloads increased during adverse environmental conditions and following publicity. Symptom reports per active user were highest during spring (72%), lowest in autumn (37%) and spiked during periods of reduced air quality. In response to online surveys, most users reported that the app was useful and had improved their understanding of how environmental conditions affect their health, and in some cases had prompted action such as the timely use of medication. Conclusion: Active engagement and consistent positive feedback from users demonstrates the potential for considerable individual, clinical and wider public health benefits from integrated and personalised monitoring systems such as AirRater. The perceived health benefits require objective verification, and such systems need to address

  7. Matadouros públicos e saúde ambiental em Sergipe Public slaughterhouses and environmental health in Sergipe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genival Nunes Silva

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available A incorporação da temática ambiental na saúde pública fez florescer mais recentemente a expressão saúde ambiental, relacionada à degradação do meio ambiente na escala mundial, como reflexo da atividade humana cujas consequências afetam a saúde da população. A produção de alimentos para consumo humano, além de afetar o meio natural, pode afetar, também, a saúde humana, devido ao processo de produção e comercialização. O abate de gado bovino, uma das principais fontes de proteína animal utilizada no Brasil, embora tenha legislação reguladora, muitas vezes é uma atividade que degrada o meio ambiente e compromete a saúde dos trabalhadores da cadeia produtiva e dos consumidores. Este estudo teve como objetivo geral identificar e avaliar os riscos ao meio ambiente e a saúde humana em decorrência da implantação e operação de matadouros públicos nos 75 municípios do Estado de Sergipe. Para o alcance desse objetivo, foram quantificados os matadouros municipais implantados e em operação no Estado, analisadas as condições físicas, sanitárias e tecnológicas, a existência de licenciamento ambiental e de supervisão veterinária do gado e das condições de abate e armazenamento da carne. Os dados foram levantados por observação direta em campo e junto ao cadastro da Administração Estadual do Meio Ambiente de Sergipe. O estudo concluiu haver danos significativos ao meio natural, especialmente aos recursos hídricos e risco bastante alto à saúde dos trabalhadores no matadouro e dos consumidores que recebem um produto sem controle de qualidade e sem qualquer tipo de inspeção sanitária.The incorporation of environmental issues to the public health field resulted, more recently, in the flourishing of the term environmental health, which is related to environmental degradation on a global scale, as a result of human activity whose consequences affect population's health. Food production for human consumption

  8. Challenges in Creating Evidence in Environmental Health Risk Assessments: The Example of Second-Hand Smoke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Fischer

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Public health interventions are directed to influence the (state of a risk factor, either by behavioral or environmental changes. Therefore, environmental health risk assessments are highly relevant for public health decision making and policy development. The credibility of an environmental health risk assessment depends, to a large extent, on the strength of the scientific evidence on which it is based. In this article, the main challenges for assessing the impact of a potential adverse health effect from an environmental pollutant are described. Second-hand smoke (SHS was chosen to illustrate the current state of evidence. The assessment of the impact of potential adverse health effects from environmental risk factors is dependent on several issues, such as the hypothesized health outcome, the nature of the exposure, the dose-response-relationship and the variability and susceptibility of the exposed population. The example of SHS exposure highlights the need for evidence-based public health. Several challenges in terms of study design, assessment methods, as well as data analysis and synthesis with respect to the stratification of results, and consideration of bias and confounding exist. Future research needs to take into account which methods and techniques will be used to generate evidence for population-level decisions.

  9. Biomarkers of Immunotoxicity for Environmental and Public Health Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina T. Holland

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The immune response plays an important role in the pathophysiology of numerous diseases including asthma, autoimmunity and cancer. Application of biomarkers of immunotoxicity in epidemiology studies and human clinical trials can improve our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the associations between environmental exposures and development of these immune-mediated diseases. Immunological biomarkers currently used in environmental health studies include detection of key components of innate and adaptive immunity (e.g., complement, immunoglobulin and cell subsets as well as functional responses and activation of key immune cells. The use of high-throughput assays, including flow cytometry, Luminex, and Multi-spot cytokine detection methods can further provide quantitative analysis of immune effects. Due to the complexity and redundancy of the immune response, an integrated assessment of several components of the immune responses is needed. The rapidly expanding field of immunoinformatics will also aid in the synthesis of the vast amount of data being generated. This review discusses and provides examples of how the identification and development of immunological biomarkers for use in studies of environmental exposures and immune-mediated disorders can be achieved.

  10. Biomarkers of Immunotoxicity for Environmental and Public Health Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duramad, Paurene; Holland, Nina T.

    2011-01-01

    The immune response plays an important role in the pathophysiology of numerous diseases including asthma, autoimmunity and cancer. Application of biomarkers of immunotoxicity in epidemiology studies and human clinical trials can improve our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the associations between environmental exposures and development of these immune-mediated diseases. Immunological biomarkers currently used in environmental health studies include detection of key components of innate and adaptive immunity (e.g., complement, immunoglobulin and cell subsets) as well as functional responses and activation of key immune cells. The use of high-throughput assays, including flow cytometry, Luminex, and Multi-spot cytokine detection methods can further provide quantitative analysis of immune effects. Due to the complexity and redundancy of the immune response, an integrated assessment of several components of the immune responses is needed. The rapidly expanding field of immunoinformatics will also aid in the synthesis of the vast amount of data being generated. This review discusses and provides examples of how the identification and development of immunological biomarkers for use in studies of environmental exposures and immune-mediated disorders can be achieved. PMID:21655126

  11. Paying for International Environmental Public Goods

    OpenAIRE

    Arriagada, Rodrigo; Perrings, Charles

    2011-01-01

    Supply of international environmental public goods must meet certain conditions to be socially efficient, and several reasons explain why they are currently undersupplied. Diagnosis of the public goods failure associated with particular ecosystem services is critical to the development of the appropriate international response. There are two categories of international environmental public goods that are most likely to be undersupplied. One has an additive supply technology and the other has ...

  12. Human Health Screening and Public Health Significance of ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010 – 2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue may also be appropriate. Finally, new toxicological data suggests that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which may warrant a more robust assessment of this information. This paper provides a screening-level human health risk assessment using the margin of exposure of exposure approach, of contaminants of emerging concern detected in drinking water. As far as we are a

  13. Environmental Health in the School Setting: The Role of the School Nurse. Position Statement

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDowell, Bernadette Moran; Bryner, Janet; Chau, Elizabeth A.

    2014-01-01

    Environmental health is a branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines environmental health as those aspects of human health and diseases that are determined by factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing and…

  14. The Public Health Responsibility Deal: making the workplace healthier?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knai, Cécile; Scott, Courtney; D'Souza, Preethy; James, Lesley; Mehrotra, Anushka; Petticrew, Mark; Eastmure, Elizabeth; Durand, Mary Alison; Mays, Nicholas

    2017-06-01

    The Public Health Responsibility Deal (RD) in England is a public-private partnership which aims to improve public health by addressing issues such as health at work. This paper analyses the RD health at work pledges in terms of their likely effectiveness and added value. A review of evidence on the effectiveness of the RD 'health at work' pledges to improve health in the workplace; analysis of publically available data on signatory organizations' plans and progress towards achieving the pledges; and assessment of the likelihood that workplace activities pledged by signatories were brought about by participating in the RD. The 'health at work' pledges mostly consist of information sharing activities, and could be more effective if made part of integrated environmental change at the workplace. The evaluation of organizations' plans and progress suggests that very few actions (7%) were motivated by participation in the RD, with most organizations likely (57%) or probably (36%) already engaged in the activities they listed before joining the RD. The RD's 'health at work' pledges are likely to contribute little to improving workplace health as they stand but could contribute more if they were incorporated into broader, coherent workplace health strategies. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Strategic planning for public health practice using macroenvironmental analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginter, P M; Duncan, W J; Capper, S A

    1991-01-01

    Macroenvironmental analysis is the initial stage in comprehensive strategic planning. The authors examine the benefits of this type of analysis when applied to public health organizations and present a series of questions that should be answered prior to committing resources to scanning, monitoring, forecasting, and assessing components of the macroenvironment. Using illustrations from the public and private sectors, each question is examined with reference to specific challenges facing public health. Benefits are derived both from the process and the outcome of macroenvironmental analysis. Not only are data acquired that assist public health professionals to make decisions, but the analytical process required assures a better understanding of potential external threats and opportunities as well as an organization's strengths and weaknesses. Although differences exist among private and public as well as profit and not-for-profit organizations, macroenvironmental analysis is seen as more essential to the public and not-for-profit sectors than the private and profit sectors. This conclusion results from the extreme dependency of those areas on external environmental forces that cannot be significantly influenced or controlled by public health decision makers. PMID:1902305

  16. Healthy publics: enabling cultures and environments for health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinchliffe, Stephen; Jackson, Mark A.; Wyatt, Katrina; Barlow, Anne E.; Barreto, Manuela; Clare, Linda; Depledge, Michael H.; Durie, Robin; Fleming, Lora E.; Groom, Nick; Morrissey, Karyn; Salisbury, Laura; Thomas, Felicity

    2018-01-01

    Despite extraordinary advances in biomedicine and associated gains in human health and well-being, a growing number of health and well-being related challenges have remained or emerged in recent years. These challenges are often ‘more than biomedical’ in complexion, being social, cultural and environmental in terms of their key drivers and determinants, and underline the necessity of a concerted policy focus on generating healthy societies. Despite the apparent agreement on this diagnosis, the means to produce change are seldom clear, even when the turn to health and well-being requires sizable shifts in our understandings of public health and research practices. This paper sets out a platform from which research approaches, methods and translational pathways for enabling health and well-being can be built. The term ‘healthy publics’ allows us to shift the focus of public health away from ‘the public’ or individuals as targets for intervention, and away from the view that culture acts as a barrier to efficient biomedical intervention, towards a greater recognition of the public struggles that are involved in raising health issues, questioning what counts as healthy and unhealthy and assembling the evidence and experience to change practices and outcomes. Creating the conditions for health and well-being, we argue, requires an engaged research process in which public experiments in building and repairing social and material relations are staged and sustained even if, and especially when, the fates of those publics remain fragile and buffeted by competing and often more powerful public formations. PMID:29862036

  17. Implications of leading crop production practices on environmental quality and human health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udeigwe, Theophilus K; Teboh, Jasper M; Eze, Peter N; Stietiya, M Hashem; Kumar, Vipan; Hendrix, James; Mascagni, Henry J; Ying, Teng; Kandakji, Tarek

    2015-03-15

    Globally, much weight is currently being placed on agriculture to provide food for the growing population as well as feedstock for the bioenergy industry. Unfortunately, the intensification of agricultural operations to satisfy these growing needs has been associated with a number of environmental and human health risks. A review of publications on the subject was conducted and emphasis was placed on articles focusing on agriculture, environment, and public health as well as their interactions. Supporting information was also gathered from publications of various agricultural and environmental agencies. Agricultural practices with potential negative implications on the environment and human health were identified broadly as: (a) utilization of biosolids and animal manures, (b) use of agricultural chemicals, (c) management of post-harvest residue, (d) irrigation, and (e) tillage operations. Soil, water, and air contamination by nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, and pesticides, as well as air contamination by particulate matters, noxious gases, and pathogens were among the leading environmental impacts. Some of the human-health impacts identified included neurological and reproductive defects, cardiovascular risks, cancers and other diseases (of kidney, liver, lung, and skin), skin allergies, gastroenteritis, and methemoglobinemia. Continual awareness on the impacts of the reviewed agricultural practices on environmental quality and human health and the implementation of experimentally-backed best management practices in agricultural systems remain indispensable. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Methods Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990–2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. Results We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. Conclusions In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may

  19. An International Comparison of the Instigation and Design of Health Registers in the Epidemiological Response to Major Environmental Health Incidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behbod, Behrooz; Leonardi, Giovanni; Motreff, Yvon; Beck, Charles R; Yzermans, Joris; Lebret, Erik; Muravov, Oleg I; Bayleyegn, Tesfaye; Wolkin, Amy Funk; Lauriola, Paolo; Close, Rebecca; Crabbe, Helen; Pirard, Philippe

    Epidemiological preparedness is vital in providing relevant, transparent, and timely intelligence for the management, mitigation, and prevention of public health impacts following major environmental health incidents. A register is a set of records containing systematically collected, standardized data about individual people. Planning for a register of people affected by or exposed to an incident is one of the evolving tools in the public health preparedness and response arsenal. We compared and contrasted the instigation and design of health registers in the epidemiological response to major environmental health incidents in England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. Consultation with experts from the 5 nations, supplemented with a review of gray and peer-reviewed scientific literature to identify examples where registers have been used. Populations affected by or at risk from major environmental health incidents in England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. Nations were compared with respect to the (1) types of major incidents in their remit for considering a register; (2) arrangements for triggering a register; (3) approaches to design of register; (4) arrangements for register implementation; (5) uses of registers; and (6) examples of follow-up studies. Health registers have played a key role in the effective public health response to major environmental incidents, including sudden chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear, as well as natural, more prolonged incidents. Value has been demonstrated in the early and rapid deployment of health registers, enabling the capture of a representative population. The decision to establish a health register must ideally be confirmed immediately or soon after the incident using a set of agreed criteria. The establishment of protocols for the instigation, design, and implementation of health registers is recommended as part of preparedness activities. Key stakeholders must be

  20. The economic, environmental and public health impacts of new power plants: a sequential inter industry model integrated with GIS data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avelino, Andre F.T.; Hewings, Geoffrey J.D.; Guilhoto, Joaquim J.M. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (FEA/USP), SE (Brazil). Fac. de Administracao e Contabilidade

    2010-07-01

    The electrical sector is responsible for a considerable amount of greenhouse gases emissions worldwide, but also the one in which modern society depends the most for maintenance of quality of life as well as the functioning of economic and social activities. Invariably, even CO2 emission-free power plants have some indirect environmental impacts due to the economic effects they produce during their life cycle (construction, O and M and decommissioning). Thus, sustainability issues should be always considered in energy planning, by evaluating the balance of positive/negative externalities on different areas of the country. This study aims to introduce a social-environmental economic model, based on a Regional Sequential Inter industry Model (SIM) integrated with geoprocessing data, in order to identify economic, pollution and public health impacts in state level for energy planning analysis. The model is based on the Impact Pathway Approach Methodology, using geoprocessing to locate social-environmental variables for dispersion and health evaluations. The final goal is to provide an auxiliary tool for policy makers to assess energy planning scenarios in Brazil. (author)

  1. Reflections on Public Health: Captain Hart and Sanitation

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2006-10-01

    This podcast consists of segments of an interview conducted by Capt. Kathleen McDuffie, CDC, with Capt. Russell Hart, a 100 year old retired sanitary engineer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps as he reflects on his work in environmental sanitation and the development of local health departments. The interview was conducted in 2006.  Created: 10/1/2006 by Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service (CCHIS), National Center for Health Marketing (NCHM).   Date Released: 1/7/2009.

  2. Lay perceptions of health and environmental inequalities and their associations to mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Luisa Lima

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Health inequalities are very well documented in epidemiological research: rich people live longer and have fewer diseases than poor people. Recently, a growing amount of evidence from environmental sciences confirms that poor people are also more exposed to pollution and other environmental threats. However, research in the social sciences has shown a broad lack of awareness about health inequalities. In this paper, based on data collected in Portugal, we will analyze the consciousness of both health and environmental injustices and test one hypothesis for this social blindness. The results show, even more clearly than before, that public opinion tends to see rich and poor people as being equally susceptible to health and environmental events. Furthermore, those who have this equal view of the world present lower levels of depression and anxiety. Following cognitive adaptation theory, this “belief in an equal world” can be interpreted as a protective positive illusion about social justice, particularly relevant in one of the most unequal countries in Europe.

  3. The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

    2015-01-01

    The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall. PMID:26066925

  4. The insertion of the environmental health surveillance in the unified health system - 10.5020/18061230.2012.p1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edenilo Baltazar Barreira Filho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The integration of environmental monitoring activities in the Unified Health System (SUS shows some characteristics that differentiate it from the practice of epidemiological surveillance. This occurs mainly because much data on exposure to environmental factors is obtained outside the health sector and the adoption of actions that seek to control and/or prevent requires, in most cases, an intra andintersectoral understanding and articulation, since the health sector is not able, by itself, to provide answers to environmental health issues.In recent years, there has been an increasingly consolidation of the field of environmental health, which includes the area of public health, accustomed to scientific knowledge, to the formulation of public policies and the corresponding interventions (actions related to the interaction between human health and both natural and anthropic environmental factors, which determine, modulate and influence such interaction, in order to improve the quality of human life from the point of view of sustainability(1.As agreed at the Ist Seminar of the National Environmental Health, held in October 2005 and consolidated in the first National Conference on Environmental Health, held in December 2009, it is understood as an area of intersectoral and interdisciplinarypractice focused on the outcomes, in human health, of ecogeossocialrelations between man and environment(1.Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has been implementing, throughout the country, a Surveillance System in Environmental Health (SINVISA, seeking the improvement of this “model” of activities, establishing expertise into the three levels of government, aiming to consolidate the practice of Environmental Health within the SUS.Normative Instruction No. 1, March 7, 2005, creates SINVISA, establishes the area of action, the scope of the three levels of management within SUS and defines the Environmental Health Surveillance as a set of actions and services

  5. The insertion of the environmental health surveillance in the unified health system - 10.5020/18061230.2012.p3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edenilo Baltazar Barreira Filho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The integration of environmental monitoring activities in the Unified Health System (SUS shows some characteristics that differentiate it from the practice of epidemiological surveillance. This occurs mainly because much data on exposure to environmental factors is obtained outside the health sector and the adoption of actions that seek to control and/or prevent requires, in most cases, an intra andintersectoral understanding and articulation, since the health sector is not able, by itself, to provide answers to environmental health issues.In recent years, there has been an increasingly consolidation of the field of environmental health, which includes the area of public health, accustomed to scientific knowledge, to the formulation of public policies and the corresponding interventions (actions related to the interaction between human health and both natural and anthropic environmental factors, which determine, modulate and influence such interaction, in order to improve the quality of human life from the point of view of sustainability(1.As agreed at the Ist Seminar of the National Environmental Health, held in October 2005 and consolidated in the first National Conference on Environmental Health, held in December 2009, it is understood as an area of intersectoral and interdisciplinarypractice focused on the outcomes, in human health, of ecogeossocialrelations between man and environment(1.Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has been implementing, throughout the country, a Surveillance System in Environmental Health (SINVISA, seeking the improvement of this “model” of activities, establishing expertise into the three levels of government, aiming to consolidate the practice of Environmental Health within the SUS.Normative Instruction No. 1, March 7, 2005, creates SINVISA, establishes the area of action, the scope of the three levels of management within SUS and defines the Environmental Health Surveillance as a set of actions and services

  6. [Brazilian bibliographical output on public oral health in public health and dentistry journals].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celeste, Roger Keller; Warmling, Cristine Maria

    2014-06-01

    The scope of this paper is to describe characteristics of the scientific output in the area of public oral health in journals on public health and dentistry nationwide. The Scopus database of abstracts and quotations was used and eight journals in public health, as well as ten in dentistry, dating from 1947 to 2011 were selected. A research strategy using key words regarding oral health in public health and key words about public health in dentistry was used to locate articles. The themes selected were based on the frequency of key words. Of the total number of articles, 4.7% (n = 642) were found in oral health journals and 6.8% (n = 245) in public health journals. Among the authors who published most, only 12% published in both fields. There was a percentile growth of public oral health publications in dentistry journals, though not in public health journals. In dentistry, only studies indexed as being on the topic of epidemiology showed an increase. In the area of public health, planning was predominant in all the phases studied. Research to evaluate the impact of research and postgraduate policies in scientific production is required.

  7. A latent process model for forecasting multiple time series in environmental public health surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Kathryn T; Shaddick, Gavin; Henderson, Sarah B; Buckeridge, David L

    2016-08-15

    This paper outlines a latent process model for forecasting multiple health outcomes arising from a common environmental exposure. Traditionally, surveillance models in environmental health do not link health outcome measures, such as morbidity or mortality counts, to measures of exposure, such as air pollution. Moreover, different measures of health outcomes are treated as independent, while it is known that they are correlated with one another over time as they arise in part from a common underlying exposure. We propose modelling an environmental exposure as a latent process, and we describe the implementation of such a model within a hierarchical Bayesian framework and its efficient computation using integrated nested Laplace approximations. Through a simulation study, we compare distinct univariate models for each health outcome with a bivariate approach. The bivariate model outperforms the univariate models in bias and coverage of parameter estimation, in forecast accuracy and in computational efficiency. The methods are illustrated with a case study using healthcare utilization and air pollution data from British Columbia, Canada, 2003-2011, where seasonal wildfires produce high levels of air pollution, significantly impacting population health. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Application of GIS technology in public health: successes and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher-Lartey, Stephanie M; Caprarelli, Graziella

    2016-04-01

    The uptake and acceptance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has increased since the early 1990s and public health applications are rapidly expanding. In this paper, we summarize the common uses of GIS technology in the public health sector, emphasizing applications related to mapping and understanding of parasitic diseases. We also present some of the success stories, and discuss the challenges that still prevent a full scope application of GIS technology in the public health context. Geographical analysis has allowed researchers to interlink health, population and environmental data, thus enabling them to evaluate and quantify relationships between health-related variables and environmental risk factors at different geographical scales. The ability to access, share and utilize satellite and remote-sensing data has made possible even wider understanding of disease processes and of their links to the environment, an important consideration in the study of parasitic diseases. For example, disease prevention and control strategies resulting from investigations conducted in a GIS environment have been applied in many areas, particularly in Africa. However, there remain several challenges to a more widespread use of GIS technology, such as: limited access to GIS infrastructure, inadequate technical and analytical skills, and uneven data availability. Opportunities exist for international collaboration to address these limitations through knowledge sharing and governance.

  9. For Better or For Worse: Environmental Health Promotion in ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental Health Education (EHE) is most effective when it incorporates environmental science, risk education, and health education. When paired with the local knowledge of community members, EHE can promote health equity and community action, especially for socially disadvantaged communities, which are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Developing EHE programs that inform residents about toxic exposures that damage their health and affect their quality of life is critical for them to understand their true risk. The community of interest is a public housing development surrounded by landfills, hazardous waste sites, and manufacturing facilities located in a Midwestern city of the United States (Chicago, Illinois). An environmental justice organization, People for Community Recovery (PCR), was the community partner. Data was collected during one week in March 2009 from community residents using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including both a focus group and a survey instrument provided to two different resident groups, to understand their attitudes/beliefs about environmental hazards, including exposure to hazardous wastes, landfills, and lead, and their preferences for EHE. The data was analyzed using standard qualitative analytical procedures and statistical software, when appropriate. This research assesses the impact that Environmental Health Education (EHE) can have on: improved civic engagement (i.e., increased int

  10. Harnessing sensor and information/communication technologies to revolutionize how environmental data are collected and integrated to protect public health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacDonell, Margaret M.; Raymond, Michelle; Chang, Young-Soo; Armbruster, Walter J.

    2013-01-01

    Monitoring the levels of pollutants in ambient air has long been the responsibility of environmental agencies, and traditional programs have relied on a relatively small number of fixed stations that are expensive to install and operate. The spatial coverage of pollutant data ranges from limited in many urban areas to very sparse in smaller suburban and rural areas. Increasingly, the latter are being affected by new pollutant sources such as backyard drilling systems for energy development, and concentrated animal feeding operations and biodiesel production facilities on former agricultural lands. Regional measurement stations are not able to inform local communities about the types and concentrations of pollutants in their ambient and indoor air. Meanwhile, epidemiology studies and clinical data continue to indicate a link between air pollutants and adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease. With asthma on the rise and heart disease among the leading killers, the public has become increasingly concerned about knowing what their personal exposure levels are so they can determine appropriate measures to protect their health. To address this long-standing need, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has embarked upon an innovative program to improve the understanding of air pollution at the community and neighborhood scales. This program harnesses striking advances in sensor technology, mobile applications, and environmental informatics, with citizens playing a key role. The goal is to facilitate the development and widespread use of inexpensive mobile sensors, for widespread collection and integration of air quality data by citizens across the nation (and world), to help guide environmental health protection programs. (orig.)

  11. Harnessing sensor and information/communication technologies to revolutionize how environmental data are collected and integrated to protect public health

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MacDonell, Margaret M.; Raymond, Michelle; Chang, Young-Soo [Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL (United States); Armbruster, Walter J. [Farm Foundation, Darien, IL (United States)

    2013-07-01

    Monitoring the levels of pollutants in ambient air has long been the responsibility of environmental agencies, and traditional programs have relied on a relatively small number of fixed stations that are expensive to install and operate. The spatial coverage of pollutant data ranges from limited in many urban areas to very sparse in smaller suburban and rural areas. Increasingly, the latter are being affected by new pollutant sources such as backyard drilling systems for energy development, and concentrated animal feeding operations and biodiesel production facilities on former agricultural lands. Regional measurement stations are not able to inform local communities about the types and concentrations of pollutants in their ambient and indoor air. Meanwhile, epidemiology studies and clinical data continue to indicate a link between air pollutants and adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease. With asthma on the rise and heart disease among the leading killers, the public has become increasingly concerned about knowing what their personal exposure levels are so they can determine appropriate measures to protect their health. To address this long-standing need, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has embarked upon an innovative program to improve the understanding of air pollution at the community and neighborhood scales. This program harnesses striking advances in sensor technology, mobile applications, and environmental informatics, with citizens playing a key role. The goal is to facilitate the development and widespread use of inexpensive mobile sensors, for widespread collection and integration of air quality data by citizens across the nation (and world), to help guide environmental health protection programs. (orig.)

  12. Opportunities for Public Relations Research in Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, Kurt

    2001-01-01

    Considers how communication researchers have developed a solid body of knowledge in the health field but know little about the activities of public relations practitioners in public health bodies. Suggests that public relations scholarship and practice have much to offer the field of public health in helping public health bodies meet their…

  13. Public health policies to encourage healthy eating habits: recent perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorski, Mary T; Roberto, Christina A

    2015-01-01

    There is an urgent need to address unhealthy dietary patterns at the population level. Poor diet and physical inactivity are key drivers of the obesity pandemic, and they are among the leading causes of preventable death and disability in nearly every country in the world. As countries grapple with the growing obesity prevalence, many innovative policy options to reduce overeating and improve diet quality remain largely unexplored. We describe recent trends in eating habits and consequences for public health, vulnerabilities to unhealthy eating, and the role for public health policies. We reviewed recent public health policies to promote healthier diet patterns, including mandates, restrictions, economic incentives, marketing limits, information provision, and environmental defaults.

  14. Interdisciplinary Dissertation Research Among Public Health Doctoral Trainees, 2003-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golembiewski, Elizabeth H; Holmes, Ann M; Jackson, Joanna R; Brown-Podgorski, Brittany L; Menachemi, Nir

    Given the call for more interdisciplinary research in public health, the objectives of this study were to (1) examine the correlates of interdisciplinary dissertation completion and (2) identify secondary fields most common among interdisciplinary public health graduates. We analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from 11 120 doctoral graduates in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2003-2015. The primary outcome was interdisciplinary dissertation completion. Covariates included primary public health field, sociodemographic characteristics, and institutional attributes. From 2003 to 2015, a total of 4005 of 11 120 (36.0%) doctoral graduates in public health reported interdisciplinary dissertations, with significant increases observed in recent years. Compared with general public health graduates, graduates of environmental health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.74; P dissertation work, whereas graduates from biostatistics (OR = 0.51; P dissertation was associated with being male, a non-US citizen, a graduate of a private institution, and a graduate of an institution with high but not the highest level of research activity. Many secondary dissertation fields reported by interdisciplinary graduates included other public health fields. Although interdisciplinary dissertation research among doctoral graduates in public health has increased in recent years, such work is bounded in certain fields of public health and certain types of graduates and institutions. Academic administrators and other stakeholders may use these results to inform greater interdisciplinary activity during doctoral training and to evaluate current and future collaborations across departments or schools.

  15. Critical issues in the development of health information systems in supporting environmental health: a case study of ciguatera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goater, Sarah; Derne, Bonnie; Weinstein, Philip

    2011-05-01

    Emerging environmental pressures resulting from climate change and globalization challenge the capacity of health information systems (HIS) in the Pacific to inform future policy and public health interventions. Ciguatera, a globally common marine food-borne illness, is used here to illustrate specific HIS challenges in the Pacific and how these might be overcome proactively to meet the changing surveillance needs resulting from environmental change. We review and highlight inefficiencies in the reactive nature of existing HIS in the Pacific to collect, collate, and communicate ciguatera fish poisoning data currently used to inform public health intervention. Further, we review the capacity of existing HIS to respond to new data needs associated with shifts in ciguatera disease burden likely to result from coral reef habitat disruption. Improved knowledge on the ecological drivers of ciguatera prevalence at local and regional levels is needed, combined with enhanced surveillance techniques and data management systems, to capture environmental drivers as well as health outcomes data. The capacity of public HIS to detect and prevent future outbreaks is largely dependent on the future development of governance strategies that promote proactive surveillance and health action. Accordingly, we present an innovative framework from which to stimulate scientific debate on how this might be achieved by using existing larger scale data sets and multidisciplinary collaborations.

  16. Public participation in environmental issues in Taiwan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, K.K.

    1994-01-01

    It is natural in a democratic society that people request more participation in the decision making process. The once centralized government was however reluctant to open more room in this regard concerning the nuclear power industry and radioactive waste management. The environmental impact assessment provided the statuary ground, although limited, for public participation in the environmental issues. A comprehensive social communication program which consists of public information, public education, public relation, and public participation must be established to ensure the smooth realization of a development project. This paper described the relevant situations in Taiwan and recommended various practices to alleviate the NIMBY syndrome. These descriptions and recommendations would be useful particularly for the third world countries facing emerging environmental issues in the near future

  17. 78 FR 27196 - Modification of Permit Application and Intent for Additional Public Scoping for an Environmental...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-09

    ... Application and Intent for Additional Public Scoping for an Environmental Impact Statement for the Port of... Mississippi State Port Authority (MSPA) for which an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared... Low-Income Populations; Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks...

  18. Ethics in public health research: privacy and public health at risk: public health confidentiality in the digital age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Julie; Frieden, Thomas R; Bherwani, Kamal M; Henning, Kelly J

    2008-05-01

    Public health agencies increasingly use electronic means to acquire, use, maintain, and store personal health information. Electronic data formats can improve performance of core public health functions, but potentially threaten privacy because they can be easily duplicated and transmitted to unauthorized people. Although such security breaches do occur, electronic data can be better secured than paper records, because authentication, authorization, auditing, and accountability can be facilitated. Public health professionals should collaborate with law and information technology colleagues to assess possible threats, implement updated policies, train staff, and develop preventive engineering measures to protect information. Tightened physical and electronic controls can prevent misuse of data, minimize the risk of security breaches, and help maintain the reputation and integrity of public health agencies.

  19. How can a climate change perspective be integrated into public health surveillance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pascal, M; Viso, A C; Medina, S; Delmas, M C; Beaudeau, P

    2012-08-01

    Climate change may be considered as a key factor for environmental change, exposure to health risks and pathogens, consequently impairing the state of health among populations. Efficient health surveillance systems are required to support adaptation to climate change. However, despite a growing awareness, the public health surveillance sector has had very little involvement in the drafting of adaptation plans. This paper proposes a method to raise awareness about climate change in the public health community, to identify possible health risks and to assess the needs for reinforced health surveillance systems. A working group was set up comprising surveillance experts in the following fields: environmental health; chronic diseases and; infectious diseases. Their goal was to define common objectives, to propose a framework for risk analysis, and to apply it to relevant health risks in France. The framework created helped to organize available information on climate-sensitive health risks, making a distinction between three main determinants as follows: (1) environment; (2) individual and social behaviours; and (3) demography and health status. The process is illustrated using two examples: heatwaves and airborne allergens. Health surveillance systems can be used to trigger early warning systems, to create databases which improve scientific knowledge about the health impacts of climate change, to identify and prioritize needs for intervention and adaptation measures, and to evaluate these measures. Adaptation requires public health professionals to consider climate change as a concrete input parameter in their studies and to create partnerships with professionals from other disciplines. Copyright © 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. [Terrorism, public health and health services].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arcos González, Pedro; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Cuartas Alvarez, Tatiana; Pérez-Berrocal Alonso, Jorge

    2009-01-01

    Today the terrorism is a problem of global distribution and increasing interest for the international public health. The terrorism related violence affects the public health and the health care services in an important way and in different scopes, among them, increase mortality, morbidity and disability, generates a context of fear and anxiety that makes the psychopathological diseases very frequent, seriously alters the operation of the health care services and produces important social, political and economic damages. These effects are, in addition, especially intense when the phenomenon takes place on a chronic way in a community. The objective of this paper is to examine the relation between terrorism and public health, focusing on its effects on public health and the health care services, as well as to examine the possible frames to face the terrorism as a public health concern, with special reference to the situation in Spain. To face this problem, both the public health systems and the health care services, would have to especially adapt their approaches and operational methods in six high-priority areas related to: (1) the coordination between the different health and non health emergency response agencies; (2) the reinforcement of the epidemiological surveillance systems; (3) the improvement of the capacities of the public health laboratories and response emergency care systems to specific types of terrorism as the chemical or biological terrorism; (3) the mental health services; (4) the planning and coordination of the emergency response of the health services; (5) the relations with the population and mass media and, finally; (6) a greater transparency in the diffusion of the information and a greater degree of analysis of the carried out health actions in the scope of the emergency response.

  1. Radiological protection, environmental implications, health and risk management: forum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    Topics related to the radioactivity or radiation are presented. The importance of protection and security measures that are required both for public health, occupational health and the medical radiation is analyzed. In addition, it emphasizes the risks faced by professionals who work with radioactivity. Issues that confront the serious environmental implications of such activities are also showed [es

  2. Genetics, health care, and public policy: an introduction to public health genetics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Stewart, Alison

    2007-01-01

    ... initiative About this book Further reading and resources Principles of public health The emergence of public health genetics The human genome project and 'genomic medicine' Community genetics Current developments in public health genetics Genomics and global health 2 Genetic science and technology Basic molecular genetics Genes and the geno...

  3. [Environmental licensing of major undertakings: possible connection between health and environment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silveira, Missifany; Araújo Neto, Mário Diniz de

    2014-09-01

    The prospect of multidisciplinary assessment that considers the environmental impacts on the health of the population during the implementation of potentially polluting projects is incipient in Brazil. Considering the scenario of major undertakings in the country, broadening the outlook on the health and environment relationship based on social and economic development processes striving for environmentally sustainable projects is a key strategy. This article examines the debate on the relationship between the current development model, the risks, the environment and health and discusses the importance of the participation of the health sector in the environmental licensing procedures, which is the instrument of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Seeking to create more environmentally and socially sustainable territories, the health sector has been looking for opportunities to participate in the licensing processes of major undertakings from the EIA standpoint. Results of research conducted by the Ministry of Health have demonstrated the form of participation in these processes, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses that favor or hinder the increase of preventive actions in public health in the implementation of major undertakings in Brazil.

  4. Global health and development: conceptualizing health between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borowy, Iris

    2013-07-01

    After World War II, health was firmly integrated into the discourse about national development. Transition theories portrayed health improvements as part of an overall development pattern based on economic growth as modeled by the recent history of industrialization in high-income countries. In the 1970s, an increasing awareness of the environmental degradation caused by industrialization challenged the conventional model of development. Gradually, it became clear that health improvements depended on poverty-reduction strategies including industrialization. Industrialization, in turn, risked aggravating environmental degradation with its negative effects on public health. Thus, public health in low-income countries threatened to suffer from lack of economic development as well as from the results of global economic development. Similarly, demands of developing countries risked being trapped between calls for global wealth redistribution, a political impossibility, and calls for unrestricted material development, which, in a world of finite land, water, air, energy, and resources, increasingly looked like a physical impossibility, too. Various international bodies, including the WHO, the Brundtland Commission, and the World Bank, tried to capture the problem and solution strategies in development theories. Broadly conceived, two models have emerged: a "localist model," which analyzes national health data and advocates growth policies with a strong focus on poverty reduction, and a "globalist" model, based on global health data, which calls for growth optimization, rather than maximization. Both models have focused on different types of health burdens and have received support from different institutions. In a nutshell, the health discourse epitomized a larger controversy regarding competing visions of development.

  5. Health-Related Education for Sustainability: Public Health Workforce Needs and the Role of Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Rebecca; Kingsley, Jonathan; Capetola, Teresa

    2016-01-01

    Public health practitioners have important roles to play in addressing environmental sustainability imperatives that have an impact on human health. Yet, to date, the extent to which practitioners are willing and able to address these issues is an understudied subject. This article draws on the findings of two qualitative studies involving 49…

  6. Environmental health studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Easterly, C.E.; Shank, K.E.

    1978-01-01

    The two major thrusts of the environmental health studies have been in the areas of health physics aspects of fusion power and methodology for assessing health effects related to nuclear facilities. Researchers were unable to discern a dose-response relationship or to find adverse health effects in the local population around nuclear facilities which might be related to radiation exposure. A second study analyzed the trends in incidence of cancer, congenital malformation, and fetal and infant mortality for Oak Ridge, Anderson County, and Roane County relative to Tennessee. Finally, a more in-depth study on congenital malformations and fetal mortality trends for nine East Tennessee counties surrounding Oak Ridge was completed. The objective of the Health Physics Aspects of Fusion Power Program is to provide, on a timely basis, scientific information and technical evaluations on the potential impacts of fusion power to occupational workers and to members of the public. The primary areas of study in this program during the past year have been (1) factors affecting calculations of dose resulting from a release of tritium, (2) an assessment of the potential for reducing occupational risk from exposures to tritium, and (3) experimental studies of tritium conversion from molecular hydrogen to tritiated water

  7. Primary care pediatrics and public health: meeting the needs of today's children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Alice A; Etzel, Ruth A; Chilton, Lance A; Watson, Camille; Gorski, Peter A

    2012-12-01

    The proportion of children suffering from chronic illnesses--such as asthma and obesity, which have significant environmental components--is increasing. Chronic disease states previously seen only in adulthood are emerging during childhood, and health inequalities by social class are increasing. Advocacy to ensure environmental health and to protect from the biological embedding of toxic stress has become a fundamental part of pediatrics. We have presented the rationale for addressing environmental and social determinants of children's health, the epidemiology of issues facing children's health, recent innovations in pediatric medical education that have incorporated public health principles, and policy opportunities that have arisen with the passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

  8. Heat stress and public health: a critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovats, R Sari; Hajat, Shakoor

    2008-01-01

    Heat is an environmental and occupational hazard. The prevention of deaths in the community caused by extreme high temperatures (heat waves) is now an issue of public health concern. The risk of heat-related mortality increases with natural aging, but persons with particular social and/or physical vulnerability are also at risk. Important differences in vulnerability exist between populations, depending on climate, culture, infrastructure (housing), and other factors. Public health measures include health promotion and heat wave warning systems, but the effectiveness of acute measures in response to heat waves has not yet been formally evaluated. Climate change will increase the frequency and the intensity of heat waves, and a range of measures, including improvements to housing, management of chronic diseases, and institutional care of the elderly and the vulnerable, will need to be developed to reduce health impacts.

  9. Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Karen

    2016-10-12

    Gender continues to be a relatively marginal issue in environmental justice debates and yet it remains an important aspect of injustice. To help redress the balance, this article explores women's experience of environmental justice through a review of the existing literature and the author's prior qualitative research, as well as her experience of environmental activism. The analysis confirms that women tend to experience inequitable environmental burdens (distributional injustice); and are less likely than men to have control over environmental decisions (procedural injustice), both of which impact on their health (substantive injustice). It is argued that these injustices occur because women generally have lower incomes than men and are perceived as having less social status than their male counterparts as a result of entwined and entrenched capitalist and patriarchal processes. In the light of this analysis, it is proposed that environmental justice research, teaching, policy and practice should be made more gender aware and feminist orientated. This could support cross-cutting debates and activities in support of the radical social change necessary to bring about greater social and environmental justice more generally.

  10. Salaries and compensation practices in public health, environmental, and agricultural laboratories: findings from a 2010 national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeBoy, John M; Boulton, Matthew L; Carpenter, David F

    2013-01-01

    The public health, environmental, and agricultural laboratory (PHEAL) workforce is a key component of the public health infrastructure. The national laboratory workforce faces an ongoing challenge of recruitment and retention of workers often related to pay and other compensation issues. To collect information on laboratory salaries and laboratory compensation practices using a national compensation survey targeting the PHEAL workforce. Seventy-three of 109 (67%) PHEAL directors in the 50 states and District of Columbia collectively employ 3723/4830 (77%) PHEAL employees in the United States. A standardized survey was developed and administered in 2010. Compensation data were compiled by job classification, geographic region, laboratory gross operating budget size, laboratory staff size, and laboratory type. Laboratory staff size ranged from 3 to 327 individuals (mean = 74 and median = 51). Median base salaries were lowest in the Southwest and South and highest in the Mountain and Pacific regions. Mean and median laboratory gross operating budgets for all participating PHEALs were $8 609 238 and $5 671 500, respectively. Extra cash compensation, used by 8 of 60 (13.3%) PHEALs, was more likely to go to a scientist-manager or scientist-supervisor. In 2010, a standardized national compensation survey of technical and scientific public health employees working in 73 PHEALs was effective in collecting previously unavailable data about laboratory salaries, laboratory budgets, and payroll practices. Laboratory salaries varied by geographic region and there was an uneven distribution of extra cash compensation among job classifications. The compensation data collected may be useful in characterizing and improving laboratory salary structures and practices to better support workforce recruitment and retention.

  11. The examination of radiological monitoring on Okayama Prefectural Institute for Environmental Science and Public Health

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanematsu, Seiko [Okayama Prefectural Inst. for Environmental Science and Public Health (Japan)

    2000-09-01

    We evaluated the environment around Ningyotoge in the northern part of Okayama Prefecture. Environmental gamma ray measurement results were evaluated by TLD at the time of confirming an investigation using a continuous gamma ray monitor. Doses during that time span for passing persons and individuals in the area were lower than 89 nGy/h. We observed Fading for TLD. The result was that the Fading revision coefficient for the Tenno district in Ningyotoge between October 10, 1997 to December 18, 1997 was 1.02. That for the premises of the Okayama Prefectural Institute for Environmental Science and Public Health was 1.05. The Tenno district in Ningyotoge during the period between June 29, 1998 to October 6, 1998 was 1.04. A relationship between the height from the ground and gamma ray dose was found. A straight line was shown by both logarithm graphs. We evaluated radioactive wastewater. When considering the processing of wastewater that flows into rivers, a discharge of zero release is desirable. We evaluated the BOD, COD, etc, as well as the radioactive materials that are processed by microbes such as Bacillus and Arthrobacter. (author)

  12. Motivators and Barriers to Incorporating Climate Change-Related Health Risks in Environmental Health Impact Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    Turner, Lyle R.; Alderman, Katarzyna; Connell, Des; Tong, Shilu

    2013-01-01

    Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within...

  13. Pigs in Public Health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svendsen, Mette N.

    2017-01-01

    of public health, made me re-evaluate both what ‘public’ and what ‘health’ means in public health. In this commentary I provide a short personal account of that intellectual journey. I argue that entanglements between species make it urgent that public health scholars investigate the moral, socio......Animals are rare topics in public health science texts and speech despite the fact that animal bodies and lives are woven into the health of human populations, and vice versa. Years of ethnographic and documentary research – following pigs and their humans in and out of biomedical research – made......-economic, material, and bacterial passages between humans and animals that constitute the various publics of public health and profoundly shape the health of human and animal populations in a globalized world....

  14. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF A HEALTH TECHNOLOGY: A SCOPING REVIEW.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polisena, Julie; De Angelis, Gino; Kaunelis, David; Gutierrez-Ibarluzea, Iñaki

    2018-06-13

    The Health Technology Expert Review Panel is an advisory body to Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) that develops recommendations on health technology assessments (HTAs) for nondrug health technologies using a deliberative framework. The framework spans several domains, including the environmental impact of the health technology(ies). Our research objective was to identify articles on frameworks, methods or case studies on the environmental impact assessment of health technologies. A literature search in major databases and a focused gray literature search were conducted. The main search concepts were HTA and environmental impact/sustainability. Eligible articles were those that described a conceptual framework or methods used to conduct an environmental assessment of health technologies, and case studies on the application of an environmental assessment. From the 1,710 citations identified, thirteen publications were included. Two articles presented a framework to incorporate environmental assessment in HTAs. Other approaches described weight of evidence practices and comprehensive and integrated environmental impact assessments. Central themes derived include transparency and repeatability, integration of components in a framework or of evidence into a single outcome, data availability to ensure the accuracy of findings, and familiarity with the approach used. Each framework and methods presented have different foci related to the ecosystem, health economics, or engineering practices. Their descriptions suggested transparency, repeatability, and the integration of components or of evidence into a single outcome as their main strengths. Our review is an initial step of a larger initiative by CADTH to develop the methods and processes to address the environmental impact question in an HTA.

  15. The need for a uniform European environmental health database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stern, Richard M.; Tarkowski, Stanislaw

    1989-01-01

    Data on which to base the setting of priorities for implementing strategies to reduce public health risks must be of sufficient quality to justify semiquantitative risk assessment. Clusters of negative health outcomes have traditionally alerted authorities at local or national levels to the potential need for regulating suspected environmental hazards, although most initial observations neither reach statistical significance nor uniquely identify putative insults. Four classes of risk factors (environmental and occupational exposures, lifestyle, individual susceptibility, and access to and quality of primary health care) may each account for approximately one quarter of the observed variations in death from the most common causes (e.g. heart and cerebrovascular disease, cancer, and accidents). Preliminary evidence within Europe shows that local mortality from these and other causes can vary by a factor of 2 to 6 regardless of the scale of the region examined, strongly implying a fractile-like structure to the non-uniformity of possibly random health data. This suggests that efforts to identify causes of variations in health outcome cannot be successful without a region-wide, reasonably uniform data set of health outcomes and potential risk factors. Several alternative strategies for establishing a Uniform European Environmental Health Database are considered, together with possible mechanisms for providing basic information for the management of suspected environmental health hazards and quantified health risks. (author)

  16. Health and environmental aspects of nuclear fuel cycle facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-11-01

    The purpose of the present publication is to give a generic description of health and environmental aspects of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Primarily the report is meant to stand alone; however, because of the content of the publication and in the context of the DECADES project, it may serve as a means of introducing specialists in other fuel cycles to the nuclear fuel cycle. Refs, figs, tabs

  17. PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 2018 FEDERAL PHYSICAL ACITIVTY GUIDELINES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Title: Public Comment on Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Author: Wayne E. Cascio, Director, Environmental Public Health Division, US EPA Abstract: In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines, the effects of air pollution and advers...

  18. Environmental and occupational exposures in immigrant health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eamranond, Pracha P; Hu, Howard

    2008-09-23

    Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation's health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status.

  19. Environmental and Occupational Exposures in Immigrant Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pracha P. Eamranond

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Immigrants comprise vulnerable populations that are frequently exposed to a multitude of environmental and occupational hazards. The historical context behind state and federal legislation has helped to foster an environment that is particularly hostile toward caring for immigrant health. Current hazards include toxic exposures, air and noise pollution, motor vehicle accidents, crowded living and work environments with inadequate ventilation, poor sanitation, mechanical injury, among many others. Immigrants lack the appropriate training, materials, health care access, and other resources to reduce their exposure to preventable environmental and occupational health risks. This dilemma is exacerbated by current anti-immigrant sentiments, miscommunication between native and immigrant populations, and legislation denying immigrants access to publicly funded medical care. Given that current health policy has failed to address immigrant health appropriately and political impetus is lacking, efforts should also focus on alternative solutions, including organized labor. Labor unions that serve to educate workers, survey work environments, and defend worker rights will greatly alleviate and prevent the burden of disease incurred by immigrants. The nation’s health will benefit from improved regulation of living and workplace environments to improve the health of immigrants, regardless of legal status.

  20. Environmental policy and public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Johnson, Barry L. (Barry Lee)

    2007-01-01

    ... or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission ...

  1. Profile of Public Health Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Ruth Gaskins; Greer, Annette; Clay, Maria; McFadden, Cheryl

    2016-01-01

    Public health leaders play pivotal roles in ensuring the population health for our nation. Since 2000, the number of schools of public health has almost doubled. The scholarly credentials for leaders of public health in academic and practice are important, as they make decisions that shape the future public health workforce and important public health policies. This research brief describes the educational degrees of deans of schools of public health and state health directors, as well as their demographic profiles, providing important information for future public health leadership planning. Data were extracted from a database containing information obtained from multiple Web sites including academic institution Web sites and state government Web sites. Variables describe 2 sets of public health leaders: academic deans of schools of public health and state health directors. Deans of schools of public health were 73% males and 27% females; the PhD degree was held by 40% deans, and the MD degree by 33% deans. Seventy percent of deans obtained their terminal degree more than 35 years ago. State health directors were 60% males and 40% females. Sixty percent of state health directors had an MD degree, 4% a PhD degree, and 26% no terminal degree at all. Sixty-four percent of state health directors received their terminal degree more than 25 years ago. In addition to terminal degrees, 56% of deans and 40% of state health directors held MPH degrees. The findings call into question competencies needed by future public health professionals and leadership and the need to clarify further the level of public health training and degree type that should be required for leadership qualifications in public health.

  2. Public Health Departments

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — State and Local Public Health Departments in the United States Governmental public health departments are responsible for creating and maintaining conditions that...

  3. Making environmental health interesting for medical students-internet assisted facilitated collaborative learning approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudharsanam, Manni Balasubramaniam

    2014-01-01

    Topics on environmental health are usually neglected by students and it is necessary for them to learn this area with a public health perspective as environment plays a vital role in multi-factorial causation of diseases. Hence there is a need for alternative teaching/learning methods to facilitate students in acquiring the required knowledge. To increase the student interest and enhance their participation in acquiring knowledge in public health perspective of environmental health. Teaching Objectives/Learning Were: At the end of the session students should know the importance of air as an environmental factor in disease causation in special reference to public health hazards, the major sources of air pollution, major pollutants causing the health hazards, the way to measure pollutants and control them. The whole class of students was divided into two batches and one session was planned for each batch. Each batch was divided into six small groups. The groups were given task of exploring the internet on the different topics mentioned in the learning objectives. All the students were asked to explore, compile information and collectively prepare a presentation and present their findings based on their reviews. Students' feedback was collected at the end of each session. Eighty five percent of them were clear about the learning objectives and interested about internet learning. Most of them gave a positive opinion about the newer teaching learning method. Internet assisted group study served as a valuable alternative, innovative, and interesting tool to teach and learn the environmental health as revealed by students' feedback.

  4. Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Bell

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Gender continues to be a relatively marginal issue in environmental justice debates and yet it remains an important aspect of injustice. To help redress the balance, this article explores women’s experience of environmental justice through a review of the existing literature and the author’s prior qualitative research, as well as her experience of environmental activism. The analysis confirms that women tend to experience inequitable environmental burdens (distributional injustice; and are less likely than men to have control over environmental decisions (procedural injustice, both of which impact on their health (substantive injustice. It is argued that these injustices occur because women generally have lower incomes than men and are perceived as having less social status than their male counterparts as a result of entwined and entrenched capitalist and patriarchal processes. In the light of this analysis, it is proposed that environmental justice research, teaching, policy and practice should be made more gender aware and feminist orientated. This could support cross-cutting debates and activities in support of the radical social change necessary to bring about greater social and environmental justice more generally.

  5. Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Karen

    2016-01-01

    Gender continues to be a relatively marginal issue in environmental justice debates and yet it remains an important aspect of injustice. To help redress the balance, this article explores women’s experience of environmental justice through a review of the existing literature and the author’s prior qualitative research, as well as her experience of environmental activism. The analysis confirms that women tend to experience inequitable environmental burdens (distributional injustice); and are less likely than men to have control over environmental decisions (procedural injustice), both of which impact on their health (substantive injustice). It is argued that these injustices occur because women generally have lower incomes than men and are perceived as having less social status than their male counterparts as a result of entwined and entrenched capitalist and patriarchal processes. In the light of this analysis, it is proposed that environmental justice research, teaching, policy and practice should be made more gender aware and feminist orientated. This could support cross-cutting debates and activities in support of the radical social change necessary to bring about greater social and environmental justice more generally. PMID:27754351

  6. 78 FR 7794 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-04

    ... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel, Sentinel Animal Study for Public Health. Date: February 27, 2013... from Environmental Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143...; 93.114, Applied Toxicological Research and Testing, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated...

  7. Impact of environmental chemicals, sociodemographic variables, depression, and clinical indicators of health and nutrition on self-reported health status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Public health researchers ideally integrate social, environmental, and clinical measures to identify predictors of poor health. Chemicals measured in human tissues are often evaluated in relation to intangible or rare health outcomes, or are studied one chemical at a time. Using ...

  8. Role of emotion in public information on environmental risk and pre-environmental behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijnders, A.L.; Midden, C.J.H.; Wilke, H.A.M.

    1996-01-01

    What role does emotion play in the provision of public information about· the risks of environmental pollution? This is a question that is asked in the research project on the 'Role of emotion in public information on environmental risks and pro-environmental behaviour'. This article describes the

  9. The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lister, Cameron; Payne, Hannah; Hanson, Carl L; Barnes, Michael D; Davis, Siena F; Manwaring, Todd

    2017-01-01

    Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM) as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

  10. The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cameron Lister

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

  11. The influence of global warming on natural disasters and their public health outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, James H

    2007-01-01

    With a documented increase in average global surface temperatures of 0.6 degrees C since 1975, Earth now appears to be warming due to a variety of climatic effects, most notably the cascading effects of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. There remains, however, no universal agreement on how rapidly, regionally, or asymmetrically the planet will warm or on the true impact of global warming on natural disasters and public health outcomes. Most reports to date of the public health impact of global warming have been anecdotal and retrospective in design and have focused on the increase in heat-stroke deaths following heat waves and on outbreaks of airborne and arthropod-borne diseases following tropical rains and flooding that resulted from fluctuations in ocean temperatures. The effects of global warming on rainfall and drought, tropical cyclone and tsunami activity, and tectonic and volcanic activity will have far-reaching public health effects not only on environmentally associated disease outbreaks but also on global food supplies and population movements. As a result of these and other recognized associations between climate change and public health consequences, many of which have been confounded by deficiencies in public health infrastructure and scientific debates over whether climate changes are spawned by atmospheric cycles or anthropogenic influences, the active responses to progressive climate change must include combinations of economic, environmental, legal, regulatory, and, most importantly, public health measures.

  12. Feminism and public health nursing: partners for health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leipert, B D

    2001-01-01

    It is a well-known fact that nursing and feminism have enjoyed an uneasy alliance. In recent years, however, nursing has begun to recognize the importance of feminism. Nevertheless, the literature still rarely addresses the relevance of feminism for public health nursing. In this article, I articulate the relevance of feminism for public health nursing knowledge and practice. First, I define and describe feminism and public health nursing and then I discuss the importance of feminism for public health nursing practice. The importance of feminism for the metaparadigm concepts of public health nursing is then reviewed. Finally, I examine several existing challenges relating to feminism and public health nursing research, education, and practice. The thesis of this article is that feminism is vitally important for the development of public health nursing and for public health care.

  13. The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Bouzid

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

  14. The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouzid, Maha; Hooper, Lee; Hunter, Paul R

    2013-01-01

    Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

  15. Public health leadership development: factors contributing to growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Linda G

    2013-01-01

    This study compares pre- and posttest Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Self) scores for public health leaders who completed the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL) training program at least 2 years earlier; it seeks to identify factors contributing to changes in practices and overall leadership development for public health and environment leaders. Sixty-seven alumni who completed the yearlong RIHEL program between 1999 and 2002 participated through mailed surveys and phone interviews. The Leadership Practices Inventory, an alumni leadership development survey, and interviews provided evidence for positive change in leadership practices. Alumni experienced significant increases in pre- to post-LPI scores, collaborative leadership practices, and communication skills consistent with those taught in the RIHEL program. Women presented higher Encourage the Heart scores than men. Years of public health service negatively correlated with Total Change scores of LPI. The RIHEL program as a training intervention was credited significantly with changes in leadership practices for alumni studied. Nine influencing factors were identified for leadership development and are embedded in a Leadership Development Influence Model. These include self-awareness, a leadership development framework, and skills important in multiple leadership situations. Confidence was both an encouraging factor and a resulting factor to the increased exemplary leadership practices. Leadership development in public health must include multiple factors to create consistent increases in exemplary leadership practices. While the study focused on the leadership development process itself, RIHEL training was reported as having a positive, significant impact overall in participant leadership development. This study adds research data as a foundation for training content areas of focus. Studies to further test the Leadership Development Influence Model will allow public health

  16. Climate change and health: new challenges for epidemiology and public health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pascal, Mathilde; Beaudeau, Pascal; Laaidi, Karine; Pirard, Philippe; Vautard, Robert

    2015-01-01

    Climate change contributes to a rapid and deep modification of the environment. In the same time, other factors such as population increase, ageing or urbanization increase the vulnerability to various environmental and health risks. Chains of complex interactions are impacting populations' health and well-being. Developing prevention measures is an asset to reduce the health impacts of present climate change (through adaptation measures) and to limit the intensity of future impacts (through mitigation measures). Mitigation will result in major changes in several sectors, for instance housing, transports or agriculture. Taking into account the potential health impacts is important to avoid choices impairing human health, and to maximize health co-benefits. In this paper we propose a reflection on how present and future climate change in France challenges epidemiology and public health in the next few years. While many questions remain unanswered, there is a consensus on the importance of the links between climate change and human health, that can be summarized into three points: 1) climate change already impacts human health, 2) adaptation and mitigation are needed to reduce those impacts, 3) adaptation and mitigation can rely on immediate measures that would be beneficial for health and for climate. An integrated and interdisciplinary approach is essential to tackle the complexity of the issue, of its implications for public health, for research, surveillance and intervention. (authors)

  17. Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative: A Successful Model for Integrating Environmental Health into Pediatric Health Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Bonnie; McCurdy, Leyla Erk; Slavin, Katie; Grubb, Kimberly; Roberts, James R.

    2009-01-01

    Background Pediatric medical and nursing education lack the environmental health content needed to properly prepare health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental exposure–related diseases. The need for improvements in health care professionals’ environmental health knowledge has been expressed by leading institutions. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of programs that incorporate pediatric environmental health (PEH) into curricula and practice. Objective We evaluated the effectiveness of the National Environmental Education Foundation’s (NEEF) Children’s Environmental Health Faculty Champions Initiative, which is designed to build environmental health capacity among pediatric health care professionals. Methods Twenty-eight pediatric health care professionals participated in a train-the-trainer workshop, in which they were educated to train other health care professionals in PEH and integrate identified PEH competencies into medical and nursing practice and curricula. We evaluated the program using a workshop evaluation tool, action plan, pre- and posttests, baseline and progress assessments, and telephone interviews. Results During the 12 months following the workshop, the faculty champions’ average pretest score of 52% was significantly elevated (p < 0.0001) to 65.5% on the first posttest and to 71.5% on the second posttest, showing an increase and retention of environmental health knowledge. Faculty champions trained 1,559 health care professionals in PEH, exceeding the goal of 280 health care professionals trained. Ninety percent of faculty champions reported that PEH had been integrated into the curricula at their institution. Conclusion The initiative was highly effective in achieving its goal of building environmental health capacity among health care professionals. The faculty champions model is a successful method and can be replicated in other arenas. PMID:19478972

  18. Fine-Scale Environmental Indicators of Public Health and Well-Being for Urban Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urban ecosystem services contribute to public health and well-being by buffering natural and man-made hazards, and by promoting healthful lifestyles that include physical activity, social interaction, and engagement with nature. As part of the EnviroAtlas online mapping tool, EP...

  19. Methodological aspects of a GIS-based environmental health inspection program used in the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Soteriades, Elpidoforos S; Kolonia, Virginia; Falagas, Matthew E; Pantelopoulos, Efstathios; Panagakos, Georgios; Mouchtouri, Varvara; Kremastinou, Jeni

    2005-09-02

    The use of geographical information system (GIS) technologies in public health surveillance is gradually gaining momentum around the world and many applications have already been reported in the literature. In this study, GIS technology was used to help county departments of Public Health to implement environmental health surveillance for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic Games. In order to assess the workload in each Olympic county, 19 registry forms and 17 standardized inspection forms were developed to register and inspect environmental health items requiring inspection (Hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, water supply system etc), respectively. Furthermore, related databases were created using Epi Info 2002 and a geographical information system (GIS) were used to implement an integrated Environmental Health inspection program. The project was conducted in Athens by the Olympic Planning Unit (OPU) of the National School of Public Health, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity and the corresponding departments of Public Health in all municipalities that were scheduled to host events during the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic games. A total of 44,741 premises of environmental health interest were geocoded into GIS databases and several electronic maps were developed. Using such maps in association with specific criteria, we first identified the maximum workload required to execute environmental health inspections in all premises within the eleven Olympic County Departments of Public Health. Six different scenarios were created for each county, based on devised algorithms in order to design the most effective and realistic inspection program using the available inspectors from each municipality. Furthermore, GIS applications were used to organize the daily inspection program for the Olympic games, provide coloured displays of the inspection results and link those results with the public health surveillance of specific

  20. Methodological aspects of a GIS-based environmental health inspection program used in the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic Games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pantelopoulos Efstathios

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The use of geographical information system (GIS technologies in public health surveillance is gradually gaining momentum around the world and many applications have already been reported in the literature. In this study, GIS technology was used to help county departments of Public Health to implement environmental health surveillance for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic Games. Methods In order to assess the workload in each Olympic county, 19 registry forms and 17 standardized inspection forms were developed to register and inspect environmental health items requiring inspection (Hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, water supply system etc, respectively. Furthermore, related databases were created using Epi Info 2002 and a geographical information system (GIS were used to implement an integrated Environmental Health inspection program. The project was conducted in Athens by the Olympic Planning Unit (OPU of the National School of Public Health, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity and the corresponding departments of Public Health in all municipalities that were scheduled to host events during the Athens 2004 Olympic and Para Olympic games. Results A total of 44,741 premises of environmental health interest were geocoded into GIS databases and several electronic maps were developed. Using such maps in association with specific criteria, we first identified the maximum workload required to execute environmental health inspections in all premises within the eleven Olympic County Departments of Public Health. Six different scenarios were created for each county, based on devised algorithms in order to design the most effective and realistic inspection program using the available inspectors from each municipality. Furthermore, GIS applications were used to organize the daily inspection program for the Olympic games, provide coloured displays of the inspection results and link those

  1. Advancing Environmental Health: A Ballroom Dance Between Human Health and Earth Sciences Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, A.

    2016-12-01

    The mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. Translation of this mission into a meaningful reality entails extensive interdisciplinary interactions, expertise, and collaborations between the traditional health and earth sciences communities. Efforts to advance our understanding of adverse effects and illness associated with environmental factors requires not only a refined understanding of the biological mechanisms and pathways (e.g., inflammation, epigenetic changes, oxidative stress, mutagenesis, etc.) related to function and disease, but also the incredibly broad and complex environmental exposures and systems that influence these processes. Further complicating efforts to understand such interactions is the need to take into account individual susceptibility to disease across the human life span. While it is clear that environmental exposures can be readily linked to disease in individuals and to disproportionate health disparities in populations, the underlying risk factors for such findings are often elusive. Health and earth scientists have a long tradition of crossing their scientific divides to work together on a wide range of problems and issues, including disasters. Emergency situations, such as the environmental asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana, the Gulf Oil Spill, numerous chemical releases into air and water, wildfires, the World Trade Center Attack, and responses to Ebola, and now Zika, demand the collective expertise of the "environmental health sciences enterprise" to protect the public's health, facilitate recovery, and improve future preparedness. Furthermore, such high visibility efforts stand as a clear example of what human and earth sciences research can accomplish when transformative interdisciplinary approaches and a diverse well-trained cadre of scientists dance together on the ballroom floor.

  2. Better Communication for Better Public Health: Perspectives From an Interdisciplinary Training Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shlafer, Rebecca J; McRee, Annie-Laurie; Gower, Amy L; Bearinger, Linda H

    2016-03-01

    Myriad factors determine the health of young people-biological, psychological, familial, contextual, environmental, and political, to name a few. Improving the health of adolescents means that leaders in health care and public health must have the requisite skills for translating research into priorities, practices, and policies that influence a wide array of health determinants. While adolescent health training programs may give emphasis to effective communication with adolescents as patients or as priority populations in health education/promotion efforts, are we adequately preparing our future leaders with the skill sets necessary for moving scientific evidence into practice, programs, and policies? Internship and fellowship programs may invest heavily in teaching skills for conducting research and health education/promotion, but they may not focus enough on how to translate scientific evidence into practice, programs, and policy. In this commentary, we share our experiences equipping professionals working with adolescents in health care and public health settings with skills for scientific writing, public speaking, and advocacy on behalf of young people, and discuss the need for more collaboration across disciplines. © 2016 Society for Public Health Education.

  3. Clean air plans and action plans: perspectives from the viewpoint of environmental and public health; Luftreinhalteplaene und Aktionsplaene - eine Bewertung aus umweltmedizinischer Sicht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eikmann, T.; Herr, C. [Inst. fuer Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Universitaetsklinikum Giessen und Marburg, Justus-Liebig-Univ. Giessen, Giessen (Germany); [Technische Univ. Dreden, Pirna (Germany). Inst. fuer Abfallwirtschaft und Altlasten; Koeckler, H. [Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), Univ. Kassel (Germany); [Mentec GmbH, Aue/Sa. (Germany); Nieden, A. zur [Inst. fuer Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Universitaetsklinikum Giessen und Marburg, Justus-Liebig-Univ. Giessen, Giessen (Germany); FG Stadtklimatologie, Univ. Kassel (Germany); Katzschner, L. [FG Stadtklimatologie, Univ. Kassel (Germany); [INTECUS Dresden GmbH (Germany); Schimmelpfennig, M. [Gesundheitsamt der Stadt Kassel (Germany); Eikmann, S. [GUK - Gesellschaft fuer Umwelttoxikologie und Krankenhaushygiene mbH, Wetzlar (Germany)

    2005-07-01

    The present discussion on the health effects associated with airborne fine particulate matter has lead to an increased public interest in the general framework of compilation and evaluation of clean air plans and actions plans. While the surveys of the ''old'' clean air plans of the 80ies and 90ies of the last century relied on assessment of direct and indirect effects of air pollution on human health (and ecology), theses surveys are not part of the ''new'' clean air plans according to European law. This reduction of surveys and actions directed at threshold compliance only, abandons assessing, i.e., documentation and evaluation the health status and quality of life of populations. Assessment of individual and focus group specific sensibility and vulnerability becomes possible once health related, sociodemographic and environmental data are combined. By this, unequal life chance, i.e., unimpaired health as well as reasonable strategies towards minimizing environmental injustice can be identified. As of yet it is unclear, to what extend quality of life and quality of environment of populations living in air polluted areas are attributable to socioeconomic factors. Likewise, it is not known to which degree the environmental quality of individuals and families is self determined. This has to be considered especially for children, immigrants and women. These issues i.e., environmental justice/injustice should be considered in future projects on the development of clean air plans and especially actions plans derived thereof. Scientists, government officials and physicians working in field of preventive or environmental medicine cannot agree to a limitation of the cautionary principle to the bare compliance with thresholds. (orig.)

  4. The next public health revolution: public health information fusion and social networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Ali S; Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L

    2010-07-01

    Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action.

  5. Feminism and public health ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, W A

    2006-06-01

    This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health.

  6. Public health and Plowshare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terrill, Jr, J G [Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, U.S. PubIic Health Service, Washington, DC (United States)

    1969-07-01

    The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

  7. Public health and Plowshare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terrill, J.G. Jr.

    1969-01-01

    The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

  8. Policy Directions Addressing the Public Health Impact of Climate Change in South Korea: The Climate-change Health Adaptation and Mitigation Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Yong Seung; Ha, Jongsik

    2012-01-01

    Climate change, caused by global warming, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Climate change concurrently has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and public health systems undermining human health as a whole. Environmental health policy-makers need to make use of political and technological alternatives to address these ramifying effects. The objective of this paper is to review public health policy in Korea, as well as internationally, particularly as it relates to climate change health adaptation and mitigation programs (such as C-CHAMP of Korea), in order to assess and elicit directions for a robust environmental health policy that is adaptive to the health impacts of climate change. In Korea, comprehensive measures to prevent or mitigate overall health effects are limited, and the diffusion of responsibility among various government departments makes consistency in policy execution very difficult. This paper proposes integration, synergy, and utilization as the three core principles of policy direction for the assessment and adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. For specific action plans, we suggest policy making based on scientifically integrated health impact assessments and the prioritization of environmental factors in climate change; the development of practical and technological tools that support policy decisions by making their political implementation more efficient; and customized policy development that deals with the vulnerability of local communities.

  9. Policy Directions Addressing the Public Health Impact of Climate Change in South Korea: The Climate-change Health Adaptation and Mitigation Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Yong Seung

    2012-01-01

    Climate change, caused by global warming, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Climate change concurrently has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and public health systems undermining human health as a whole. Environmental health policy-makers need to make use of political and technological alternatives to address these ramifying effects. The objective of this paper is to review public health policy in Korea, as well as internationally, particularly as it relates to climate change health adaptation and mitigation programs (such as C-CHAMP of Korea), in order to assess and elicit directions for a robust environmental health policy that is adaptive to the health impacts of climate change. In Korea, comprehensive measures to prevent or mitigate overall health effects are limited, and the diffusion of responsibility among various government departments makes consistency in policy execution very difficult. This paper proposes integration, synergy, and utilization as the three core principles of policy direction for the assessment and adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. For specific action plans, we suggest policy making based on scientifically integrated health impact assessments and the prioritization of environmental factors in climate change; the development of practical and technological tools that support policy decisions by making their political implementation more efficient; and customized policy development that deals with the vulnerability of local communities. PMID:23256088

  10. A comparison of 17 author-level bibliometric indicators for researchers in Astronomy, Environmental Science, Philosophy and Public Health in Web of Science and Google Scholar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wildgaard, Lorna Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    were calculated for 512 researchers in Astronomy, Environmental Science, Philosophy and Public Health. Indicator scores and scholar rankings calculated in Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar (GS) were analyzed. The indexing policies of WoS and GS were found to have a direct effect on the amount...

  11. Managing Environmental and Health Impacts of Uranium Mining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vance, Robert; ); Hinton, Nicole; Huffman, Dale; Harris, Frank; Arnold, Nikolas; Ruokonen, Eeva; Jakubick, Alexander; Tyulyubayev, Zekail; Till, William von; Woods, Peter; ); Hall, Susan; Da Silva, Felipe; Vostarek, Pavel

    2014-01-01

    Uranium is the raw material used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants that generate significant amounts of electricity with life cycle carbon emissions that are as low as renewable energy sources. However, the mining of this valuable energy commodity remains controversial, principally because of environmental and health impacts associated with the early years of uranium mining. Maximising production in the face of rapidly rising demand was the principal goal of uranium mining at the time, with little concern given to properly managing environmental and health impacts. Today, societal expectations and regulation of the industry are directed much more towards radiation protection, environmental stewardship, health and safety. With over 430 operational reactors in the world, nuclear fuel will be required for many decades in order to meet requirements to fuel the existing fleet and demand created by new reactors, given the projected growth in nuclear generating capacity, particularly in the developing world. New mines will in turn be needed. As a result, enhancing awareness of leading practices in uranium mining is increasingly important. This report aims to dispel some of the myths, fears and misconceptions about uranium mining by providing an overview of how leading practice mining can significantly reduce all impacts compared to the early strategic period. It also provides a non-technical overview of leading practices, the regulatory environment in which mining companies operate and the outcomes of implementing such practices. Societal expectations related to environmental protection and the safety of workers and the public evolved considerably as the outcomes of the early era of mining became apparent, driving changes in regulatory oversight and mining practices. Uranium mining is now conducted under significantly different circumstances, with leading practice mining the most regulated and one of the safest and environmentally responsible forms of mining in the

  12. 77 FR 15088 - Public Scoping Meeting and Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement for Baryonyx Corporation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-14

    ... action. The EIS will assess the potential social, economic and environmental impacts of the construction... waste and materials; aesthetics; public health and safety; navigation; erosion and accretion; invasive...

  13. Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a Public Health Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korn, David A.; Shaffer, Howard J.

    1999-01-01

    During the last decade there has been an unprecedented expansion of legalized gambling throughout North America. Three primary forces appear to be motivating this growth: (1) the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; (2) tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and (3) the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (e.g., video lottery terminals, powerball mega-lotteries, and computer offshore gambling). Associated with this phenomenon, there has been an increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among the general adult population, as well as a sustained high level of gambling-related problems among youth. To date there has been little dialogue within the public health sector in particular, or among health care practitioners in general, about the potential health impact of gambling or gambling-related problems. This article encourages the adoption of a public health perspective towards gambling. More specifically, this discussion has four primary objectives:1. Create awareness among health professionals about gambling, its rapid expansion and its relationship with the health care system;2. Place gambling within a public health framework by examining it from several perspectives, including population health, human ecology and addictive behaviors;3. Outline the major public health issues about how gambling can affect individuals, families and communities;4. Propose an agenda for strengthening policy, prevention and treatment practices through greater public health involvement, using the framework of The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion as a guide.By understanding gambling and its potential impacts on the public's health, policy makers and health practitioners can minimize gambling's negative impacts and appreciate its potential benefits.

  14. Upending the social ecological model to guide health promotion efforts toward policy and environmental change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, Shelley D; McLeroy, Kenneth R; Green, Lawrence W; Earp, Jo Anne L; Lieberman, Lisa D

    2015-04-01

    Efforts to change policies and the environments in which people live, work, and play have gained increasing attention over the past several decades. Yet health promotion frameworks that illustrate the complex processes that produce health-enhancing structural changes are limited. Building on the experiences of health educators, community activists, and community-based researchers described in this supplement and elsewhere, as well as several political, social, and behavioral science theories, we propose a new framework to organize our thinking about producing policy, environmental, and other structural changes. We build on the social ecological model, a framework widely employed in public health research and practice, by turning it inside out, placing health-related and other social policies and environments at the center, and conceptualizing the ways in which individuals, their social networks, and organized groups produce a community context that fosters healthy policy and environmental development. We conclude by describing how health promotion practitioners and researchers can foster structural change by (1) conveying the health and social relevance of policy and environmental change initiatives, (2) building partnerships to support them, and (3) promoting more equitable distributions of the resources necessary for people to meet their daily needs, control their lives, and freely participate in the public sphere. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  15. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. G. Osipova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the role of sociology in the scientific management of society — namely — the social construction aimed at the prevention of adverse events and the creation of social realities desirable for the individual and society. One of the areas of social reality, as well as the most important sphere of social life which are subject to social construction is public health. Public health is considered as an integrated expression of the dynamics of individual levels of the health of all members of society. The author emphasizes that the public health of the people is formed by the interaction of two groups of factors — endogenous (sex, biological age, race, body type, heredity and type of the human nervous system and exogenous (natural and social factors. The last are created by people themselves in the course of their ability to live and are operated, that is socially designed. The author analyzes the negative processes related to public health, the most important of which is a complex situation in the health system, lack of faith in the possibility of human medicine. An equally important role belongs to the deterioration of environmental significant share of people’s living conditions and social stress. If earlier scientists did not specify, in what degree of threat of infringement of global ecosystems are connected with a state of health and features of diseases of the population now it is established that various forms of irreversible change of environment are directly dangerous to public health. From an antiquity the effect of discrepancy of the wished (abstractly and actually arising future wished (abstractly — effect of human activity is known: people wish one, however actually all terminates differently, practically, on the contrary. And these characteristics of a public sincere, mental condition can be extremely inconsistent in relation to knowledge. They are the basis of so-called “involuntary behaviors

  16. PM₂.₅ opened a door to public participation addressing environmental challenges in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ganlin

    2015-02-01

    China has long been regarded as a centralized society where the public has little influence on decision-making. Such a top-down management scheme is perceived as a major obstacle to address complicated environment issues. The recent public campaign in China to urge creation of a nationwide PM₂.₅ monitoring network and mitigation plan provides an unprecedented case of how the public participated and influenced policy-making in a centralized society. This paper reviews key incidents in the campaign chronologically. Here we identify information technology, public awareness of air quality's health impacts and the fact air quality affects everyone as public goods as the major factors promoting public participation. This case demonstrates that public participation can happen in a centralized, top-down society such as China. Continued environmental deterioration may stimulate similar campaigns for other issues. We anticipate this essay to be a starting point for more studies on how environmental issues stimulate incremental social change by making people involved in decision-making process, especially in societies where they are rarely able to do so. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. National Center for Environmental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... R S T U V W X Y Z # Environmental Health Topics Emergency and Environmental Health Services Chemical Weapons Elimination Environmental Health Services Healthy Homes Healthy Places – Community ...

  18. London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: public health surveillance and epidemiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCloskey, Brian; Endericks, Tina; Catchpole, Mike; Zambon, Maria; McLauchlin, Jim; Shetty, Nandini; Manuel, Rohini; Turbitt, Deborah; Smith, Gillian; Crook, Paul; Severi, Ettore; Jones, Jane; Ibbotson, Sue; Marshall, Roberta; Smallwood, Catherine A H; Isla, Nicolas; Memish, Ziad A; Al-Rabeeah, Abdullah A; Barbeschi, Maurizio; Heymann, David L; Zumla, Alimuddin

    2014-06-14

    Mass gatherings are regarded as potential risks for transmission of infectious diseases, and might compromise the health system of countries in which they are hosted. The evidence for increased transmission of infectious diseases at international sporting mass gatherings that attract many visitors from all over the world is not clear, and the evidence base for public health surveillance, epidemiology, and response at events such as the Olympics is small. However, infectious diseases are a recognised risk, and public health planning is, and should remain, a crucial part of the overall planning of sporting events. In this Series paper, we set out the planning and the surveillance systems that were used to monitor public health risks during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2012, and draw attention to the public health issues-infectious diseases and chemical, radiation, and environmental hazards-that arose. Although the absolute risk of health-protection problems, including infectious diseases, at sporting mass gatherings is small, the need for reassurance of the absence of problems is higher than has previously been considered; this could challenge conventional public health surveillance systems. Recognition of the limitations of health-surveillance systems needs to be part of the planning for future sporting events. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilman, David; Clark, Michael

    2014-11-01

    Diets link environmental and human health. Rising incomes and urbanization are driving a global dietary transition in which traditional diets are replaced by diets higher in refined sugars, refined fats, oils and meats. By 2050 these dietary trends, if unchecked, would be a major contributor to an estimated 80 per cent increase in global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from food production and to global land clearing. Moreover, these dietary shifts are greatly increasing the incidence of type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and other chronic non-communicable diseases that lower global life expectancies. Alternative diets that offer substantial health benefits could, if widely adopted, reduce global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, reduce land clearing and resultant species extinctions, and help prevent such diet-related chronic non-communicable diseases. The implementation of dietary solutions to the tightly linked diet-environment-health trilemma is a global challenge, and opportunity, of great environmental and public health importance.

  20. Development of an online tool for public health: the European Public Health Law Network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basak, P

    2011-09-01

    The European Public Health Law Network was established in 2007 as part of the European Union (EU) co-funded Public Health Law Flu project. The aims of the website consisted of designing an interactive network of specialist information and encouraging an exchange of expertise amongst members. The website sought to appeal to academics, public health professionals and lawyers. The Public Health Law Flu project team designed and managed the website. Registered network members were recruited through publicity, advertising and word of mouth. Details of the network were sent to health organizations and universities throughout Europe. Corresponding website links attracted many new visitors. Publications, news, events and a pandemic glossary became popular features on the site. Although the website initially focused only on pandemic diseases it has grown into a multidisciplinary website covering a range of public health law topics. The network contains over 700 publications divided into 28 public health law categories. News, events, front page content, legislation and the francophone section are updated on a regular basis. Since 2007 the website has received over 15,000 views from 156 countries. Newsletter subscribers have risen to 304. There are now 723 followers on the associated Twitter site. The European Public Health Law Network has been a successful and innovative site in the area of public health law. Interest in the site continues to grow. Future funding can contribute to a bigger site with interactive features and pages in a wider variety of languages to attract a wider global audience. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Public Health's Falling Share of US Health Spending.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himmelstein, David U; Woolhandler, Steffie

    2016-01-01

    We examined trends in US public health expenditures by analyzing historical and projected National Health Expenditure Accounts data. Per-capita public health spending (inflation-adjusted) rose from $39 in 1960 to $281 in 2008, and has fallen by 9.3% since then. Public health's share of total health expenditures rose from 1.36% in 1960 to 3.18% in 2002, then fell to 2.65% in 2014; it is projected to fall to 2.40% in 2023. Public health spending has declined, potentially undermining prevention and weakening responses to health inequalities and new health threats.

  2. Recent publications on environmental law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohse, S.

    1991-01-01

    The bibliography contains references to publications covering the following subject fields: General environmental law; environmental law in relation to constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, revenue law, criminal law, private law, industrial law; law of regional development; nature conservation law; law on water protection; waste management law; law on protection against harmful effects on the environment; atomic energy law and radiation protection law; law of the power industry and the mining industry; laws and regulations on hazardous material and environmental hygiene. (orig.) [de

  3. Merging Air Quality and Public Health Decision Support Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudspeth, W. B.; Bales, C. L.

    2003-12-01

    The New Mexico Air Quality Mapper (NMAQM) is a Web-based, open source GIS prototype application that Earth Data Analysis Center is developing under a NASA Cooperative Agreement. NMAQM enhances and extends existing data and imagery delivery systems with an existing Public Health system called the Rapid Syndrome Validation Project (RSVP). RSVP is a decision support system operating in several medical and public health arenas. It is evolving to ingest remote sensing data as input to provide early warning of human health threats, especially those related to anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants and airborne pathogens. The NMAQM project applies measurements of these atmospheric pollutants, derived from both remotely sensed data as well as from in-situ air quality networks, to both forecasting and retrospective analyses that influence human respiratory health. NMAQM provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing and interpreting environmentally-linked epidemiological phenomena. The results, and the systems made to provide the information, will be applicable not only to decision-makers in the public health realm, but also to air quality organizations, demographers, community planners, and other professionals in information technology, and social and engineering sciences. As an accessible and interactive mapping and analysis application, it allows environment and health personnel to study historic data for hypothesis generation and trend analysis, and then, potentially, to predict air quality conditions from daily data acquisitions. Additional spin off benefits to such users include the identification of gaps in the distribution of in-situ monitoring stations, the dissemination of air quality data to the public, and the discrimination of local vs. more regional sources of air pollutants that may bear on decisions relating to public health and public policy.

  4. Can food be addictive? Public health and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gearhardt, Ashley N; Grilo, Carlos M; DiLeone, Ralph J; Brownell, Kelly D; Potenza, Marc N

    2011-07-01

    Data suggest that hyperpalatable foods may be capable of triggering an addictive process. Although the addictive potential of foods continues to be debated, important lessons learned in reducing the health and economic consequences of drug addiction may be especially useful in combating food-related problems. In the current paper, we review the potential application of policy and public health approaches that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive substances to food-related problems. Corporate responsibility, public health approaches, environmental change and global efforts all warrant strong consideration in reducing obesity and diet-related disease. Although there exist important differences between foods and addictive drugs, ignoring analogous neural and behavioral effects of foods and drugs of abuse may result in increased food-related disease and associated social and economic burdens. Public health interventions that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive drugs may have a role in targeting obesity and related diseases. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  5. Transportation and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litman, Todd

    2013-01-01

    This article investigates various ways that transportation policy and planning decisions affect public health and better ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning. Conventional planning tends to consider some public health impacts, such as crash risk and pollution emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity) and the additional crashes and pollution caused by increased vehicle mileage. As a result, transport agencies tend to undervalue strategies that increase transport system diversity and reduce vehicle travel. This article identifies various win-win strategies that can help improve public health and other planning objectives.

  6. Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Robert; Conerly, Octavia D.; Sander, William; Batt, Angela L.; Boone, J. Scott; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Mash, Heath

    2017-01-01

    The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated Margin of Exposure (MOE) was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. For silicon, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in one DWTP. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium and silicon above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue is necessary. Finally, new toxicological data suggest that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which will require a robust assessment of this information.

  7. Assessing the Nexus of Built, Natural, and Social Environments and Public Health Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, R.; Alexander, S.; Douglas, J.

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates community-related environmental justice concerns and chemical and non-chemical health stressors from built, natural, and social environments in Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) County and East Oakland, California. The geographical distribution of health outcomes is related to the built and natural environments, as well as impacts from the social environment. A holistic systems view is important in assessing healthy behaviors within a community, because they do not occur in isolation. Geospatial analysis will be performed to integrate a total environment framework and explore the spatial patterns of exposure to chemical and non-chemical stressors and access to health-promoting environments. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis using primary and secondary existing data will be performed to determine how social environments impact exposure to chemical health stressors and access to health-promoting built and natural environments. This project will develop a comprehensive list of health-promoting built and natural environments (e.g., parks and community gardens) and polluting sites (e.g., shipping ports and sources of pollution not included in federal regulatory databases) in East Oakland and SELA. California Department of Public Health and U.S. Decennial Census data will also be included for geospatial analysis to overlay the distribution of air pollution-related morbidities (e.g. asthma, diabetes, and cancer) and access to health-promoting built and natural environments and related community assets, exposure to polluting industries, social disorganization, and public health outcomes in the target areas. This research will help identify the spatial and temporal distribution and cumulative impacts of critical pollution hotspots causing community environmental health impacts. The research team will also map how social environments impact exposure to chemical health stressors and access to health-promoting built and natural environments. The

  8. Assessing Health Impacts within Environmental Impact Assessments: An Opportunity for Public Health Globally Which Must Not Remain Missed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Harris

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Within the member states of the United Nations 190 of 193 have regulated Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA which is a systematic process to prevent and mitigate the potential environmental impacts of industry development projects before these occur. However, the routine and comprehensive assessment of health impacts within EIAs remains underdeveloped. Focusing, as an example, on the risks to global health from the global shift in the mining industry towards Low and Middle Income Countries LMIC, this viewpoint details why connecting with EIA is an essential task for the health system. Although existing knowledge is out of date in relation to global practice we identify how health has been included, to some extent, in High Income Country EIAs and the institutional requirements for doing so. Using arguments identified by industry themselves about requiring a ‘social license to operate’, we conclude that EIA regulations provide the best current mechanism to ensure health protection is a core aspect in the decision making process  to approve projects.

  9. Public health systems under attack in Canada: Evidence on public health system performance challenges arbitrary reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

    2016-10-20

    Public health is currently being weakened in several Canadian jurisdictions. Unprecedented and arbitrary cuts to the public health budget in Quebec in 2015 were a striking example of this. In order to support public health leaders and citizens in their capacity to advocate for evidence-informed public health reforms, we propose a knowledge synthesis of elements of public health systems that are significantly associated with improved performance. Research consistently and significantly associates four elements of public health systems with improved productivity: 1) increased financial resources, 2) increased staffing per capita, 3) population size between 50,000 and 500,000, and 4) specific evidence-based organizational and administrative features. Furthermore, increased financial resources and increased staffing per capita are significantly associated with improved population health outcomes. We contend that any effort at optimization of public health systems should at least be guided by these four evidence-informed factors. Canada already has existing capacity in carrying out public health systems and services research. Further advancement of our academic and professional expertise on public health systems will allow Canadian public health jurisdictions to be inspired by the best public health models and become stronger advocates for public health's resources, interventions and outcomes when they need to be celebrated or defended.

  10. 77 FR 52025 - Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-28

    ... Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health Committee AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Office announces a public teleconference of the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee to discuss its... hereby given that the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee (EHHC) will hold a public teleconference to...

  11. Health, Traffic, and Environmental Justice: Collaborative Research and Community Action in San Francisco, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciammas, Charlie; Seto, Edmund; Bhatia, Rajiv; Rivard, Tom

    2009-01-01

    Health impacts on neighborhood residents from transportation systems can be an environmental justice issue. To assess the effects of transportation planning decisions, including the construction of an intraurban freeway, on residents of the Excelsior neighborhood in southeast San Francisco, PODER (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights), a local grassroots environmental justice organization; the San Francisco Department of Public Health; and the University of California, Berkeley, collaborated on participatory research. We used our findings regarding traffic-related exposures and health hazards in the area to facilitate community education and action to address transportation-related health burdens on neighborhood residents. PMID:19890147

  12. Transitions in state public health law: comparative analysis of state public health law reform following the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Benjamin Mason; Hodge, James G; Gebbie, Kristine M

    2009-03-01

    Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act. Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act's model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform. Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public's health.

  13. Recent publications on environmental law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohse, S.

    1988-01-01

    The bibliography contains 1235 references to publications covering the following subject fields: general environmental law; environmental law in relation to constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, revenue law, criminal law, private law, industrial law; law of regional development; nature conservation law; law on water protection; waste management law; law on protection against harmful effects on the environment; atomic energy law and radiation protection law; law of the power industry and the mining industry; laws and regulations on hazardous material and environmental hygiene. (HP) [de

  14. Recent publications on environmental law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohse, S.

    1989-01-01

    The bibliography contains 1160 references to publications covering the following subject fields: General environmental law; environmental law in relation to constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, revenue law, criminal law, private law, industrial law; law of regional development; nature conservation law; law on water protection; waste management law; law on protection against harmful effects on the environment; atomic energy law and radiation protection law; law of the power industry and the mining industry; laws and regulations on hazardous material and environmental hygiene. (orig./HP) [de

  15. Public involvement in environmental surveillance at Hanford

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanf, R.W. Jr.; Patton, G.W.; Woodruff, R.K.; Poston, T.M.

    1994-08-01

    Environmental surveillance at the Hanford Site began during the mid-1940s following the construction and start-up of the nation's first plutonium production reactor. Over the past approximately 45 years, surveillance operations on and off the Site have continued, with virtually all sampling being conducted by Hanford Site workers. Recently, the US Department of Energy Richland Operations Office directed that public involvement in Hanford environmental surveillance operations be initiated. Accordingly, three special radiological air monitoring stations were constructed offsite, near hanford's perimeter. Each station is managed and operated by two local school teaches. These three stations are the beginning of a community-operated environmental surveillance program that will ultimately involve the public in most surveillance operations around the Site. The program was designed to stimulate interest in Hanford environmental surveillance operations, and to help the public better understand surveillance results. The program has also been used to enhance educational opportunities at local schools

  16. From urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go: applications of virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) in personal, public and environmental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamel Boulos, Maged N; Lu, Zhihan; Guerrero, Paul; Jennett, Charlene; Steed, Anthony

    2017-02-20

    The latest generation of virtual and mixed reality hardware has rekindled interest in virtual reality GIS (VRGIS) and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS) applications in health, and opened up new and exciting opportunities and possibilities for using these technologies in the personal and public health arenas. From smart urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go, this article offers a snapshot of some of the most remarkable VRGIS and ARGIS solutions for tackling public and environmental health problems, and bringing about safer and healthier living options to individuals and communities. The article also covers the main technical foundations and issues underpinning these solutions.

  17. From urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go: applications of virtual reality GIS (VRGIS and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS in personal, public and environmental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maged N. Kamel Boulos

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The latest generation of virtual and mixed reality hardware has rekindled interest in virtual reality GIS (VRGIS and augmented reality GIS (ARGIS applications in health, and opened up new and exciting opportunities and possibilities for using these technologies in the personal and public health arenas. From smart urban planning and emergency training to Pokémon Go, this article offers a snapshot of some of the most remarkable VRGIS and ARGIS solutions for tackling public and environmental health problems, and bringing about safer and healthier living options to individuals and communities. The article also covers the main technical foundations and issues underpinning these solutions.

  18. Environmental Health Problems and Indicators in Tabriz, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Ghanbari Ghozikali

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Environmental Health Indicators (EHIs are the most im¬portant criteria for evaluation of effi¬ciency and effectiveness of the activi¬ties of the health sector. The operations and situation of the health sys¬tem can be analyzed through surveying the indicators and comparing them during different times. The present study aimed to study the EHIs of Ta¬briz, using the common environmental health processes and national EHIs of the Ministry of Health. Method: The required information for determination of EHIs was col¬lected from different sources, including mainly the Environmental Health De¬partment of the Health Center of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran and other organizations. Results: We found some important desirable and undesirable EHIs in Ta¬briz, including high percentage of households with access to safe and reliable drinking water, high safety in microbiological and chemical quality of drink¬ing water, acceptable level of BOD5 and COD in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WTP, lack of complete municipal wastewa¬ter collection and treatment, relatively poor sanitation and health of food markets and public places, undesirable collection, transportation and dis¬posal of munici¬pal solid waste, low EHIs of some school classrooms, un¬acceptable disposal of medical waste in some hospitals, and finally high level of noise pollution in the city.Conclusion: Considering the poor condition of some EHIs of Tabriz, im-plementing proper actions for pro¬motion of the indicators especially devel¬opment of municipal wastewater collection, improvement of solid waste management, environmental health of some schools and mosques, and fi¬nally the noise pollution level of the city is recommended.

  19. Common pathways toward informing policy and environmental strategies to promote health: a study of CDC's Prevention Research Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neri, Elizabeth M; Stringer, Kate J; Spadaro, Antonia J; Ballman, Marie R; Grunbaum, Jo Anne

    2015-03-01

    This study examined the roles academic researchers can play to inform policy and environmental strategies that promote health and prevent disease. Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) engage in academic-community partnerships to conduct applied public health research. Interviews were used to collect data on the roles played by 32 PRCs to inform policy and environmental strategies that were implemented between September 2009 and September 2010. Descriptive statistics were calculated in SAS 9.2. A difference in roles played was observed depending on whether strategies were policy or environmental. Of the policy initiatives, the most common roles were education, research, and partnership. In contrast, the most prevalent roles the PRCs played in environmental approaches were research and providing health promotion resources. Academic research centers play various roles to help inform policy and environmental strategies. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

  20. Ciguatera fish poisoning and environmental change: a case for strengthening health surveillance in the Pacific?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derne, Bonnie; Fearnley, Emily; Goater, Sarah; Carter, Karen; Weinstein, Philip

    2010-09-01

    Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP), a significant public health problem in the Pacific, is intrinsically linked to the health of coral reef ecosystems. Incidence data on CFP could therefore be used, in theory, as indicators of disruption to coral reefs. Some disruptions, such as increasing sea surface temperatures, result from global environmental change--therefore suggesting that CFP is likely to become an increasing public health problem in the region. The proactive management of increasing numbers of cases will depend on an understanding of the ecology of the disease, sound health surveillance systems to report cases of CFP including appropriate case definitions, and quantifiable correlations between case numbers and environmental variables. Here, we briefly review the knowledge about these components in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), including summarising regional variation in symptoms of CFP cases, investigating media as an enhanced surveillance tool, and summarising regional environmental drivers of CFP cases. We conclude that CFP could be an important indicator of the health of reef ecosystems in the face of global climate change and more novel approaches such as combining environmental and health data, need to be implemented to improve surveillance of CFP.

  1. Mobile Sensing in Environmental Health and Neighborhood Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaix, Basile

    2018-04-01

    Public health research has witnessed a rapid development in the use of location, environmental, behavioral, and biophysical sensors that provide high-resolution objective time-stamped data. This burgeoning field is stimulated by the development of novel multisensor devices that collect data for an increasing number of channels and algorithms that predict relevant dimensions from one or several data channels. Global positioning system (GPS) tracking, which enables geographic momentary assessment, permits researchers to assess multiplace personal exposure areas and the algorithm-based identification of trips and places visited, eventually validated and complemented using a GPS-based mobility survey. These methods open a new space-time perspective that considers the full dynamic of residential and nonresidential momentary exposures; spatially and temporally disaggregates the behavioral and health outcomes, thus replacing them in their immediate environmental context; investigates complex time sequences; explores the interplay among individual, environmental, and situational predictors; performs life-segment analyses considering infraindividual statistical units using case-crossover models; and derives recommendations for just-in-time interventions.

  2. Educating the future public health workforce: do schools of public health teach students about the private sector?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutkow, Lainie; Traub, Arielle; Howard, Rachel; Frattaroli, Shannon

    2013-01-01

    Recent surveys indicate that approximately 40% of graduates from schools of public health are employed within the private sector or have an employer charged with regulating the private sector. These data suggest that schools of public health should provide curricular opportunities for their students--the future public health workforce--to learn about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. To identify opportunities for graduate students in schools of public health to select course work that educates them about the relationship between the private sector and public health. We systematically identified and analyzed data gathered from publicly available course titles and descriptions on the Web sites of accredited schools of public health. Data were collected in the United States. The sample consisted of accredited schools of public health. Descriptions of the number and types of courses that schools of public health offer about the private sector and identification of how course descriptions frame the private sector relative to public health. We identified 104 unique courses with content about the private sector's relationship to public health. More than 75% of accredited schools of public health offered at least 1 such course. Nearly 25% of identified courses focused exclusively on the health insurance industry. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed 5 frames used to describe the private sector, including its role as a stakeholder in the policy process. Schools of public health face a curricular gap, with relatively few course offerings that teach students about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. By developing new courses or revising existing ones, schools of public health can expose the future public health workforce to the varied ways public health professionals interact with the private sector, and potentially influence students' career paths.

  3. Public health and precision medicine share a goal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaithinathan, Asokan G; Asokan, Vanitha

    2017-05-01

    The advances made in genomics and molecular tools aid public health programs in the investigation of outbreaks and control of diseases by taking advantage of the precision medicine. Precision medicine means "segregating the individuals into subpopulations who vary in their disease susceptibility and response to a precise treatment" and not merely designing of drugs or creation of medical devices. By 2017, the United Kingdom 100,000 Genomes Project is expected to sequence 100,000 genomes from 70,000 patients. Similarly, the Precision Medicine Initiative of the United States plans to increase population-based genome sequencing and link it with clinical data. A national cohort of around 1 million people is to be established in the long term, to investigate the genetic and environmental determinants of health and disease, and further integrated to their electronic health records that are optional. Precision public health can be seen as administering the right intervention to the needy population at an appropriate time. Precision medicine originates from a wet-lab while evidence-based medicine is nurtured in a clinic. Linking the quintessential basic science research and clinical practice is necessary. In addition, new technologies to employ and analyze data in an integrated and dynamic way are essential for public health and precision medicine. The transition from evidence-based approach in public health to genomic approach to individuals with a paradigm shift of a "reactive" medicine to a more "proactive" and personalized health care may sound exceptional. However, a population perspective is needed for the precision medicine to succeed. © 2016 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  4. Privacy and ethics in pediatric environmental health research-part I: genetic and prenatal testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Celia B

    2006-10-01

    The pressing need for empirically informed public policies aimed at understanding and promoting children's health has challenged environmental scientists to modify traditional research paradigms and reevaluate their roles and obligations toward research participants. Methodologic approaches to children's environmental health research raise ethical challenges for which federal regulations may provide insufficient guidance. In this article I begin with a general discussion of privacy concerns and informed consent within pediatric environmental health research contexts. I then turn to specific ethical challenges associated with research on genetic determinants of environmental risk, prenatal studies and maternal privacy, and data causing inflicted insight or affecting the informational rights of third parties.

  5. Why Do People Work in Public Health? Exploring Recruitment and Retention Among Public Health Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, Valerie A; Wisniewski, Janna M; Amos, Kathleen; Bialek, Ron

    2016-01-01

    The public health workforce is critical to the functioning of the public health system and protection of the population's health. Ensuring a sufficient workforce depends on effectively recruiting and retaining workers. This study examines factors influencing decisions to take and remain in jobs within public health, particularly for workers employed in governmental public health. This cross-sectional study employed a secondary data set from a 2010 national survey of US public health workers. Survey respondents were included in this study if they responded to at least 1 survey item related to recruitment and retention. A total of 10 859 survey responses fit this criterion. Data examined demographics of public health workers and factors that influenced decisions to take jobs in and remain in public health. Job security (β = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.56) and competitive benefits (β = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70) were significantly and positively associated with governmental employees' decisions to take positions with their current employers compared with public health workers employed by other types of organizations. The same finding held with regard to retention: job security (β = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23-0.57) and competitive benefits (β = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.24-0.83). Two personal factors, personal commitment to public service (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.17-0.42) and wanted a job in the public health field (β = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.18-0.69), were significantly and positively related to governmental employees deciding to remain with their current employers. It is important to recognize the value of competitive benefits for both current and potential employees. Public health agencies should maintain these if possible and make the value of these benefits known to policy makers or other agencies setting these benefit policies. Job security associated with governmental public health jobs also appears to offer public health an advantage in recruiting and retaining employees.

  6. Public mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindert, Jutta; Bilsen, Johan; Jakubauskiene, Marija

    2017-10-01

    Public mental health (PMH) is a major challenge for public health research and practice. This article is organized in six parts. First, we will highlight the significance of PMH; second, we will define mental health and mental disorders; third, we identify and describe determinants of mental health and mental disorders on which we worked in the past 10 years since the establishment of the PMH section such as social determinants and violence. Fourth, we will describe the development of the EUPHA PMH section and provide details on vulnerable groups in the field of PMH, on violence as a main determinant and on suicide as an outcome which affects all countries in the European region. Fifth, we describe policy and practice implications of the development of PMH and highlight the European dimension of PMH. We will conclude this article by providing an outlook on potential further development of PMH as regards research and policy and practice. Finally, we hope that the EUPHA PMH section will contribute to public health in the next 25 years and we can contribute to improvement of PMH in Europe. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  7. Environmental decision making: what does public participation add?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beierle, T.C.; Cayford, J.

    2004-01-01

    The role of public participation in environmental policy making has led to much discussion in recent years, accompanied by some cheering, some hand-wringing, a great deal of speculation, and always recognition of its growing importance. Over the past 30 years, participation has moved to centre stage in the play of influences that determine how the environment will be protected and managed. In doing so, it has evolved considerably. Traditional public hearings and public comment procedures have been joined by a broad array of more intensive approaches to participation that emphasize face-to-face deliberation, problem solving, and consensus building. Policy dialogues, stakeholder advisory committees, citizen juries, formal mediations, and a variety of other processes are now familiar components of the public participation mix. The amount of influence the public can wield has changed as well. In the United States, agreements made among interest groups in regulatory negotiations, for example, actually determine the content of proposed environmental regulations. Describing how well public participation has performed in its central role in environmental policy-making is the topic of our book, Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions. In the book, we evaluate the success of 239 cases of public participation undertaken in the United States over the last 30 years. Our primary objective was to develop an understanding of the social value of public participation by evaluating cases against a set of social goals, such as conflict resolution, trust formation, and education. Our second objective was to understand what made some processes successful and others not. We were particularly interested in how different approaches to public participation - from public hearings to formal mediations differed in their accomplishments. (author)

  8. Social media in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kass-Hout, Taha A; Alhinnawi, Hend

    2013-01-01

    While social media interactions are currently not fully understood, as individual health behaviors and outcomes are shared online, social media offers an increasingly clear picture of the dynamics of these processes. Social media is becoming an increasingly common platform among clinicians and public health officials to share information with the public, track or predict diseases. Social media can be used for engaging the public and communicating key public health interventions, while providing an important tool for public health surveillance. Social media has advantages over traditional public health surveillance, as well as limitations, such as poor specificity, that warrant additional study. Social media can provide timely, relevant and transparent information of public health importance; such as tracking or predicting the spread or severity of influenza, west nile virus or meningitis as they propagate in the community, and, in identifying disease outbreaks or clusters of chronic illnesses. Further work is needed on social media as a valid data source for detecting or predicting diseases or conditions. Also, whether or not it is an effective tool for communicating key public health messages and engaging both, the general public and policy-makers.

  9. Multiscale Drivers of Global Environmental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Manish Anil

    transmission groupings linked to public health intervention strategies; (3) emphasizing the intersection of proximal environmental characteristics and transmission cycles; (4) incorporating a matrix formulation to identify knowledge gaps and facilitate an integration of research; and (5) highlighting hypothesis generation amidst dynamic processes. A systems based approach leverages the reality that studies relevant to environmental change and infectious disease are embedded within a wider web of interactions. As scientific understanding advances, the EnvID framework can help integrate the various factors at play in determining environment-disease relationships and the connections between intrinsically multiscale causal networks. In Chapter 4, the coverage effect model functions primarily as a "proof of concept" analysis to address whether the efficacy of a clean cooking technology may be determined by the extent of not only household level use but also community level coverage. Such coverage dependent efficacy, or a "coverage effect," would transform how interventions are studied and deployed. Ensemble results are consistent with the concept that an appreciable coverage effect from clean cooking interventions can manifest within moderately dense communities. Benefits for users derive largely from direct effects; initially, at low coverage levels, almost exclusively so. Yet, as coverage expands within a user's community, a coverage effect becomes increasingly beneficial. In contrast, non users, despite also experiencing comparable exposure reductions from community-level intervention use, cannot proportionately benefit because their exposures remain overwhelmingly dominated by household-level use of traditional solid fuel cookstoves. The coverage effect model strengthens the rationale for public health programs and policies to encourage clean cooking technologies with an added incentive to realize high coverage within contiguous areas. The implications of the modeling exercise

  10. Upgrading environmental radiation data: health physics society committee report HPSR-1 (1980)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-08-01

    This report is a collection of nine individual Health Physics Society subcommittee reports on different aspects of environmental radiation data associated with nuclear power plants. The subcommittee reports include: Environmental Radiation Monitoring Objectives, Definition of Critical Pathways and Radionuclides for Population Radiation Exposure at Nuclear Power Stations, Propagation of Uncertainties in Environmental Pathway Dose Models, Detection of Changes in Environmental Levels Due to Nuclear Power Plants, Quality Assurance for Environmental Monitoring Programs, Reporting of Environmental Radiation Measurements Data, Statistical Methods for Environmental Radiation Data Interpretation, Effective Communication with the Public, Environmental Radiological Surveillance-Mechanisms for Information Exchange

  11. Assessing the public health impact of using poison center data for public health surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Alice; Law, Royal; Lyons, Rebecca; Choudhary, Ekta; Wolkin, Amy; Schier, Joshua

    2017-12-13

    The National Poison Data System (NPDS) is a database and surveillance system for US poison centers (PCs) call data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) use NPDS to identify incidents of potential public health significance. State health departments are notified by CDC of incidents identified by NPDS to be of potential public health significance. Our objective was to describe the public health impact of CDC's notifications and the use of NPDS data for surveillance. We described how NPDS data informed three public health responses: the Deepwater Horizon incident, national exposures to laundry detergent pods, and national exposures to e-cigarettes. Additionally, we extracted survey results of state epidemiologists regarding NPDS incident notification follow-up from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016 to assess current public health application of NPDS data using Epi Info 7.2 and analyzed data using SAS 9.3. We assessed whether state health departments were aware of incidents before notification, what actions were taken, and whether CDC notifications contributed to actions. NPDS data provided evidence for industry changes to improve laundry detergent pod containers safety and highlighted the need to regulate e-cigarette sale and manufacturing. NPDS data were used to improve situational awareness during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Of 59 health departments and PCs who responded to CDC notifications about anomalies (response rate = 49.2%), 27 (46%) reported no previous awareness of the incident, and 20 (34%) said that notifications contributed to public health action. Monitoring NPDS data for anomalies can identify emerging public health threats and provide evidence-based science to support public health action and policy changes.

  12. The impact of globalization on public health: implications for the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, K

    2000-09-01

    There has been substantial discussion of globalization in the scholarly and popular press yet limited attention so far among public health professionals. This is so despite the many potential impacts of globalization on public health. Defining public health broadly, as focused on the collective health of populations requiring a range of intersectoral activities, globalization can be seen to have particular relevance. Globalization, in turn, can be defined as a process that is changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres and along at least three dimensions. Understanding public health and globalization in these ways suggests the urgent need for research to better understand the linkages between the two, and effective policy responses by a range of public health institutions, including the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature on globalization that led to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding potential impacts on the determinants of health and public health. The paper then discusses major areas of public health in relation to these potential impacts. It concludes with recommendations on how the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine might contribute to addressing these impacts through its various activities. Although there is growing attention to the importance of globalization to public health, there has been limited research and policy development in the United Kingdom. The UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine needs to play an active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of policy makers, and encourage its members to take up research, teaching and policy initiatives. The potential impacts of globalization support a broader understanding and practice of public health that embraces a wide range of health determinants.

  13. The Case for "Environment in All Policies": Lessons from the "Health in All Policies" Approach in Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Geoffrey R; Rutherfurd, Ian D

    2017-02-01

    Both public health, and the health of the natural environment, are affected by policy decisions made across portfolios as diverse as finance, planning, transport, housing, education, and agriculture. A response to the interdependent character of public health has been the "health in all policies" (HiAP) approach. With reference to parallels between health and environment, this paper argues that lessons from HiAP are useful for creating a new integrated environmental management approach termed "environment in all polices" (EiAP). This paper covers the theoretical foundations of HiAP, which is based on an understanding that health is strongly socially determined. The paper then highlights how lessons learned from HiAP's implementation in Finland, California, and South Australia might be applied to EiAP. It is too early to learn from evaluations of HiAP, but it is apparent that there is no single tool kit for its application. The properties that are likely to be necessary for an effective EiAP approach include a jurisdiction-specific approach, ongoing and strong leadership from a central agency, independent analysis, and a champion. We then apply these properties to Victoria (Australia) to demonstrate how EiAP might work. We encourage further exploration of the feasibility of EiAP as an approach that could make explicit the sometimes surprising environmental implications of a whole range of strategic policies. Citation: Browne GR, Rutherfurd ID. 2017. The case for "environment in all policies": lessons from the "health in all policies" approach in public health. Environ Health Perspect 125:149-154; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP294.

  14. The public health leadership certificate: a public health and primary care interprofessional training opportunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matson, Christine C; Lake, Jeffrey L; Bradshaw, R Dana; Matson, David O

    2014-03-01

    This article describes a public health leadership certificate curriculum developed by the Commonwealth Public Health Training Center for employees in public health and medical trainees in primary care to share didactic and experiential learning. As part of the program, trainees are involved in improving the health of their communities and thus gain a blended perspective on the effectiveness of interprofessional teams in improving population health. The certificate curriculum includes eight one-credit-hour didactic courses offered through an MPH program and a two-credit-hour, community-based participatory research project conducted by teams of trainees under the mentorship of health district directors. Fiscal sustainability is achieved by sharing didactic courses with MPH degree students, thereby enabling trainees to take advantage of a reduced, continuing education tuition rate. Public health employee and primary care trainees jointly learn knowledge and skills required for community health improvement in interprofessional teams and gain an integrated perspective through opportunities to question assumptions and broaden disciplinary approaches. At the same time, the required community projects have benefited public health in Virginia.

  15. Review of Research on Environmental Public Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grunig, James E.

    1977-01-01

    Reviews existing knowledge on the behavior of public relations practitioners in environmental problems, public concern and media coverage of pollution and deterioation of the natural environment. Available from: Public Relations Review, Ray Hiebert, Dean, College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. (MH)

  16. Community intervention in higher education of environmental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cidália Guia

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Currently, in the Bologna context, university teaching methods focus on the student and on a learning experience based on practical methods. Under the guidance of teachers, students in the second year of the first Environmental Health Course at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja have designed and developed the following nine community intervention projects relating to environmental health: dangerous products (mercury; habitability and geriatrics; health education and the environment; drinking water; information and communication in environmental health; efficient use of resources in public buildings; child development in outdoor spaces; and allergenic factors in housing. This pedagogical action takes place over three semesters, corresponding to the three distinct phases: design, implementation and evaluation / dissemination. To ensure the viability of the projects, each group of three students has established partnerships with various entities, such as city and parish councils, hospitals, schools, consumer cooperatives, companies dealing with hazardous waste, the Youth Institute and other commercial enterprises. Although it has not been possible to evaluate the whole project, preliminary results suggest that the planned activities have been very successful, with health benefits for the people involved, through environmental improvements or an increase in empowerment. It was also possible to achieve economic gains and contribute to the conservation of the environment. The students were able to gain skills and knowledge in a teaching model characterized by the absence of lectures in which students, assisted by teachers, take decisions and independent action, simulating a real context of professional practice. This experience suggests that, by utilizing the Bologna method, the polytechnic institutions may improve their real contribution to the health of communities.

  17. A Systematic Review of Children's Environmental Health in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Froes Asmus, Carmen I R; Camara, Volney M; Landrigan, Philip J; Claudio, Luz

    2016-01-01

    In the region of the Americas, approximately 100,000 children under the age of 5 years die each year due to environmental hazards. Brazil, due to its large size and wide range of environmental challenges, presents numerous hazards to children's health. The aim of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature that describes children's exposures to environmental pollutants in Brazil and their effects on Brazilian children's health. A systematic review of the scientific literature was performed without language restrictions and time of publication (years). The literature search was conducted in the following key resources: PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus and Web of Science with the MeSH Terms: Environmental exposure AND Brazil (filters: Human, Child [birth to 18 years] and Affiliation Author). The Virtual Health Library was also employed to access the databases Scielo and Lilacs. The search strategy was [DeCS Terms]: Child OR adolescent AND Environmental exposure AND Brazil. Health effects in children associated with exposure to environmental pollutants in Brazil were reported in 74 studies, during the period between 1995 and 2015. The most frequently cited effect was hospital admission for respiratory causes including wheezing, asthma, and pneumonia among children living in areas with high concentrations of air pollutants. A broad spectrum of other health effects possibly linked to pollutants also was found such as prematurity, low birth weight, congenital abnormality (cryptorchidism, hypospadia, micropenis), poor performance in tests of psychomotor and mental development, and behavioral problems. Exposure to pesticides in utero and postnatally was associated with a high risk for leukemia in children Brazil for stricter monitoring of pollutant emissions and for health surveillance programs especially among vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and young children. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Optimizing Health Care Environmental Hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carling, Philip C

    2016-09-01

    This article presents a review and perspectives on aspects of optimizing health care environmental hygiene. The topics covered include the epidemiology of environmental surface contamination, a discussion of cleaning health care patient area surfaces, an overview of disinfecting health care surfaces, an overview of challenges in monitoring cleaning versus cleanliness, a description of an integrated approach to environmental hygiene and hand hygiene as interrelated disciplines, and an overview of the research opportunities and challenges related to health care environmental hygiene. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Role of government in public health: Current scenario in India and future scope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subitha Lakshminarayanan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The new agenda for Public Health in India includes the epidemiological transition, demographical transition, environmental changes and social determinants of health. Based on the principles outlined at Alma-Ata in 1978, there is an urgent call for revitalizing primary health care in order to meet these challenges. The role of the government in influencing population health is not limited within the health sector but also by various sectors outside the health systems. This article is a literature review of the existing government machinery for public health needs in India, its success, limitations and future scope. Health system strengthening, human resource development and capacity building and regulation in public health are important areas within the health sector. Contribution to health of a population also derives from social determinants of health like living conditions, nutrition, safe drinking water, sanitation, education, early child development and social security measures. Population stabilization, gender mainstreaming and empowerment, reducing the impact of climate change and disasters on health, improving community participation and governance issues are other important areas for action. Making public health a shared value across the various sectors is a politically challenging strategy, but such collective action is crucial.

  20. Environmental health research in Japan - management of environmental risks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakamura, Masahisa [Lake Biwa Research Institute (Japan)

    1997-12-31

    Briefly discussed the topics on emerging environmental health risks, their assessment and management, with special emphasis on groundwater management , environmental contamination, source protection, new drinking water and ambient water quality standards; and sophistication in instrumentation in environmental quality measurements, hazards and risk assessment and control, technology development in environmental health risk management.

  1. Environmental health research in Japan - management of environmental risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masahisa Nakamura

    1996-01-01

    Briefly discussed the topics on emerging environmental health risks, their assessment and management, with special emphasis on groundwater management , environmental contamination, source protection, new drinking water and ambient water quality standards; and sophistication in instrumentation in environmental quality measurements, hazards and risk assessment and control, technology development in environmental health risk management

  2. Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Castillo-Salgado

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

  3. Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

    2015-11-01

    Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

  4. Advances in dental public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, R D

    2001-07-01

    Dental public health has been defined as 'the science and art of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through the organised efforts of society'. Dental practitioners most often have the oral health of individual patients as their primary focus but the aim of public health is to benefit populations. Early developments in dental public health were concerned largely with demonstrating levels of disease and with treatment services. With greater appreciation of the nature of oral health and disease, and of their determinants has come recognition of the need for wider public health action if the effects of prevention and oral health promotion are to be maximized.

  5. Health needs and public health functions addressed in scientific publications in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benie-Bi, J; Cambon, L; Grimaud, O; Kivits, J; Alla, F

    2013-09-01

    To describe the reporting of public health research in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (FSA). A bibliometric research study of scientific public health publications in FSA, which includes 24 countries and approximately 260 million people. Two researchers analysed original articles published in 2007 in the medical or social sciences fields and indexed in Scopus. At least one co-author of articles had to be based in FSA. The analysis focused on research field, public health function (WHO classification), FSA country author's affiliation, language, journal type and global burden of disease (WHO classification). Of 1047 articles retrieved by the search, 212 were from the public health field. The number of articles per country varied from 0 to 36. Public health functions examined were health service research (24.5%), health monitoring (27.4%), prevention (15%) and legislation (0.5%). The distribution of health needs described in the articles was close to that of the WHO data for Africa for 2004: infectious and parasitic diseases (70% vs 54%), maternal and perinatal conditions (15% vs 17%), non-communicable diseases (15.6% vs 21%), and injuries (0.5% vs 8%). The areas reported in published articles from sub-Saharan Africa reflect the health needs distribution in Africa; however, the number of publications is low, particularly for prevention. In light of the current focus on evidence-based public health, this study questions whether the international scientific community adequately considers the expertise and perspectives of African researchers and professionals. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-09-01

    tubes ), the report addresses concerns over potential environmental and health risks of nanomaterials. Following the publication of the RS... microfine titanium dioxide as physical UV filter, Int. J. Cosmetic Sci. 22(4), 271–283 (2000). J. Brant, H. Lecoanet, M. Hotze, M. Wiesner, Comparison of

  7. Advice and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Citizen-Science Environmental Health Assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barzyk, Timothy M; Huang, Hongtai; Williams, Ronald; Kaufman, Amanda; Essoka, Jonathan

    2018-05-11

    Citizen science provides quantitative results to support environmental health assessments (EHAs), but standardized approaches do not currently exist to translate findings into actionable solutions. The emergence of low-cost portable sensor technologies and proliferation of publicly available datasets provides unparalleled access to supporting evidence; yet data collection, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and communication are subjective approaches that must be tailored to a decision-making audience capable of improving environmental health. A decade of collaborative efforts and two citizen science projects contributed to three lessons learned and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address the complexities of environmental health and interpersonal relations often encountered in citizen science EHAs. Each project followed a structured step-by-step process in order to compare and contrast methods and approaches. These lessons and FAQs provide advice to translate citizen science research into actionable solutions in the context of a diverse range of environmental health issues and local stakeholders.

  8. Building a Leadership Culture for Environmental Health in a Nurse-Led Clinic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanda L Demorest

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century (Costello et al., 2009. Temperature shifts caused by greenhouse gases have negative health impacts such as worsening of chronic diseases and increases in vector-borne diseases (American Public Health Association, 2016, which nurses are ethically responsible to address (American Nurses Association, 2015. At an interdisciplinary nurse-led clinic, staff were not prepared to assist patients in building resiliency related to the health impacts of climate change or to implement environmental sustainability in their workplace. Based on principles of partnership-based healthcare (Eisler & Potter, 2014, this project included Climate Conversations - sharing stories, values, and knowledge about climate change – (Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, 2010 and evidence-based transformational leadership. The Nurses’ Environmental Awareness Tool (Schenk et al., 2015 was used to survey staff before and after they participated in behavioral interventions to incorporate environmental sustainability at their workplace. Compared to baseline, staffs’ knowledge of environmental sustainability increased significantly (pp

  9. Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobson, Peter D; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Wu, Helen W; Lauer, Johanna R

    2015-04-01

    We assessed the feasibility and desirability of public health entrepreneurship (PHE) in governmental public health. Using a qualitative case study approach with semistructured interview protocols, we conducted interviews between April 2010 and January 2011 at 32 local health departments (LHDs) in 18 states. Respondents included chief health officers and senior LHD staff, representatives from national public health organizations, health authorities, and public health institutes. Respondents identified PHE through 3 overlapping practices: strategic planning, operational efficiency, and revenue generation. Clinical services offer the strongest revenue-generating potential, and traditional public health services offer only limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Barriers include civil service rules, a risk-averse culture, and concerns that PHE would compromise core public health values. Ongoing PHE activity has the potential to reduce LHDs' reliance on unstable general public revenues. Yet under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to generate revenue from public health services. Although governmental public health contains pockets of entrepreneurial activity, its culture does not sustain significant entrepreneurial activity. The question remains as to whether LHDs' current public revenue sources are sustainable and, if not, whether PHE is a feasible or desirable alternative.

  10. Overview criteria for the environmental, safety and health evaluation of remedial action project planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stenner, R.D.; Denham, D.H.

    1984-10-01

    Overview criteria (i.e., subject areas requiring review) for evaluating remedial action project plans with respect to environmental, safety and health issues were developed as part of a Department of Energy, Office of Operational Safety, technical support project. Nineteen elements were identified as criteria that should be addressed during the planning process of a remedial action (decontamination and decommissioning) project. The scope was interpreted broadly enough to include such environmental, safety and health issues as public image, legal obligation and quality assurance, as well as more obvious concerns such as those involving the direct protection of public and worker health. The nineteen elements are discussed along with suggested ways to use a data management software system to organize and report results

  11. Public health educational comprehensiveness: The strategic rationale in establishing networks among schools of public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

    2017-11-01

    The establishment and continuing development of a sufficient and competent public health workforce is fundamental for the planning, implementation, evaluation, effect and ethical validity of public health strategies and policies and, thus, for the development of the population's health and the cost-effectiveness of health and public health systems and interventions. Professional public health strategy-making demands a background of a comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum including mutually, dynamically coherent competences - not least, competences in sociology and other behavioural sciences and their interaction with, for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative methods and health promotion and disease prevention. The size of schools and university departments of public health varies, and smaller entities may run into problems if seeking to meet the comprehensive curriculum challenge entirely by use of in-house resources. This commentary discusses the relevance and strength of establishing comprehensive curriculum development networks between schools and university departments of public health, as one means to meet the comprehensiveness challenge. This commentary attempts to consider a two-stage strategy to develop complete curricula at the bachelor and master's as well as PhD levels.

  12. Emerging arboviruses and public health challenges in Brazil

    OpenAIRE

    Lima-Camara,Tamara Nunes

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Environmental modification by anthropogenic actions, disordered urban growth, globalization of international exchange and climate change are some factors that help the emergence and dissemination of human infectious diseases transmitted by vectors. This review discusses the recent entry of three arboviruses in Brazil: Chikungunya, West Nile, and Zika virus, focusing on the challenges for the Country’s public health. The Brazilian population is exposed to infections caused by th...

  13. Understanding and managing organizational change: implications for public health management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Jon M

    2010-01-01

    Managing organizational change has become a significant responsibility of managers. Managing the change process within public health organizations is important because appropriately and systematically managing change is linked to improved organizational performance. However, change is difficult and the change process poses formidable challenges for managers. Managers themselves face increased pressure to respond to environmental influences and provide the necessary leadership to their organizations in the change process. In fact, managing organizational change has become a key competency for healthcare managers. This article addresses the important topic of organizational change in public health organizations. It provides a conceptual foundation for understanding organizational change and its relationship to healthcare organizational performance, and then discusses the types and nature of change, using some examples and evidence from those organizations that have successfully managed change. A framework for guiding public health managers in the change management process is provided. The article concludes with suggested management competencies to establish a change-oriented organization with the culture and capacity for change.

  14. Harnessing and blending the power of two research networks to improve prevention science and public health practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderpool, Robin C.; Brownson, Ross C.; Mays, Glen P.; Crosby, Richard A.; Wyatt, Stephen W.

    2015-01-01

    Strategic collaborations are essential in moving public health research and practice forward1, particularly in light of escalating fiscal and environmental challenges facing the public health community. This commentary provides background and context for an emerging partnership between two national networks, Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) and Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs), to impact public health practice. Supported by CDC, PRCs are celebrating over 25 years of transdisciplinary applied prevention research grounded in community and stakeholder engagement. Public Health PBRNs, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conduct innovative public health services and systems research with public health agencies and community partners to improve public health decision-making. By utilizing each of the networks’ respective strengths and resources, collaborative ventures between PRCs and Public Health PBRNs can enhance the translation of applied prevention research to evidence-based practice and empirically investigate novel public health practices developed in the field. Three current PRC-Public Health PBRNs projects are highlighted and future research directions are discussed. Improving the interconnectedness of prevention research and public health practice is essential to improve the health of the Nation. PMID:24237918

  15. Human health and wellbeing in environmental impact assessment in New South Wales, Australia: Auditing health impacts within environmental assessments of major projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, Patrick J.; Harris, Elizabeth; Thompson, Susan; Harris-Roxas, Ben; Kemp, Lynn

    2009-01-01

    Internationally the inclusion of health within environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been shown to be limited. While Australian EIA documentation has not been studied empirically to date, deficiencies in practice have been documented. This research developed an audit tool to undertake a qualitative descriptive analysis of 22 Major Project EAs in New South Wales, Australia. Results showed that health and wellbeing impacts were not considered explicitly. They were, however, included indirectly in the identification of traditional public health exposures associated with the physical environment and to a lesser extent the inclusion of social and economic impacts. However, no health data was used to inform any of the assessments, there was no reference to causal pathways between exposures or determinants and physical or mental health effects, and there was no inclusion of the differential distribution of exposures or health impacts on different populations. The results add conceptually and practically to the long standing integration debate, showing that health is in a position to add value to the EIA process as an explicit part of standard environmental, social and economic considerations. However, to overcome the consistently documented barriers to integrating health in EIA, capacity must be developed amongst EIA professionals, led by the health sector, to progress health related knowledge and tools.

  16. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  17. On the Path to SunShot - The Environmental and Public Health Benefits of Achieving High Penetrations of Solar Energy in the United States

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiser, Ryan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mai, Trieu [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Millstein, Dev [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Macknick, Jordan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Carpenter, Alberta [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cohen, Stuart [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cole, Wesley [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Frew, Bethany [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Heath, Garvin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-05-01

    Monetizing the environmental health benefits of solar could add ~3.5¢/kWh to the value of solar energy (see Wiser et al. 2016). The monetary impacts due to environmental degradation and public health impacts seem far removed from the apparent “sticker price” of electricity. Yet quantifying these impacts is essential to understanding the true costs and benefits of solar and conventional generating technologies. Compared with fossil fuel generators, PV and CSP produce far lower lifecycle levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and harmful pollutants including fine particular matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Achieving the SunShot-level solar deployment targets—14% of U.S. electricity demand met by solar in 2030 and 27% in 2050—could reduce cumulative power-sector GHG emissions by 10% between 2015 and 2050, resulting in savings of $238–$252 billion. This is equivalent to 2.0–2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of solar installed (¢/kWh-solar). Similarly, realizing these levels of solar deployment could reduce cumulative power-sector emissions of PM2.5 by 8%, SO2 by 9%, and NOx by 11% between 2015 and 2050. This could produce $167 billion in savings from lower future health and environmental damages, or 1.4¢/kWh-solar—while also preventing 25,000–59,000 premature deaths. To put this in perspective, the estimated 3.5¢/kWh-solar in benefits due to SunShot-level solar deployment is approximately equal to the additional LCOE reduction needed to make unsubsidized utility-scale solar competitive with conventional generators today. In addition, water savings from achieving the SunShot goals, could result in the 2015–2050 cumulative savings of 4% of total power-sector withdrawals and 9% of total power-sector consumption—a particularly important consideration for arid states where substantial solar will be deployed. Improving public health and the environment is but one aspect of solar’s many costs and benefits. Clearly, however

  18. Draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for managing treatment, storage, and disposal of radioactive and hazardous waste. Volume 3, Appendix A: Public response to revised NOI, Appendix B: Environmental restoration, Appendix C, Environmental impact analysis methods, Appendix D, Risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-08-01

    Volume three contains appendices for the following: Public comments do DOE's proposed revisions to the scope of the waste management programmatic environmental impact statement; Environmental restoration sensitivity analysis; Environmental impacts analysis methods; and Waste management facility human health risk estimates

  19. Draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for managing treatment, storage, and disposal of radioactive and hazardous waste. Volume 3, Appendix A: Public response to revised NOI, Appendix B: Environmental restoration, Appendix C, Environmental impact analysis methods, Appendix D, Risk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-08-01

    Volume three contains appendices for the following: Public comments do DOE`s proposed revisions to the scope of the waste management programmatic environmental impact statement; Environmental restoration sensitivity analysis; Environmental impacts analysis methods; and Waste management facility human health risk estimates.

  20. Core public health functions for BC : evidence review : air quality-indoor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Copes, R.; Ouellette, V.; Lee, K.S.; Brauer, M. [British Columbia Ministry of Health, Victoria, BC (Canada)

    2006-04-15

    Indoor sources of pollutants can have a major impact on the health of Canadians, as pollutant concentrations are often higher indoors than outdoors. This paper assessed data compiled by public health indoor air interventions. The aim of the study was to identify the current state of evidence on the impacts of indoor pollution in order to develop performance improvement plans for public health programs in British Columbia (BC). The literature review used several databases to review interventions involving humidity control; ventilation; particulate matter; indoor allergens; and environmental tobacco smoke. Results of the review showed that improving inadequate ventilation can significantly decrease the prevalence of sick building syndrome as well as other self-reported symptoms attributed to indoor air pollution. A review of the literature also demonstrated that many building ventilation systems are not functioning to design specifications. The poor quality of studies on the health impacts of particulate matter or dust made it difficult to fully assess the benefits of particle filtration on human health. Studies investigating the impacts of controlling indoor allergens suggested that the avoidance of dust mites may benefit people with allergies. Evidence gained from studies on environmental tobacco smoke showed that banning or restricting smoking will reduce the burden of illness from pollutants in indoor air. 20 refs., 3 tabs.

  1. Core public health functions for BC : evidence review : air quality-indoor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Copes, R.; Ouellette, V.; Lee, K.S.; Brauer, M.

    2006-04-01

    Indoor sources of pollutants can have a major impact on the health of Canadians, as pollutant concentrations are often higher indoors than outdoors. This paper assessed data compiled by public health indoor air interventions. The aim of the study was to identify the current state of evidence on the impacts of indoor pollution in order to develop performance improvement plans for public health programs in British Columbia (BC). The literature review used several databases to review interventions involving humidity control; ventilation; particulate matter; indoor allergens; and environmental tobacco smoke. Results of the review showed that improving inadequate ventilation can significantly decrease the prevalence of sick building syndrome as well as other self-reported symptoms attributed to indoor air pollution. A review of the literature also demonstrated that many building ventilation systems are not functioning to design specifications. The poor quality of studies on the health impacts of particulate matter or dust made it difficult to fully assess the benefits of particle filtration on human health. Studies investigating the impacts of controlling indoor allergens suggested that the avoidance of dust mites may benefit people with allergies. Evidence gained from studies on environmental tobacco smoke showed that banning or restricting smoking will reduce the burden of illness from pollutants in indoor air. 20 refs., 3 tabs

  2. Blood-borne biomarkers and bioindicators for linking exposure to health effects in environmental health science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, M Ariel Geer; Kormos, Tzipporah M; Pleil, Joachim D

    2016-01-01

    Environmental health science aims to link environmental pollution sources to adverse health outcomes to develop effective exposure intervention strategies that reduce long-term disease risks. Over the past few decades, the public health community recognized that health risk is driven by interaction between the human genome and external environment. Now that the human genetic code has been sequenced, establishing this "G × E" (gene-environment) interaction requires a similar effort to decode the human exposome, which is the accumulation of an individual's environmental exposures and metabolic responses throughout the person's lifetime. The exposome is composed of endogenous and exogenous chemicals, many of which are measurable as biomarkers in blood, breath, and urine. Exposure to pollutants is assessed by analyzing biofluids for the pollutant itself or its metabolic products. New methods are being developed to use a subset of biomarkers, termed bioindicators, to demonstrate biological changes indicative of future adverse health effects. Typically, environmental biomarkers are assessed using noninvasive (excreted) media, such as breath and urine. Blood is often avoided for biomonitoring due to practical reasons such as medical personnel, infectious waste, or clinical setting, despite the fact that blood represents the central compartment that interacts with every living cell and is the most relevant biofluid for certain applications and analyses. The aims of this study were to (1) review the current use of blood samples in environmental health research, (2) briefly contrast blood with other biological media, and (3) propose additional applications for blood analysis in human exposure research.

  3. One Health and EcoHealth in Ontario: a qualitative study exploring how holistic and integrative approaches are shaping public health practice in Ontario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Zee; Middleton, Dean; Morrison, Karen

    2012-05-16

    There is a growing recognition that many public health issues are complex and can be best understood by examining the relationship between human health and the health of the ecosystems in which people live. Two approaches, One Health and Ecosystem Approaches to Health (EcoHealth), can help us to better understand these intricate and complex connections, and appear to hold great promise for tackling many modern public health dilemmas. Although both One Health and EcoHealth have garnered recognition from numerous health bodies in Canada and abroad, there is still a need to better understand how these approaches are shaping the practice of public health in Ontario.The purpose of this study was to characterize how public health actors in Ontario are influenced by the holistic principles which underlie One Health and EcoHealth, and to identify important lessons from their experiences. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants from the public health sphere in Ontario. Participants encompassed diverse perspectives including infectious disease, food systems, urban agriculture, and environmental health. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify major themes and patterns. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: the importance of connecting human health with the environment; the role of governance in promoting these ideas; the value of partnerships and collaborations in public health practice; and the challenge of operationalizing holistic approaches to public health. Overall study participants were found to be heavily influenced by concepts couched in EcoHealth and One Health literature, despite a lack of familiarity with these fields. Although One Health and EcoHealth are lesser known approaches in the public health sphere, their holistic and systems-based principles were found to influence the thoughts, values and experiences of public health actors interviewed in this study. This

  4. Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, A

    2009-01-01

    Mental illness affects the majority of prisoners. Mental health issues are beginning to take a central position in the development of prison health services, reflecting this burden of disease. This change in focus is not before time. But prison mental health services cannot exist in isolation. Public health systems should lead provision of care for patients with acute and severe illness. A whole prison approach to health and, specifically, mental health will offer the greatest likelihood that offenders will thrive, benefit from imprisonment, and lead law-abiding lives after release. Public awareness of the scale and commitment of prisons to mental health and illness, and understanding of prisons' role in society, are necessary developments that would protect and enhance public mental health, as well as creating a healthier and safer society. This article draws on recent reviews, information and statements to set out a public health agenda for mental health in prisons.

  5. Proposed integrated hazardous waste disposal facility. Public environmental review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-05-01

    This Public Environmental Report describes a proposal by the Health Department of Western Australia to establish a disposal facility for certain hazardous wastes and seeks comments from governments agencies and the public that will assist the EPA to make its recommendations to. The facility would only be used for wastes generated in Western Australia.The proposal specifically includes: a high temperature incinerator for the disposal of organo-chlorines (including agricultural chemicals and PCBs), and other intractable wastes for which this is the optimum disposal method; an area for the burial (after any appropriate conditioning) of low level radioactive intractable wastes arising from the processing of mineral sands (including monazite, ilmenite and zircon) and phosphate rock. Detailed information is presented on those wastes which are currently identified as requiring disposal at the facility.The proposed facility will also be suitable for the disposal of other intractable wastes including radioactive wastes (from industry, medicine and research) and other solid intractable wastes of a chemical nature including spent catalysts etc. Proposals to dispose of these other wastes at this facility in the future will be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority for separate assessment

  6. Academic dental public health diplomates: their distribution and recommendations concerning the predoctoral dental public health faculty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaste, L M; Sadler, Z E; Hayes, K L; Narendran, S; Niessen, L C; Weintraub, J A

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the representation of academically based diplomates of the American Board of Dental Public Health (ABDPH) and to identify their perceptions on the training of dental public health predoctoral faculty. Data were collected by a mailed, self-administered, 13-item questionnaire. The population was the 48 diplomates of the ABDPH as of March 1997 associated with academic institutions. Twenty of the 55 US dental schools had a diplomate of the ABDPH with a mean of 1.8 diplomates per school with a diplomate. An average of 4.5 full-time faculty members per school were associated with teaching dental public health. A master's degree in public health (MPH) was the most frequently suggested educational requirement for dental public health faculty. Continuing education courses were training needs perceived for dental public health faculty. The lack of time, money, and incentives, along with perceived rigidity of requirements for board certification, were reported as major barriers for faculty becoming dental public health board certified. Numerous challenges confront the development of a strong dental public health presence in US dental schools. These challenges include, among others, insufficient numbers of academic dental public health specialists and insufficient motivations to encourage promising candidates to pursue specialty status.

  7. Public health promotion of "local food": Constituting the self-governing citizen-consumer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derkatch, Colleen; Spoel, Philippa

    2017-03-01

    This article explores how the recent and growing promotion of local foods by public health units in Ontario, Canada, rhetorically interpellates the "good" health citizen as someone who not only takes responsibility for personal health but, through the consumption and support of "local food," also accepts and fulfills her responsibilities to care for the local economy, the community's well-being, and the natural environment. Drawing on Charland's concept of constitutive rhetoric, we analyze a selection of public health unit documents about local food to develop a textured account of the complex, multifaceted forms of health citizenship they constitute. Our analysis reveals that, despite their appeals to environmental sustainability and community well-being, these materials primarily characterize the ideal health citizen as an informed consumer who supports the interests of the neoliberal state through individualized lifestyle behaviors, consuming goods produced and distributed through private enterprise. By exhorting individuals to "buy local," public health discourse therefore frames responsible health citizenship principally in consumerist terms that constrain the range of available options for citizens to engage in meaningful action vis-à-vis their food systems.

  8. Cultural sensitivity in public health: defined and demystified.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnicow, K; Baranowski, T; Ahluwalia, J S; Braithwaite, R L

    1999-01-01

    There is consensus that health promotion programs should be culturally sensitive (CS). Yet, despite the ubiquitous nature of CS within public health research and practice, there has been surprisingly little attention given to defining CS or delineating a framework for developing culturally sensitive programs and practitioners. This paper describes a model for understanding CS from a public health perspective; describes a process for applying this model in the development of health promotion and disease prevention interventions; and highlights research priorities. Cultural sensitivity is defined by two dimensions: surface and deep structures. Surface structure involves matching intervention materials and messages to observable, "superficial" characteristics of a target population. This may involve using people, places, language, music, food, locations, and clothing familiar to, and preferred by, the target audience. Surface structure refers to how well interventions fit within a specific culture. Deep structure involves incorporating the cultural, social, historical, environmental and psychological forces that influence the target health behavior in the proposed target population. Whereas surface structure generally increases the "receptivity" or "acceptance" of messages, deep structure conveys salience. Techniques, borrowed from social marketing and health communication theory, for developing culturally sensitive interventions are described. Research is needed to determine the effectiveness of culturally sensitive programs.

  9. [Bioethics and environmental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velasco-Suárez, M

    1993-01-01

    Institutions such as World Health Organization and United Nations have considered the necessity to establish programs to control and preserve our environment. From the beginning, industrial development has polluted the air, water and soil, in some cases irreversibly affecting the ecosystems. Rampant use of natural resources and inattention to preventive measures have promoted environmental pollution, along with its hereditary effects, producing brain damage, intoxications, cancer, and respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, among other problems. It is necessary to put aside self-serving materialism and individualism and become aware of this problem. It is necessary to implement environmental policies, foster bioethical responsibility in environmental health research, conduct epidemiologic, biomedical and toxicologic environmental health research works if we are to have a worthy life and an optimal environment.

  10. 78 FR 56902 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of the following meeting. The meeting will be closed to the public in accordance...

  11. 78 FR 64221 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meetings Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of the following meetings. The meetings will be closed to the public in accordance...

  12. Public participation in environmental management in China: status quo and mode innovation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Mei; Qian, Xin; Zhang, Longjiang

    2015-03-01

    Public participation in environmental management is critically important in the development of a healthy environmental governance system. However, public participation has not been well institutionalized in China and the public's role in environmental management is limited. Chinese policy-makers and researchers currently face a dilemma wherein they must determine how to fully and effectively involve the public. This paper aims to contribute an innovative approach that can effectively engage the general public, allowing them to participate more in China's environmental management. In this paper, we first review the current status of environmental management and public participation in China. Based on China's political and socio-cultural-legal dynamics, an Environmental Community Consultative Group (ECCG) was developed to be an innovative means to engage community members. A pilot study of the ECCG was carried out in Yapu village of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province. The evaluation of the process and outcome of the ECCG showed that the group's effectiveness and influence were significant; the ECCG model was a powerful means by which to promote public environmental awareness, improve public environmental behavior and facilitate public engagement in environmental management. But the ECCG is a small local group that may not function well regarding more complex issues covering a much larger area and has limited impact on environmental policy making. The ECCG experience offers the prospect of grassroots involvement in environmental protection for China's rural areas, while also laying the foundation for further research on community participation in environmental management.

  13. Public Participation in Environmental Management in China: Status Quo and Mode Innovation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Mei; Qian, Xin; Zhang, Longjiang

    2015-03-01

    Public participation in environmental management is critically important in the development of a healthy environmental governance system. However, public participation has not been well institutionalized in China and the public's role in environmental management is limited. Chinese policy-makers and researchers currently face a dilemma wherein they must determine how to fully and effectively involve the public. This paper aims to contribute an innovative approach that can effectively engage the general public, allowing them to participate more in China's environmental management. In this paper, we first review the current status of environmental management and public participation in China. Based on China's political and socio-cultural-legal dynamics, an Environmental Community Consultative Group (ECCG) was developed to be an innovative means to engage community members. A pilot study of the ECCG was carried out in Yapu village of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province. The evaluation of the process and outcome of the ECCG showed that the group's effectiveness and influence were significant; the ECCG model was a powerful means by which to promote public environmental awareness, improve public environmental behavior and facilitate public engagement in environmental management. But the ECCG is a small local group that may not function well regarding more complex issues covering a much larger area and has limited impact on environmental policy making. The ECCG experience offers the prospect of grassroots involvement in environmental protection for China's rural areas, while also laying the foundation for further research on community participation in environmental management.

  14. Utility and justice in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKay, Kathryn

    2017-12-11

    Many public health practitioners and organizations view themselves as engaged in the promotion or achievement of equity. However, discussions around public health frequently assume that practitioners and policy-makers take a utilitarian approach to this work. I argue that public health is better understood as a social justice endeavor. I begin by presenting the utility view of public health and then discuss the equity view. This is a theoretical argument, which should help public health to justify interventions for communicable and non-communicable diseases equally, and which contributes to breaking down the 'old/new' public health divide. This argument captures practitioners' views of the work they are engaged in and allows for the moral and policy justification of important interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases. Systemic interventions are necessary to remedy high rates of disease among certain groups and, generally, to improve the health of entire populations. By viewing diseases as partly the result of failures of health protective systems in society, public health may justify interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases equally. Public health holds a duty to improve the health of the worst-off in society; by prioritizing this group, the health of the whole community may improve. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  15. Public health

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berg, van den A.E.

    2007-01-01

    Agnes van den Berg wrote an essay about human health and nature, establishing that subject as an important policy argument in developing (urban) nature in the Netherlands. She studied the public balance of fear and fascination for nature, summarising benefits on human health. In this chapter, she

  16. Human exposure, health hazards, and environmental regulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinemann, Anne

    2004-01-01

    United States environmental regulations, intended to protect human health, generally fail to address major sources of pollutants that endanger human health. These sources are surprisingly close to us and within our control, such as consumer products and building materials that we use within our homes, workplaces, schools, and other indoor environments. Even though these indoor sources account for nearly 90% of our pollutant exposure, they are virtually unregulated by existing laws. Even pollutant levels found in typical homes, if found outdoors, would often violate federal environmental standards. This article examines the importance of human exposure as a way to understand and reduce effects of pollutants on human health. Results from exposure studies challenge traditional thinking about pollutant hazards, and reveal deficiencies in our patchwork of laws. And results from epidemiological studies, showing increases in exposure-related diseases, underscore the need for new protections. Because we cannot rely solely on regulations to protect us, and because health effects from exposures can develop insidiously, greater efforts are needed to reduce and prevent significant exposures before they occur. Recommendations include the development and use of safer alternatives to common products, public education on ways to reduce exposure, systematic monitoring of human exposure to pollutants, and a precautionary approach in decision-making

  17. Annual report of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    A brief account of activities carried out by the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (UVZ SR) in 2012 is presented. These activities are reported under the headings: (1) General part; (2) Department of Legislation and Law; (3) Department inspection, supervision and complaints; (4) Department of International Relations; (5) Department of Environmental Health; (6) Department of Preventive Occupational Medicine; (7) Department of food hygiene, food safety and cosmetic products; (8) Department of Hygiene of Children and Youth; (9) Department of objectification factors welfare; (10) Department of Medical Microbiology; (11) Department of Epidemiology; (12) Department of Health Promotion; (13) Department of health protection against radiation; (14) Publications and Lectures.

  18. Sources of exposure to and public health implications of organophosphate pesticides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kushik Jaga

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To review the public health significance of organophosphate pesticide exposure in the United States of America. Since the situation of high organophosphate pesticide exposure and the concomitant health risks in the developing countries of the world is well known, this article seeks to highlight the public health significance of organophosphate exposure in the United States, where it is less common than in many other nations. Looking at the situation in the United States would serve to further emphasize the seriousness of organophosphate pesticide-related health issues in developing countries. METHODS: A search for journal articles on organophosphate pesticides and organophosphate exposure was done on the PubMed electronic bibliographic database system of the National Library of Medicine of the United States. To supplement that search, information on organophosphate toxicity, biological monitoring, and regulation of pesticides was obtained from other published articles, textbooks, and relevant Internet sites. RESULTS: Organophosphate pesticides are a group of chemicals that are mainly used in agriculture. Organophosphates inhibit the activity of both the cholinesterase (ChE enzymes-red blood cell (RBC ChE and serum ChE-resulting in the cholinergic features of organophosphate toxicity. A 50% reduction in serum ChE activity from the baseline is an indication of acute organophosphate toxicity. The RBC ChE activity, which is less rapidly depressed than the serum ChE activity, is a measure of chronic exposure to organophosphates. Exposures to organophosphates are broadly classified into two categories: occupational and environmental. Occupational exposures occur among agricultural workers (including migrant farmworkers, industrial workers, pest control exterminators, and other workers. Nonoccupational exposure affects a large segment of the general population in the United States. Residential exposures come from organophosphate pesticide

  19. Critical perspectives in public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Green, Judith; Labonte, Ronald N

    2008-01-01

    ... the contemporary roles of 'critical voices' in public health research and practice from a range of disciplines and contexts. The book covers many of the pressing concerns for public health practitioners and researchers, including: * * * * * the implications of new genetic technologies for public health; the impact of globalisation on local practice...

  20. Public Health Climate Change Adaptation Planning Using Stakeholder Feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eidson, Millicent; Clancy, Kathleen A; Birkhead, Guthrie S

    2016-01-01

    Public health climate change adaptation planning is an urgent priority requiring stakeholder feedback. The 10 Essential Public Health Services can be applied to adaptation activities. To develop a state health department climate and health adaptation plan as informed by stakeholder feedback. With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) implemented a 2010-2013 climate and health planning process, including 7 surveys on perceptions and adaptation priorities. New York State Department of Health program managers participated in initial (n = 41, denominator unknown) and follow-up (72.2%) needs assessments. Surveillance system information was collected from 98.1% of surveillance system managers. For adaptation prioritization surveys, participants included 75.4% of NYSDOH leaders; 60.3% of local health departments (LHDs); and 53.7% of other stakeholders representing environmental, governmental, health, community, policy, academic, and business organizations. Interviews were also completed with 38.9% of other stakeholders. In 2011 surveys, 34.1% of state health program directors believed that climate change would impact their program priorities. However, 84.6% of state health surveillance system managers provided ideas for using databases for climate and health monitoring/surveillance. In 2012 surveys, 46.5% of state health leaders agreed they had sufficient information about climate and health compared to 17.1% of LHDs (P = .0046) and 40.9% of other stakeholders (nonsignificant difference). Significantly fewer (P climate and health into planning compared to state health leaders (55.8%) and other stakeholders (68.2%). Stakeholder groups agreed on the 4 highest priority adaptation categories including core public health activities such as surveillance, coordination/collaboration, education, and policy development. Feedback from diverse stakeholders was utilized by NYSDOH to develop its Climate and Health

  1. Development of Systematic Knowledge Management for Public Health: A Public Health Law Ontology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeling, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    The Institute of Medicine has stated that legal structures and the authority vested in health agencies and other partners within the public health system are essential to improving the public's health. Variation between the laws of different jurisdictions within the United States allows for natural experimentation and research into their…

  2. Paying for international environmental public goods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arriagada, Rodrigo; Perrings, Charles

    2011-11-01

    Supply of international environmental public goods must meet certain conditions to be socially efficient, and several reasons explain why they are currently undersupplied. Diagnosis of the public goods failure associated with particular ecosystem services is critical to the development of the appropriate international response. There are two categories of international environmental public goods that are most likely to be undersupplied. One has an additive supply technology and the other has a weakest link supply technology. The degree to which the collective response should be targeted depends on the importance of supply from any one country. In principle, the solution for the undersupply lies in payments designed to compensate local providers for the additional costs they incur in meeting global demand. Targeted support may take the form of direct investment in supply (the Global Environment Facility model) or of payments for the benefits of supply (the Payments for Ecosystem Services model).

  3. Public involvement in environmental activities: Initiatives and lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, R.H.

    1995-01-01

    Efforts to communicate the results of environmental studies and involve the public in environmental decisions have increased nationwide. Outreach efforts at two US Department of Energy sites (i.e., the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State and the Pantex Plant in the Texas Panhandle) have used a broad spectrum of communications media, including technical articles (open literature and symposium publications, annual and topical reports); information brochures and fact sheets; video productions; interactive exhibits; presentations at scientific, technical, civic, and other public meetings; and proactive interactions with the news media and with local, state, federal, and other agencies. In addition, representatives of local communities now operate offsite environmental monitoring stations and Native Americans are involved in studying cultural resources, fisheries, and other issues at Hanford and a program to obtain environmental samples from neighbor's property is underway at the Pantex Plant. All major environmental programs, such as the multi-year effort to reconstruct past radiological doses to offsite human populations at Hanford, are now conducted with open public participation

  4. Public health leadership education in North America

    OpenAIRE

    Uno, Hideo; Zakariasen,Kenneth

    2010-01-01

    Hideo Uno, Kenneth ZakariasenDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaAbstract: Public health leadership is one of the priority disciplines public health professionals need to learn well if they are to deal with demanding public health issues effectively and efficiently. This article looks at the trends in public health leadership education by reviewing the literature and using the Internet to explore the public health leadershi...

  5. US Department of Energy environmental management advisory board public meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-03-01

    Contents of this publication include: list of participants; March 14, 1994--opening of public meeting and subcommittee reports, and public comment session; March 15, 1994--presentation by Thomas P. Grumbly, assistant secretary for environmental management, presentations by senior environmental management officials, and committee business.

  6. Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Orvik, Arne

    2016-01-01

    The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutio...

  7. Environmental Criteria in the Spanish Public Works Procurement Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luis Fuentes-Bargues

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Green Public Procurement (GPP is defined as a process of contracting products, services, and works with the least possible damage to the environment during their life cycle. In order to improve the knowledge about GPP, a study of the use of environmental tendering criteria in the Spanish public construction sector has been performed. The results of this study show that the use of environmental criteria in Spanish public sector construction procurement is low in comparison to a certain group of countries, known as “Green 7”, in the European Union. Environmental criteria is the fourth criterion in importance, but its weight in the global of the process is much lower than other criteria such as price, memory of the construction process and the delivery time. National administrations use environmental criteria more frequently because they have more resources and staff training about environmental issues. Environmental criteria are more used in the tendering of civil projects and works whose budget exceeds ten million euro due to the environmental impact of these kind and/or size of projects.

  8. Public health and English local government: historical perspectives on the impact of 'returning home'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorsky, Martin; Lock, Karen; Hogarth, Sue

    2014-12-01

    This article uses history to stimulate reflection on the present opportunities and challenges for public health practice in English local government. Its motivation is the paradox that despite Department of Health policy-makers' allusions to 'a long and proud history' and 'returning public health home' there has been no serious discussion of that past local government experience and what we might learn from it. The article begins with a short resumé of the achievements of Victorian public health in its municipal location, and then considers the extensive responsibilities that it developed for environmental, preventive and health services by the mid-twentieth century. The main section discusses the early NHS, explaining why historians see the era as one of decline for the speciality of public health, leading to the reform of 1974, which saw the removal from local government and the abolition of the Medical Officer of Health role. Our discussion focuses on challenges faced before 1974 which raise organizational and political issues relevant to local councils today as they embed new public health teams. These include the themes of leadership, funding, integrated service delivery, communication and above all the need for a coherent vision and rationale for public health action in local authorities. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

  9. Expanding horizons. Integrating environmental health in occupational health nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, B; Cox, A R

    1998-01-01

    1. Environmental hazards are ubiquitous. Many exist in the workplace or occur as a result of work process exposures. 2. Environmental health is a natural component of the expanding practice of occupational health nursing. 3. AAOHN's vision for occupational and environmental health will continue to set the standard and provide leadership in the specialty.

  10. Motivators and barriers to incorporating climate change-related health risks in environmental health impact assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Lyle R; Alderman, Katarzyna; Connell, Des; Tong, Shilu

    2013-03-22

    Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within an EHIA framework. Practitioners expressed concern over a number of factors relating to the current EHIA methodology and the inclusion of climate change-related health risks. These concerns related to the broad scope of issues that would need to be considered, problems with identifying appropriate health indicators, the lack of relevant qualitative information that is currently incorporated in assessment and persistent issues surrounding stakeholder participation. It was suggested that improvements are needed in data collection processes, particularly in terms of adequate communication between environmental and health practitioners. Concerns were raised surrounding data privacy and usage, and how these could impact on the assessment process. These findings may provide guidance for government and industry bodies to improve the assessment of climate change-related health risks.

  11. Pesticides and public health: integrated methods of mosquito management.

    OpenAIRE

    Rose, R. I.

    2001-01-01

    Pesticides have a role in public health as part of sustainable integrated mosquito management. Other components of such management include surveillance, source reduction or prevention, biological control, repellents, traps, and pesticide-resistance management. We assess the future use of mosquito control pesticides in view of niche markets, incentives for new product development, Environmental Protection Agency registration, the Food Quality Protection Act, and improved pest management strate...

  12. Health promotion, environmental health and Agenda 21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scriven, A; Young, S

    1998-04-01

    In 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit, many governments, including our own, committed themselves to developing local strategies for sustainable development in the form of Local Agenda 21. Sustainable development is discussed, as is the philosophy and practice of health promotion and environmental health. Common approaches are identified and the links in relation to key areas of activities, strategies, values and principles are outlined. Finally, recommendations are made and conclusions drawn in relation to the overlap between environmental health action, Agenda 21 strategies and health promotion practice.

  13. The Implications of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease on Public Health Policy and Health Promotion in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, Sasiragha Priscilla; Mbewu, Anthony David

    2016-11-09

    The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis states that environmental influences in utero and in early life can determine health and disease in later life through the programming of genes and/or altered gene expression. The DOHaD is likely to have had an effect in South Africa during the fifty years of apartheid; and during the twenty years since the dawn of democracy in 1994. This has profound implications for public health and health promotion policies in South Africa, a country experiencing increased prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and risk factors and behaviours for NCDs due to rapid social and economic transition, and because of the DOHaD. Public health policy and health promotion interventions, such as those introduced by the South African Government over the past 20 years, were designed to improve the health of pregnant women (and their unborn children). They could in addition, through the DOHaD mechanism, reduce NCDs and their risk factors in their offspring in later life. The quality of public health data over the past 40 years in South Africa precludes the possibility of proving the DOHaD hypothesis in that context. Nevertheless, public health and health promotion policies need to be strengthened, if South Africa and other low and middle income countries (LMICs) are to avoid the very high prevalence of NCDs seen in Europe and North America in the 50 years following the Second World War, as a result of socio economic transition and the DOHaD.

  14. PPACA and public health: creating a framework to focus on prevention and wellness and improve the public's health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

    2011-01-01

    PPACA epitomizes comprehensive health care reform legislation. Public health, disease prevention, and wellness were integral considerations in its development. This article reveals the author's personal experiences while working on the framework for health care reform in the United States Senate and reviews activity in the United States House of Representatives. This insider's perspective delineates PPACA's positive effect on public health by examining the infrastructure Congress designed to focus on prevention, wellness, and public health, with a particular focus on the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council; the National Prevention, Health Promotion, Public Health, and Integrative Health Care Strategy; and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Council, strategy, and fund are especially important because they reflect compliance with some of the Institute of Medicine's recommendations to improve public health in the United States, as well as international health and human rights norms that protect the right to health. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

  15. Climate Change and Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciesielski, Timothy

    2017-05-01

    It is clear that the public health community is concerned about the human health impacts of climate change, but are we inadvertently underestimating the scope of the problem and obfuscating potentially useful interventions by using a narrow intellectual frame in our discussions with policy makers? If we take a more holistic approach, we see that the public health impacts of climate change are only one subset of the enormous public health impacts of fossil fuel burning. This broader perspective can provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment that is more useful for decision making in public policy settings.

  16. An Update of NASA Public Health Applications Projects using Remote Sensing Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estes, Sue M.; Haynes, J. A.

    2009-01-01

    Satellite earth observations present a unique vantage point of the earth s environment from space which offers a wealth of health applications for the imaginative investigator. The session will present research results of the remote sensing environmental observations of earth and health applications. This session will an overview of many of the NASA public health applications using Remote Sensing Data and will also discuss opportunities to become a research collaborator with NASA.

  17. [Earthquakes--a historical review, environmental and health effects, and health care measures].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nola, Iskra Alexandra; Doko Jelinić, Jagoda; Žuškin, Eugenija; Kratohvil, Mladen

    2013-06-01

    Earthquakes are natural disasters that can occur at any time, regardless of the location. Their frequency is higher in the Circum-Pacific and Mediterranean/Trans-Asian seismic belt. A number of sophisticated methods define their magnitude using the Richter scale and intensity using the Mercani-Cancani-Sieberg scale. Recorded data show a number of devastating earthquakes that have killed many people and changed the environment dramatically. Croatia is located in a seismically active area, which has endured a series of historical earthquakes, among which several occurred in the Zagreb area. The consequences of an earthquake depend mostly on the population density and seismic resistance of buildings in the affected area. Environmental consequences often include air, water, and soil pollution. The effects of this kind of pollution can have long-term health effects. The most dramatic health consequences result from the demolition of buildings. Therefore, quick and efficient aid depends on well-organized health professionals as well as on the readiness of the civil defence, fire department, and Mountain Rescue Service members. Good coordination among these services can save many lives Public health interventions must include effective control measures in the environment as secondary prevention methods for health problems caused by unfavourable environmental factors. The identification and control of long-term hazards can reduce chronic health effects. The reduction of earthquake-induced damages includes setting priorities in building seismically safe buildings.

  18. First approaches to the monetary impact of environmental health disturbances in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haucke, Florian; Brückner, Ulrike

    2010-01-01

    This article aims to describe essential conditions and starting-points for the monetary evaluation of environmentally attributable diseases. Furthermore, a cost calculation within a scenario analysis is conducted for Germany. To calculate the costs of environmental health effects we chose a disease-specific perspective. The national statistics of the Federal Statistical Office and the World Health Report burden of disease estimates were used to identify the most important disease categories for Germany. Based on an extensive literature research in computerized databases and the publications of national and international institutions, available costs of illness studies for Germany as well as environmental attributable fractions (EAFs) were identified. Based on these data environmental health costs were calculated with a top-down approach. Direct and indirect environmental costs of illness add up to 15-62 billion euro(2006) per year depending on the specific scenario. From our results a tentative scheme is deduced of how the monetary environmental burden of specific diseases is composed and how it can be assigned to major environmental exposures and economic sectors which can be used in setting intervention priorities and evaluating intervention efficiency. Within this article, we were able to calculate environmental health costs for Germany based on available, easy to access data and deduce implications for environmental policy decision-making. However, there are restrictions in data quality, as the aetiology of some diseases with respect to environmental impacts is not very well documented and data has not been collected particularly for Germany.

  19. Liberalism and Public Health Ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajczi, Alex

    2016-02-01

    Many public health dilemmas involve a tension between the promotion of health and the rights of individuals. This article suggests that we should resolve the tension using our familiar liberal principles of government. The article considers the common objections that (i) liberalism is incompatible with standard public health interventions such as anti-smoking measures or intervention in food markets; (2) there are special reasons for hard paternalism in public health; and (3) liberalism is incompatible with proper protection of the community good. The article argues that we should examine these critiques in a larger methodological framework by first acknowledging that the right theory of public health ethics is the one we arrive at in reflective equilibrium. Once we examine the arguments for and against liberalism in that light, we can see the weaknesses in the objections and the strength of the case for liberalism in public health. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castleman, Barry; Allen, Barbara; Barca, Stefania; Bohme, Susanna Rankin; Henry, Emmanuel; Kaur, Amarjit; Massard-Guilbaud, Genvieve; Melling, Joseph; Menendez-Navarro, Alfredo; Renfrew, Daniel; Santiago, Myrna; Sellers, Christopher; Tweedale, Geoffrey; Zalik, Anna; Zavestoski, Stephen

    2008-01-01

    At a conference held at Stony Brook University in December 2007, "Dangerous Trade: Histories of Industrial Hazard across a Globalizing World," participants endorsed a Code of Sustainable Practice in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety for Corporations. The Code outlines practices that would ensure corporations enact the highest health and environmentally protective measures in all the locations in which they operate. Corporations should observe international guidelines on occupational exposure to air contaminants, plant safety, air and water pollutant releases, hazardous waste disposal practices, remediation of polluted sites, public disclosure of toxic releases, product hazard labeling, sale of products for specific uses, storage and transport of toxic intermediates and products, corporate safety and health auditing, and corporate environmental auditing. Protective measures in all locations should be consonant with the most protective measures applied anywhere in the world, and should apply to the corporations' subsidiaries, contractors, suppliers, distributors, and licensees of technology. Key words: corporations, sustainability, environmental protection, occupational health, code of practice.

  1. Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deitchman, Scott

    2013-10-01

    Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises.

  2. Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Orvik, Arne

    The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing...... as the disintegration of such values. Possible implications for public health management and leadership include four different forms. The application of the conceptual model can potentially draw attention to value conflicts and help to clarify contradictory, institutional logics. It can also potentially support health...... workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutional theory. It includes five dimensions and defines organizational health in terms of how an organization...

  3. Ozone (Environmental Health Student Portal)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skip Navigation National Library of Medicine Environmental Health Student Portal Connecting Middle School Students to Environmental Health Information Menu Home Air Pollution Air Pollution Home Indoor Air Pollution Outdoor ...

  4. Pesticides (Environmental Health Student Portal)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skip Navigation National Library of Medicine Environmental Health Student Portal Connecting Middle School Students to Environmental Health Information Menu Home Air Pollution Air Pollution Home Indoor Air Pollution Outdoor ...

  5. Environmental Epigenetics: Crossroad between Public Health, Lifestyle, and Cancer Prevention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romani, Massimo; Pistillo, Maria Pia; Banelli, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    Epigenetics provides the key to transform the genetic information into phenotype and because of its reversibility it is considered an ideal target for therapeutic interventions. This paper reviews the basic mechanisms of epigenetic control: DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, and ncRNA expression and their role in disease development. We describe also the influence of the environment, lifestyle, nutritional habits, and the psychological influence on epigenetic marks and how these factors are related to cancer and other diseases development. Finally we discuss the potential use of natural epigenetic modifiers in the chemoprevention of cancer to link together public health, environment, and lifestyle. PMID:26339624

  6. Environmental Aspects of Social Responsibility of Public Sector Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana Hawrysz

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In addition to determining social responsibility policies that affect the market and social actors, certain governments also set objectives related to their internal activity. For example, one of the activities of the German government is to implement the concept of social responsibility into public institutions. In the Netherlands, one of the government tasks is to set an example for responsible practices (government as a role model. The aim of this paper is to examine firstly whether public sector entities set an example for responsible practices, especially with regard to respect for the environment, and secondly, whether public sector organizations in Poland significantly differ from organizations abroad in terms of their practices in the field of environmental protection. A questionnaire was a basis for data collection. The questionnaires were distributed to representatives of deliberately selected public sector organizations located primarily in Europe. The study was conducted in 2012–2013 on a group of 220 public sector organizations (102 Polish and 118 other European. The paper presents only the selected part of research. Public sector organizations in Poland do not have internal mechanisms of environmental responsibility. There is a significant discrepancy between the state of the environmental responsibility of organizations located in Poland and abroad. Obtained results show that public sector organizations, those in Poland in particular, are making their first steps in developing internal environmental responsibility.

  7. Public hearings and environmental management in Latin America

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer de Lemos, Chelen

    2002-01-01

    The study attempts to review comparative environmental public hearings, regulation regions in four Latin America countries: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. It seeks the similarities and differences, advances and limits from public participation on decision making and environmental management process. The main characteristics of the normative instruments are looking for the following aspects: who requests and who convokes the hearings, which are the objectives and the matters of the hearings, when they occur and which are its legal effects. Four summaries of public hearings are presented to illustrate the analysis. The analysis follows two approaches: the first one is based on the instrumental conception of the public hearings for social conflicts control and the second stress that new forms of subjectivity and participation can arise in the process of public hearings accomplishment

  8. Surfing the net for public health resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angell, C; Hemingway, A; Hartwell, H

    2011-08-01

    To identify public health open educational resources (OER) available online, map the identified OER to The Public Health Skills and Career Framework (PHSCF), and triangulate these findings with public health practitioners. Systematic online search for public health OER. An online search was undertaken using a pre-defined set of search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Public health OER were then mapped against the UK PHSCF. The findings of the search were discussed with public health specialists to determine whether or not they used these resources. A number of public health OER were identified, located on 42 websites from around the world. Mapping against the UK PHSCF demonstrated a lack of coverage in some areas of public health education. It was noted that many of the OER websites identified were not those generally used in practice, and those sites preferred by public health specialists were not identified by the online search. Public health OER are available from a number of providers, frequently universities and government organizations. However, these reflect a relatively small pool of original OER providers. Tagging of websites does not always identify their public health content. In addition, users of public health OER may not use search engines to identify resources but locate them using other means. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. GRADE: Assessing the quality of evidence in environmental and occupational health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Rebecca L; Thayer, Kristina A; Bero, Lisa; Bruce, Nigel; Falck-Ytter, Yngve; Ghersi, Davina; Guyatt, Gordon; Hooijmans, Carlijn; Langendam, Miranda; Mandrioli, Daniele; Mustafa, Reem A; Rehfuess, Eva A; Rooney, Andrew A; Shea, Beverley; Silbergeld, Ellen K; Sutton, Patrice; Wolfe, Mary S; Woodruff, Tracey J; Verbeek, Jos H; Holloway, Alison C; Santesso, Nancy; Schünemann, Holger J

    2016-01-01

    There is high demand in environmental health for adoption of a structured process that evaluates and integrates evidence while making decisions and recommendations transparent. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework holds promise to address this demand. For over a decade, GRADE has been applied successfully to areas of clinical medicine, public health, and health policy, but experience with GRADE in environmental and occupational health is just beginning. Environmental and occupational health questions focus on understanding whether an exposure is a potential health hazard or risk, assessing the exposure to understand the extent and magnitude of risk, and exploring interventions to mitigate exposure or risk. Although GRADE offers many advantages, including its flexibility and methodological rigor, there are features of the different sources of evidence used in environmental and occupational health that will require further consideration to assess the need for method refinement. An issue that requires particular attention is the evaluation and integration of evidence from human, animal, in vitro, and in silico (computer modeling) studies when determining whether an environmental factor represents a potential health hazard or risk. Assessment of the hazard of exposures can produce analyses for use in the GRADE evidence-to-decision (EtD) framework to inform risk-management decisions about removing harmful exposures or mitigating risks. The EtD framework allows for grading the strength of the recommendations based on judgments of the certainty in the evidence (also known as quality of the evidence), as well as other factors that inform recommendations such as social values and preferences, resource implications, and benefits. GRADE represents an untapped opportunity for environmental and occupational health to make evidence-based recommendations in a systematic and transparent manner. The objectives of this article are

  10. Intercultural competency in public health: a call for action to incorporate training into public health education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia eFleckman

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultural roles needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. In focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

  11. The State Public Health Laboratory System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inhorn, Stanley L; Astles, J Rex; Gradus, Stephen; Malmberg, Veronica; Snippes, Paula M; Wilcke, Burton W; White, Vanessa A

    2010-01-01

    This article describes the development since 2000 of the State Public Health Laboratory System in the United States. These state systems collectively are related to several other recent public health laboratory (PHL) initiatives. The first is the Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories, a white paper that defined the basic responsibilities of the state PHL. Another is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Laboratory System (NLS) initiative, the goal of which is to promote public-private collaboration to assure quality laboratory services and public health surveillance. To enhance the realization of the NLS, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) launched in 2004 a State Public Health Laboratory System Improvement Program. In the same year, APHL developed a Comprehensive Laboratory Services Survey, a tool to measure improvement through the decade to assure that essential PHL services are provided.

  12. Public health evaluation of waste management plan of urban areas of Florence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corti, Andrea; Lombardi, Lidia; Carpentieri, Matteo; Buiatti, Eva; Bartolacci, Simone; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Linzalone, Nunzia; Minichilli, Fabrizio; Mancuso, Stefano

    2005-01-01

    Public health evaluation impact for solid municipal waste management of Florence urban areas is considered. In this case study the evaluation step of screening show the environmental analysis of pollutants in the urban areas and epidemiologic study of exposed population in the area

  13. Georgia Public Health Laboratory, Decatur, Georgia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2002-12-01

    This case study was prepared as one in a series for the Laboratories for the 21st Century program, a joint endeavor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program. The goal of this program is to foster greater energy efficiency in new and retrofit laboratory buildings in both the public and the private sectors. The energy-efficient elements of the laboratory featured in this case study-the Georgia Public Health Laboratory, Decatur, Georgia-include sustainable design features, light-filled interior spaces for daylighting, closely grouped loads (such as freezers), the use of recirculated air in administrative areas, direct digital controls for heating and cooling equipment, sunscreens, and low-emissivity window glazing. These elements, combined with an attractive design and well-lighted work spaces, add up to a building that ranks high in comfort and low in energy use.

  14. 20 CFR 638.804 - Environmental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Environmental health. 638.804 Section 638.804... TITLE IV-B OF THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT Administrative Provisions § 638.804 Environmental health. The Job Corps Director shall provide guidelines for proper environmental health conditions. ...

  15. Environmental health and hazardous waste issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, D E; Peña, C; Varady, R; Suk, W A

    1996-06-01

    Environmental health and environmental quality issues along the U.S.-Mexico border have been of concern for several years. The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the presence of the maquiladoras (foreign-owned industries using imported raw materials) have intensified those concerns recently. Efforts to assess these issues are complicated by the fact that many of the issues affecting the border region are within federal jurisdiction, but the problems are regional and local in nature. Thus, state and local governments become involved with public concerns about real and potential problems. One major problem is that environmental health data from this region are lacking, particularly from Mexico. Some new agencies such as the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, and the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation have joined several existing agencies at the federal and state level to address environmental quality and health. Several studies have been initiated to determine air and water quality, but little is being done in the areas of hazardous waste and health assessment. Several problems are anticipated in the generation of such data, such as its format and accessibility. Data gaps and research needs are discussed.

  16. Environmental Health Risk Assesement in Flood-prone Area in Tamangapa Sub-District Makassar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haris, Ibrahim Abdul; Basir, Basir

    2018-05-01

    Environmental health in Indonesia is still caution to concern, poor sanitation in Indonesia is characterized by the high incidence of infectious diseases in society. The society in flood-prone area has a high-risk exposure on the disease based on the environment because they live in disaster-prone area. This research aimed to describe the condition of sanitary facilities and risky behavior on public health in flood-prone areas in Manggala district particularly in Tamangapa sub-district of Makassar. This reserach uses an observation method with a descriptive approach. The data is processed by using SPSS and Arc View GIS applications. Environmental risk category is determined by the approach of Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA). The results showed that the flood-prone area in RT 04 RW 06 was included in very high-risk category at 229 with an index value of environmental health risks 212-229. Meanwhile, RT 04 RW 05 was in the category of low risk in the amount of 155 with an index of 155-173. Environmental health hazards identified in Tamangapa flood-prone areas sub-district includes domestic sources of clean water, domestic wastewater, and household garbage.

  17. One Health: Understanding and Improving Human, Animal, and Environmental Health as a Connected System Across NOAA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giltz, S.; Trtanj, J.; Jones, H.

    2017-12-01

    The One Health concept recognizes that the health of humans is inextricably linked with the health of animals and the environment. With a growing world population, changing climate, and increased global travel One Health approaches are increasingly useful. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides key stakeholders in the public health sector with the environmental intelligence they need to mitigate emerging health threats. The NOAA One Health Working Group's mission is to integrate and coordinate the network of observing systems and in situ sensors, detection and diagnostic capacity, research and modeling efforts, and sustained engagement with health partners to deliver useful information to public health and resource management communities. The NOAA One Health group divides its broad focus into themes: thermal extremes, water-borne disease, seafood security, Arctic, wildlife and zoonotic disease, vector-borne disease, and air quality (including wildfire). The group connects the work being done throughout NOAA to coordinate One Health related efforts, increase information sharing, promote interdisciplinary approaches, and work towards better disease prevention. We are working to enhance NOAA Science and services to deliver useful information on current and emerging health risks and benefits to health decision makers.

  18. Intercultural Competency in Public Health: A Call for Action to Incorporate Training into Public Health Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleckman, Julia M; Dal Corso, Mark; Ramirez, Shokufeh; Begalieva, Maya; Johnson, Carolyn C

    2015-01-01

    Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Although these programs share common goals for improving clinical care for patients and reducing health disparities, there is little standardization across programs. Furthermore, little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultures needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. By focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness, and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt, and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

  19. Conventional and ecological public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayner, G

    2009-09-01

    This paper suggests that current models of public health are no longer sufficient as a means for understanding the health challenges of the anthropogenic age, and argues for an alternative based upon an ecological model. The roots of this perspective originated within the Victorian era, although it found only limited expression at that time. Ecological thinking in public health has only been revived relatively recently. Derived from an analysis of obesity, this paper proposes the development of an approach to ecological public health based on four dimensions of existence: the material, the physiological, the social and the cultural-cognitive. The implications for public policy are considered.

  20. Public health approach to birth defects: the Argentine experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidondo, María Paz; Groisman, Boris; Barbero, Pablo; Liascovich, Rosa

    2015-04-01

    Birth defects are a global problem, but their impact is particularly severe in low and middle income countries, where the conditions for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation are more critical. The epidemiological transition in the infant mortality causes, and the concern of the community and the mass media about the teratogenic risk of environmental pollutants, has made health authorities aware of the importance of birth defects in Argentina. The objective of this paper is to outline those actions specifically taken in Argentina aimed at the prevention of birth defects at a national level. Firstly, we focus on birth defects in Argentina on a general basis, and then we present different laws and actions taken in terms of surveillance and public health programs, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Finally, we present the Teratology Information Service "Fetal Health Line", and the genetic services organization and health professionals training by the National Center of Medical Genetics and the National Program of Genetics Network. In conclusion, in the country, several programs focus on different approaches to the problem, and the challenge is to coordinate the teamwork between them. Finally, we list tips to address birth defects from the public health perspective.

  1. Risk Profile in a Sample of Patients with Breast Cancer from the Public Health Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sorina IRIMIE

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Cancer represents a major public health and economical burden in developed countries and has emerged as a major public health problem in developing countries, matching its effect in industrialized nations. Although there have been recent declines in breast cancer mortality rates in some European Union countries, breast cancer remains of key importance to public health in Europe. Now days there is increasing recognition of the causative role of lifestyle factors, as smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, or lake of physical activity. The present study aimed to appreciate the presence and magnitude of modifiable risk factors for breast cancer in a sample of patients diagnosed with the disease, and to outline a risk profile liable to be changed in the intention of reducing the global risk. Risk factors have been investigated in 65 patients diagnosed with breast cancer using a questionnaire for breast cancer risk factors evaluation. The high risk profile was identified as taking shape for urban environment, modulated by the impact of overweight-obesity, smoking, reproductive factors and environmental exposure to different chemical substances. From the public health perspective, the control of overweight and obesity comes out in the foreground of preventive activities. Public health approaches emphasize on inexpensive, practical methods and in this perspective the approach of obesity should focus on the alteration of environmental context, promoting healthy eating and increased physical activity which could have a positive, independent impact on breast cancer risk

  2. Why feminism in public health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammarström, A

    1999-12-01

    The issues raised in this editorial and exemplified within a number of the studies reported in this issue indicate new directions for public health, directions which take feminist scholarship, both outside and within the medical framework, into account. The changing potential of feminist public health, as derived from the articles in this issue, can be summarised within the following issues: new research areas, positioning women as actors, development of theoretical frameworks, reflexive theory of science, interplay between sex and gender, gender-sensitive methods, diversities among women/men, pro-feminist research on men's health and using the results for change. Thus, feminist public health represents a shift towards the new public health, with holistic and multidisciplinary activities, based on theoretical pluralism, multiple perspectives and collective actions with the aim of improving the health of gender-subordinated groups.

  3. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Robert A; Truman, Benedict I

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health - an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015.

  4. Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R

    2014-01-01

    Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health.

  5. Farmers' suicide in India: implications for public mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Anindya

    2011-01-01

    Farmers' suicide in India is a cause of concern and government figures, though conservative, predict an impending epidemic. Various measures to curb this calamity are being made in a piecemeal manner. Considering it as an issue of social and mental health concern, this article attempts to evaluate the situation based on the tenet that health and illness are the result of a complex interplay between biological, psychological, social, environmental, economic and political factors. Thus in India the agrarian crisis, among other causes, has been largely debated as the major reason for the current state of farmers. It is important that (psychiatric) epidemiology and public mental health try to evolve mechanisms to understand and implement measures, and take this into consideration when attempting health promotion and prevention.

  6. Public health emergencies in urban India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhabani Prasad Acharya

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Public health emergencies in urban India can be caused by natural or man-made disasters. Occurrence of a public health emergency adds to the already stretched health system. This paper looks into the public health emergency conditions in urban India, and our preparedness to tackle them. To address this composite threat to nation’s health and development, a concerted public health response is needed, that can ensure efficient delivery in emergency situations Public health emergency is an occurrence or eminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bio-terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that possess a substantial risk of a significant number of human facilities or incidents or permanent or long–term disability (1. It is a condition that requires the government to declare a state of public health emergency. The declaration of a state of public health emergency permits the government to suspend state regulations,and change the functions of state agencies (2. Term “Urban” refers to perplexing variety of environments.  Health circumstances of small cities and town differ in many ways from larger cities and metros. Within cities, change in lifestyle of residents is observed. The urban system is often present with full array of health providers ranging from traditional healer, street drug seller to highly –trained surgeons (3.

  7. Public participation in Malawi's environmental impact assessment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Since the adoption of the Environmental Management Act of 1996, Malawi has been using environmental impact assessment (EIA) as a tool for predicting and assessing the impact of development projects on the environment. This study assessed the extent of public participation in Malawi's EIA process. Desktop study of ...

  8. Unconventional natural gas development and public health: toward a community-informed research agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korfmacher, Katrina Smith; Elam, Sarah; Gray, Kathleen M.; Haynes, Erin; Hughes, Megan Hoert

    2015-01-01

    Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) using high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has vastly increased the potential for domestic natural gas production in recent years. However, the rapid expansion of UNGD has also raised concerns about its potential impacts on public health. Academics and government agencies are developing research programs to explore these concerns. Community involvement in activities such as planning, conducting, and communicating research is widely recognized as having an important role in promoting environmental health. Historically, however, communities most often engage in research after environmental health concerns have emerged. This community information needs assessment took a prospective approach to integrating community leaders' knowledge, perceptions, and concerns into the research agenda prior to initiation of local UNGD. We interviewed community leaders about their views on environmental health information needs in three states (New York, North Carolina, and Ohio) prior to widespread UNGD. Interviewees emphasized the cumulative, long-term, and indirect determinants of health, as opposed to specific disease outcomes. Responses focused not only on information needs, but also on communication and transparency with respect to research processes and funding. Interviewees also prioritized investigation of policy approaches to effectively protect human health over the long term. Although universities were most often cited as a credible source of information, interviewees emphasized the need for multiple strategies for disseminating information. By including community leaders' concerns, insights, and questions from the outset, the research agenda on UNGD is more likely to effectively inform decision making that ultimately protects public health. PMID:25204212

  9. Influencing public health without authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suresh, K

    2012-01-01

    This paper analyzes the present processes, products and needs of post-graduate public health education for the health programming, implementation and oversight responsibilities at field level and suggests some solutions for the institutes to adopt or adapt for improving the quality of their scholars. Large number of institutions has cropped up in India in the recent years to meet the growing demand of public health specialists/practitioners in various national health projects, international development partners, national and international NGOs. Throwing open MPH courses to multi-disciplinary graduate's is a new phenomenon in India and may be a two edged sword. On one hand it is advantageous to produce multi-faceted Public health postgraduates to meet the multi tasking required, on the other hand getting all of them to a common basic understanding, demystifying technical teaching and churning out products that are acceptable to the traditional health system. These Institutions can and must influence public health in the country through producing professionals of MPH/ MD degree with right attitude and skill-mix. Engaging learners in experimentation, experience sharing projects, stepping into health professionals' roles and similar activities lead to development of relatively clear and permanent neural traces in the brain. The MPH institutes may not have all efficient faculties, for which they should try to achieve this by inviting veterans in public health and professionals from corporate health industry for interface with students on a regular basis. The corporate and public health stalwarts have the capacities to transmit the winning skills and knowledge and also inspire them to adopt or adapt in order to achieve the desired goals.

  10. Environmental Criteria in the Spanish Public Works Procurement Process

    OpenAIRE

    José Luis Fuentes-Bargues; Mª Carmen González-Cruz; Cristina González-Gaya

    2017-01-01

    Green Public Procurement (GPP) is defined as a process of contracting products, services, and works with the least possible damage to the environment during their life cycle. In order to improve the knowledge about GPP, a study of the use of environmental tendering criteria in the Spanish public construction sector has been performed. The results of this study show that the use of environmental criteria in Spanish public sector construction procurement is low in comparison to a certain group ...

  11. Developmental origins of health and disease--global public health implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, M A; Gluckman, P D

    2015-01-01

    The rapidly rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represents a major challenge to public health and clinical medicine globally. NCDs are increasing rapidly in high-income countries, but even more rapidly in some low-middle-income countries with insufficient resources to meet the challenge. Whilst not identified in the Millennium Development Goals, there is much attention paid to NCDs in the discussions at many levels on the Sustainable Development Goals, as they underpin economic, social and environmental development in the post-2015 era. In this article, we discuss how a life-course approach to health, commencing of necessity in early development, can provide new opportunities for addressing this challenge. The approach can leverage human health capital throughout life and across generations. New insights into mechanisms, especially those processes by which the developmental environment affects epigenetic processes in the developing offspring, offer the prospect of identifying biomarkers of future risks. New interventions to promote health literacy, lifestyle and physical fitness in adolescents, young adults and their children hold great promise. In this respect, health-care professionals concerned with preconceptional, pregnancy and newborn care will have a vital role to play. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Twitter and Public Health (Part 1): How Individual Public Health Professionals Use Twitter for Professional Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Mark; Stetten, Nichole E; Islam, Sabrina; Pizarro, Katherine

    2017-09-20

    The use of social networking sites is increasingly being adopted in public health, in part, because of the barriers to funding and reduced resources. Public health professionals are using social media platforms, specifically Twitter, as a way to facilitate professional development. The objective of this study was to identify public health professionals using Twitter and to analyze how they use this platform to enhance their formal and informal professional development within the context of public health. Keyword searches were conducted to identify and invite potential participants to complete a survey related to their use of Twitter for public health and professional experiences. Data regarding demographic attributes, Twitter usage, and qualitative information were obtained through an anonymous Web-based survey. Open-response survey questions were analyzed using the constant comparison method. "Using Twitter makes it easier to expand my networking opportunities" and "I find Twitter useful for professional development" scored highest, with a mean score of 4.57 (standard deviation [SD] 0.74) and 4.43 (SD 0.76) on a 5-point Likert scale. Analysis of the qualitative data shows the emergence of the following themes for why public health professionals mostly use Twitter: (1) geography, (2) continuing education, (3) professional gain, and (4) communication. For public health professionals in this study, Twitter is a platform best used for their networking and professional development. Furthermore, the use of Twitter allows public health professionals to overcome a series of barriers and enhances opportunities for growth. ©Mark Hart, Nichole E Stetten, Sabrina Islam, Katherine Pizarro. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.09.2017.

  13. Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabbani, Fauziah; Shipton, Leah; White, Franklin; Nuwayhid, Iman; London, Leslie; Ghaffar, Abdul; Ha, Bui Thi Thu; Tomson, Göran; Rimal, Rajiv; Islam, Anwar; Takian, Amirhossein; Wong, Samuel; Zaidi, Shehla; Khan, Kausar; Karmaliani, Rozina; Abbasi, Imran Naeem; Abbas, Farhat

    2016-09-07

    Public health has multicultural origins. By the close of the nineteenth century, Schools of Public Health (SPHs) began to emerge in western countries in response to major contemporary public health challenges. The Flexner Report (1910) emphasized the centrality of preventive medicine, sanitation, and public health measures in health professional education. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC) in 1978 was a critical milestone, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs), conceptualizing a close working relationship between PHC and public health measures. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005-2008) strengthened the case for SPHs in LMICs as key stakeholders in efforts to reduce global health inequities. This scoping review groups text into public health challenges faced by LMICs and the role of SPHs in addressing these challenges. The challenges faced by LMICs include rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, unfair terms of global trade, limited capacity for equitable growth, mass displacements associated with conflicts and natural disasters, and universal health coverage. Poor governance and externally imposed donor policies and agendas, further strain the fragile health systems of LMICs faced with epidemiological transition. Moreover barriers to education and research imposed by limited resources, political and economic instability, and unbalanced partnerships additionally aggravate the crisis. To address these contextual challenges effectively, SPHs are offering broad based health professional education, conducting multidisciplinary population based research and fostering collaborative partnerships. SPHs are also looked upon as the key drivers to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). SPHs in LMICs can contribute to overcoming several public health challenges being faced by LMICs, including achieving SDGs. Most importantly they can develop cadres of competent and well-motivated public health professionals

  14. Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fauziah Rabbani

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health has multicultural origins. By the close of the nineteenth century, Schools of Public Health (SPHs began to emerge in western countries in response to major contemporary public health challenges. The Flexner Report (1910 emphasized the centrality of preventive medicine, sanitation, and public health measures in health professional education. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC in 1978 was a critical milestone, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs, conceptualizing a close working relationship between PHC and public health measures. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005–2008 strengthened the case for SPHs in LMICs as key stakeholders in efforts to reduce global health inequities. This scoping review groups text into public health challenges faced by LMICs and the role of SPHs in addressing these challenges. Main text The challenges faced by LMICs include rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, unfair terms of global trade, limited capacity for equitable growth, mass displacements associated with conflicts and natural disasters, and universal health coverage. Poor governance and externally imposed donor policies and agendas, further strain the fragile health systems of LMICs faced with epidemiological transition. Moreover barriers to education and research imposed by limited resources, political and economic instability, and unbalanced partnerships additionally aggravate the crisis. To address these contextual challenges effectively, SPHs are offering broad based health professional education, conducting multidisciplinary population based research and fostering collaborative partnerships. SPHs are also looked upon as the key drivers to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs. Conclusion SPHs in LMICs can contribute to overcoming several public health challenges being faced by LMICs, including achieving SDGs. Most importantly they can develop cadres of

  15. Public health terminology: Hindrance to a Health in All Policies approach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Synnevåg, Ellen S; Amdam, Roar; Fosse, Elisabeth

    2018-02-01

    National public health policies in Norway are based on a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. At the local level, this means that public health, as a cross-sectional responsibility, should be implemented in all municipal sectors by integrating public health policies in municipal planning and management systems. The paper investigates these local processes, focusing on the use of public health terminology and how this terminology is translated from national to local contexts. We ask whether the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' are suitable when implementing an HiAP approach. A qualitative case study based on analyses of interviews and planning documents was performed in three Norwegian municipalities. The results present dilemmas associated with using public health terminology when implementing an HiAP approach. On the one hand, the terms are experienced as wide, complex, advanced and unnecessary. On the other hand, the terms are experienced as important for a systematic approach towards understanding public health ideology and cross-sectional responsibility. One municipality used alternative terminology. This paper promotes debate about the appropriateness of using the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' at the local level. It suggests that adaptation is suitable and necessary, unless it compromises knowledge, responsibility and a systematic approach. This study concludes that the use of terminology is a central factor when implementing the Norwegian Public Health Act at the local level.

  16. Public health challenges in sun protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eide, Melody J; Weinstock, Martin A

    2006-01-01

    Sunscreens are a popular choice for protection from ultraviolet radiation, and hence, important components in the public health campaign to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Public health messages in skin cancer prevention have been used effectively in educational campaigns. The benefits of sunscreen extend beyond skin cancer prevention into other aspects of health and disease prevention: sunscreen decreases the risk for sunburn during physical activity outdoors and seems not to increase the risk for osteoporosis. Public health efforts have laid a solid foundation on which to face the continuing challenge of promoting and developing effective public health campaigns and health policies that encourage sunscreen use, sun protection, and the primary prevention of skin cancer. In this article, the controversies, concerns, and challenges of sunscreen use as it relates to public health are discussed.

  17. Periodontal health and global public health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Poul E; Baehni, Pierre C

    2012-01-01

    Chronic diseases are a growing burden to people, to health-care systems and to societies across the world. The rapid increase in the burden of chronic diseases is particularly prevalent in the developing countries. Periodontal disease is one of the two most important oral diseases contributing...... to the global burden of chronic disease. In addition to social determinants, periodontal health status is related to several proximal factors. Modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet and nutrition, obesity, psychological stress and insufficient personal....../oral hygiene, are important and these principal risk factors for periodontal disease are shared by other chronic diseases. The present monograph is devoted to the existing evidence on the practice of public health related to periodontal health. Public health is defined as the process of mobilizing and engaging...

  18. Public Health Autonomy: A Critical Reappraisal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Frederick J

    2017-11-01

    The ethical principle of autonomy is among the most fundamental in ethics, and it is particularly salient for those in public health, who must constantly balance the desire to improve health outcomes by changing behavior with respect for individual freedom. Although there are some areas in which there is a genuine tension between public health and autonomy-childhood vaccine mandates, for example-there are many more areas where not only is there no tension, but public health and autonomy come down to the same thing. These areas of overlap are often rendered invisible by a thin understanding of autonomy. Better integrating newer theoretical insights about autonomy into applied ethics can make discussions of public health ethics more rigorous, incisive, and effective. Even more importantly, bringing modern concepts of autonomy into public health ethics can showcase the many areas in which public health and autonomy have the same goals, face the same threats, and can be mutually advanced by the same kinds of solutions. This article provides a schema for relational autonomy in a public health context and gives concrete examples of how autonomy can be served through public-health interventions. It marshals insights from sociology, psychology, and philosophy to advance a theory of autonomy and coercion that recognizes three potential threats to autonomy: threats to choice sets, threats to knowledge, and threats to preferences. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

  19. Public accept for environmental taxes: self-interest, environmental and distributional concerns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kallbekken, Steffen; Saelen, Haakon

    2010-07-15

    While strongly recommended by economists, it has often been politically difficult to impose taxes on externalities. There is a substantial literature on public attitudes towards environmental taxes. There have, however, been few comprehensive attempts to understand attitudes towards environmental taxes, and few attempts to isolate the effects of selfish and social preferences. The main research question in this paper is which factors influence support for fuel taxation. We propose a model of attitudes towards fuel taxation, and test this model as well as more specific hypotheses, using data from a representative survey of the adult Norwegian population. Our results suggest that support for fuel taxation is best predicted by beliefs about environmental consequences, followed by beliefs about consequences to others. Beliefs about consequences to self ( self interest ) is the factor that explains the least variation in support for fuel taxation. The academically interesting result that support cannot be well explained without capturing a broad range of motivational factors is also highly policy relevant. It implies that there is no magic formula for increasing public support for environmental taxes. There are, however, some issues which can be addressed: trust in how well the government spends the revenue, and the perception that taxation does very little to change behaviour and thus to reduce environmental problems. (Author)

  20. (Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

    2016-02-01

    Public health's reliance on law to define and carry out public activities makes it impossible to define a set of ethical principles unique to public health. Public health ethics must be encompassed within--and consistent with--a broader set of principles that define the power and limits of governmental institutions. These include human rights, health law, and even medical ethics. The human right to health requires governments not only to respect individual human rights and personal freedoms, but also, importantly, to protect people from harm from external sources and third parties, and to fulfill the health needs of the population. Even if human rights are the natural language for public health, not all public health professionals are comfortable with the language of human rights. Some argue that individual human rights--such as autonomy and privacy--unfairly limit the permissible means to achieve the goal of health protection. We argue that public health should welcome and promote the human rights framework. In almost every instance, this will make public health more effective in the long run, because the goals of public health and human rights are the same: to promote human flourishing. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

  1. Primary health care and public health: foundations of universal health systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Franklin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this review is to advocate for more integrated and universally accessible health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care and public health. The perspective outlined identified health systems as the frame of reference, clarified terminology and examined complementary perspectives on health. It explored the prospects for universal and integrated health systems from a global perspective, the role of healthy public policy in achieving population health and the value of the social-ecological model in guiding how best to align the components of an integrated health service. The importance of an ethical private sector in partnership with the public sector is recognized. Most health systems around the world, still heavily focused on illness, are doing relatively little to optimize health and minimize illness burdens, especially for vulnerable groups. This failure to improve the underlying conditions for health is compounded by insufficient allocation of resources to address priority needs with equity (universality, accessibility and affordability). Finally, public health and primary health care are the cornerstones of sustainable health systems, and this should be reflected in the health policies and professional education systems of all nations wishing to achieve a health system that is effective, equitable, efficient and affordable. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  2. Chiropractic care and public health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johnson, Claire; Rubinstein, Sidney M; Côté, Pierre

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this collaborative summary is to document current chiropractic involvement in the public health movement, reflect on social ecological levels of influence as a profession, and summarize the relationship of chiropractic to the current public health topics of: safety, health issues...... disorders? How can chiropractic use cognitive behavioral therapy to address chronic low back pain as a public health problem? What opportunities exist for doctors of chiropractic to more effectively serve the aging population? What is the role of ethics and the contribution of the chiropractic profession...

  3. Public health medicine: the constant dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eskin, Frada

    2002-03-01

    There is a well-known quotation by the nineteenth-century sociologist Virchow (quoted in Ref. 1) that aptly captures the dilemma that has confronted public health medicine since the specialty was created as a discrete entity in 1848. Virchow said: 'Medicine is politics and social medicine is politics writ large!' What does this mean in relation to effective public health medicine practice and how is it likely to affect its future? There is increasingly limited freedom of expression within the current context of political correctness, central control and a rapidly burgeoning litigious climate. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues and to propose a means of maintaining public health medicine integrity within a working environment where action is becoming rapidly constrained by political rigidity. An additional factor to be included in the dialogue is the current context within which public health physicians work. Because the majority of public health doctors are employed within the National Health Service (NHS), they are finding themselves being expected to take on tasks and responsibilities marginal to their essential purpose and function. For example, public health physicians spend a great deal of time involved in detailed deliberations about health service provision. Although there is a great deal of evidence to show that good quality health care provision positively affects the health of the individual, there is no evidence to show that this activity has any effect on the population's health status. The essence of public health medicine practice is the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of the health of the population and, consequently, attention needs to be focused on the root causes of disease. However, as these are outside the aegis of the NHS, public health medicine involvement in such issues as education, nutrition, housing, transport and poverty is regarded as marginal to the NHS corporate agenda.

  4. An Interim Examination of the US Public Health Response to Ebola.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schemm Dwyer, Katherine; Misner, Heather; Chang, Sara; Fajardo, Neyling

    From the summer of 2014 to the spring of 2016, the United States was involved in the Ebola response on both the national and international levels. The United States received 2 imported cases from West Africa and had 2 locally hospital-acquired cases, which spurred a massive and unprecedented public health response. As the domestic response stabilized and the epidemic in West Africa slowed, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), led an in-progress review to assess the national public health response to Ebola. The goal was to identify opportunities to improve the Ebola response and best practices to inform future responses. To inform the review, NACCHO and ASTHO relied on feedback collected from several sources, including a stakeholder meeting held in August 2015, a series of key informant interviews, ASTHO's and NACCHO's internal response assessments, and perspectives shared by state and local health department members and workgroups and national partner organizations. ASTHO and NACCHO engaged experts and practitioners in public health, health care, emergency management, laboratory sciences, environmental health, occupational health, homeland security, communications, and public works from US federal, state, and local governments, the nonprofit community, and private industry. This article summarizes feedback and lessons learned as shared by these sources. Additionally, this article presents recommendations for federal, state, local, and nongovernment partners to improve current and future preparedness and response efforts to infectious disease threats.

  5. Millennium Development Goals: how public health professionals perceive the achievement of MDGs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Lomazzi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: There have been various consultations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs by different groups. However, even if it is clear that the health sector has led the development success of the MDGs, only a few MDG reports consider public health experts’ points of view and these are mainly government driven. Designs: The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA has executed a global survey to consult public health professionals worldwide concerning the implementation and achievements of the MDGs.The survey was conceived by WFPHA health professionals and promulgated online. Public health professionals and organisations dealing with MDGs responded to the survey. Content analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Results: Survey participants attributed the highest importance worldwide to MDGs dealing with women, poverty and hunger reduction, and disease prevention and management. Moreover, they underlined the role of education, referring both to school children and professionals. In high and upper-middle income countries, environmental challenges also received considerable attention.Notably, respondents underlined that weak governance and unstable political situations, as well as the gap between professionals and politicians, were among the main causes that detracted from MDG achievements. Conclusion: The public health workforce felt it would be imperative to be included from the outset in the design and implementation of further goals. This implies that those professionals have to take an active part in the political process leading to a new and accountable framework.

  6. Environmental criteria in the Spanish Public Works Procurement Process

    OpenAIRE

    Fuentes Bargues, José Luis; González-Cruz, María-Carmen; González-Gaya, Cristina

    2017-01-01

    [EN] Green Public Procurement (GPP) is defined as a process of contracting products, services, and works with the least possible damage to the environment during their life cycle. In order to improve the knowledge about GPP, a study of the use of environmental tendering criteria in the Spanish public construction sector has been performed. The results of this study show that the use of environmental criteria in Spanish public sector construction procurement is low in comparison to a certain g...

  7. Child public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Blair, Mitch

    2010-01-01

    "Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young people...

  8. Learning from Katrina: environmental health observations from the SWCPHP response team in Houston.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elledge, Brenda L; Boatright, Daniel T; Woodson, Paul; Clinkenbeard, Rodney E; Brand, Michael W

    2007-09-01

    Hurricane Katrina provided an opportunity to observe the public health and medical care response system in practice and provided vital lessons about identifying and learning critical response measures as well as about ineffective investments of time and effort. The Southwest Center for Public Health Preparedness (SWCPHP) response team, while working among evacuees housed at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas, made a number of observations related to environmental public health. This summary reports firsthand observations which are, to a great extent, supported by the Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned report, and it provides a contextual backdrop for improvement in the areas of volunteer and citizen preparedness training and education. Katrina provided an opportunity to see public health in a highly stressed practice setting and to identify and reinforce the fundamental tenets of public health with which all individuals responding to an event should be familiar. Knowledge gained from Katrina should be integrated into future efforts related to disaster response planning; specifically, it is imperative that volunteers receive standardized training in the areas of incident command systems (ICS), basic hygiene, transmission of disease, and food and water safety principles.

  9. Motivators and Barriers to Incorporating Climate Change-Related Health Risks in Environmental Health Impact Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shilu Tong

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA, there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within an EHIA framework. Practitioners expressed concern over a number of factors relating to the current EHIA methodology and the inclusion of climate change-related health risks. These concerns related to the broad scope of issues that would need to be considered, problems with identifying appropriate health indicators, the lack of relevant qualitative information that is currently incorporated in assessment and persistent issues surrounding stakeholder participation. It was suggested that improvements are needed in data collection processes, particularly in terms of adequate communication between environmental and health practitioners. Concerns were raised surrounding data privacy and usage, and how these could impact on the assessment process. These findings may provide guidance for government and industry bodies to improve the assessment of climate change-related health risks.

  10. [Managing the difficult balance between employment needs and public health in large industrial sites].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conversano, M

    2014-01-01

    Environmental pressures affecting Taranto area led institutional commitment to the local Health (LHA) and Environment Agency, which have helped to provide data in support of epidemiological and health impacts evidence.This is relevant in view of the issues related to the public health which led the Apulia Region to enact measures for environmental monitoring of dioxins (Regional Law 44/2008) and protection of food safety (Regional Council Deliberation 1442/2009). The LHA investigated three lines of development: monitoring of food matrices, studies of human biomonitoring and the establishment of local Cancer Registry. Same time to the actions of the Taranto Judiciary, Apulia Region has enacted the RL 24/12, integrating the legislative gap present into the Environmental Authorization procedures, which will allow the Health Damage Assessment, through the correlation between environmental monitoring data, biomonitoring and Cancer Registry. The next step will see the LHA involved in managing effective and feasible prevention initiatives. The Special Health and Environment Plan objective is to monitor the Taranto population health status, to screen the health determinants, to estimate the toxicologically relevant indicators of possible contamination and, if possible, to modify the correlations between risk factors, body burden, and specific diseases.

  11. An analysis of the health status of the United Arab Emirates: the ‘Big 4’ public health issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tar-Ching Aw

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: The United Arab Emirates (UAE is a rapidly developing country composed of a multinational population with varying educational backgrounds, religious beliefs, and cultural practices, which pose a challenge for population-based public health strategies. A number of public health issues significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality in the UAE. This article summarises the findings of a panel of medical and public health specialists from UAE University and various government health agencies commissioned to report on the health status of the UAE population. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to retrieve peer-reviewed articles on health in the UAE, and unpublished data were provided by government health authorities and local hospitals. Results: The panel reviewed and evaluated all available evidence to list and rank (1=highest priority the top four main public health issues: 1 Cardiovascular disease accounted for more than 25% of deaths in 2010; 2 Injury caused 17% of mortality for all age groups in 2010; 3 Cancer accounted for 10% of all deaths in 2010, and the incidence of all cancers is projected to double by 2020; and 4 Respiratory disorders were the second most common non-fatal condition in 2010. Conclusion: The major public health challenges posed by certain personal (e.g. ethnicity, family history, lifestyle, occupational, and environmental factors associated with the development of chronic disease are not isolated to the UAE; rather, they form part of a global health problem, which requires international collaboration and action. Future research should focus on population-based public health interventions that target the factors associated with the development of various chronic diseases.

  12. An analysis of the health status of the United Arab Emirates: the ‘Big 4’ public health issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loney, Tom; Aw, Tar-Ching; Handysides, Daniel G.; Ali, Raghib; Blair, Iain; Grivna, Michal; Shah, Syed M.; Sheek-Hussein, Mohamud; El-Sadig, Mohamed; Sharif, Amer A.; El-Obaid, Yusra

    2013-01-01

    Background The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a rapidly developing country composed of a multinational population with varying educational backgrounds, religious beliefs, and cultural practices, which pose a challenge for population-based public health strategies. A number of public health issues significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality in the UAE. This article summarises the findings of a panel of medical and public health specialists from UAE University and various government health agencies commissioned to report on the health status of the UAE population. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted to retrieve peer-reviewed articles on health in the UAE, and unpublished data were provided by government health authorities and local hospitals. Results The panel reviewed and evaluated all available evidence to list and rank (1=highest priority) the top four main public health issues: 1) Cardiovascular disease accounted for more than 25% of deaths in 2010; 2) Injury caused 17% of mortality for all age groups in 2010; 3) Cancer accounted for 10% of all deaths in 2010, and the incidence of all cancers is projected to double by 2020; and 4) Respiratory disorders were the second most common non-fatal condition in 2010. Conclusion The major public health challenges posed by certain personal (e.g. ethnicity, family history), lifestyle, occupational, and environmental factors associated with the development of chronic disease are not isolated to the UAE; rather, they form part of a global health problem, which requires international collaboration and action. Future research should focus on population-based public health interventions that target the factors associated with the development of various chronic diseases. PMID:23394856

  13. The Public Health Exposome: A Population-Based, Exposure Science Approach to Health Disparities Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul D. Juarez

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The lack of progress in reducing health disparities suggests that new approaches are needed if we are to achieve meaningful, equitable, and lasting reductions. Current scientific paradigms do not adequately capture the complexity of the relationships between environment, personal health and population level disparities. The public health exposome is presented as a universal exposure tracking framework for integrating complex relationships between exogenous and endogenous exposures across the lifespan from conception to death. It uses a social-ecological framework that builds on the exposome paradigm for conceptualizing how exogenous exposures “get under the skin”. The public health exposome approach has led our team to develop a taxonomy and bioinformatics infrastructure to integrate health outcomes data with thousands of sources of exogenous exposure, organized in four broad domains: natural, built, social, and policy environments. With the input of a transdisciplinary team, we have borrowed and applied the methods, tools and terms from various disciplines to measure the effects of environmental exposures on personal and population health outcomes and disparities, many of which may not manifest until many years later. As is customary with a paradigm shift, this approach has far reaching implications for research methods and design, analytics, community engagement strategies, and research training.

  14. The Public Health Exposome: A Population-Based, Exposure Science Approach to Health Disparities Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juarez, Paul D.; Matthews-Juarez, Patricia; Hood, Darryl B.; Im, Wansoo; Levine, Robert S.; Kilbourne, Barbara J.; Langston, Michael A.; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.; Crosson, William L.; Estes, Maurice G.; Estes, Sue M.; Agboto, Vincent K.; Robinson, Paul; Wilson, Sacoby; Lichtveld, Maureen Y.

    2014-01-01

    The lack of progress in reducing health disparities suggests that new approaches are needed if we are to achieve meaningful, equitable, and lasting reductions. Current scientific paradigms do not adequately capture the complexity of the relationships between environment, personal health and population level disparities. The public health exposome is presented as a universal exposure tracking framework for integrating complex relationships between exogenous and endogenous exposures across the lifespan from conception to death. It uses a social-ecological framework that builds on the exposome paradigm for conceptualizing how exogenous exposures “get under the skin”. The public health exposome approach has led our team to develop a taxonomy and bioinformatics infrastructure to integrate health outcomes data with thousands of sources of exogenous exposure, organized in four broad domains: natural, built, social, and policy environments. With the input of a transdisciplinary team, we have borrowed and applied the methods, tools and terms from various disciplines to measure the effects of environmental exposures on personal and population health outcomes and disparities, many of which may not manifest until many years later. As is customary with a paradigm shift, this approach has far reaching implications for research methods and design, analytics, community engagement strategies, and research training. PMID:25514145

  15. [Survey on public health nursing education-in the comparison of nursing education courses, universities, advanced courses for public health nurse with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing school].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirano, Kayoko; Ikeda, Nobuko; Kanagawa, Katuko; Shiomi, Sigeki; Suzuki, Akira; Hirayama, Tomoko; Furuya, Akie; Ymazaki, Kyoko; Yasumura, Seiji

    2005-08-01

    Changes in public health nursing education have been consideration. Theses changes include a dramatic increase in the number of public health nurses (PHNs) who have enrolled for nursing courses at university. This study was conducted to assess the current status and future of public health nursing education as perceived by teachers and students at three types of schools: universities offering nursing courses, advanced courses for PHNs with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing schools. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and students by mail. The questions that were sent to teachers asked which subjects were required to become a certified PHN, which lecture methods were employed to teach public health-particularly community health assessment methods, and what was the level of awareness of the activities of PHNs. Students were asked about their motivation to be a PHN, their understanding of public health, their views of public health activities and their images of PHNs. Responses were analyzed and differences between questionnaires from different schools were noted. These included the number of subjects and the total number of hours spent doing practical training and field experience in universities and the other types of schools, and the number of teachers. Differences also were noted among students at three types of schools about their age, methods of public health activities, knowledge about activities undertaken by PHNs, and their images of PHNs. No differences were observed among the schools with respect to the students' conceptual understanding of public health. Student age, practical training and field experience were found to contribute to their level of understanding of public health and public health nursing. It is thus necessary to consider the teaching methods employed by universities that administer nursing courses and the effectiveness of courses offered by graduate schools.

  16. Environmental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Our environment affects our health. If parts of the environment, like the air, water, or soil become polluted, it ... in the home can trigger asthma attacks. Some environmental risks are a part of the natural world, ...

  17. Protecting Health and Saving Lives: The Part-Time/Internet-Based Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruce, Linda; Gresh, Kathy; Vanchiswaran, Rohini; Werapitiya, Deepthi

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses the part-time/Internet-based Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was the first school of public health in the United States to offer a Master of Public Health program via the Internet. The JHSPH MPH Program…

  18. Citizen Science for public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Den Broeder, Lea; Devilee, Jeroen; Van Oers, Hans; Schuit, A Jantine; Wagemakers, Annemarie

    2016-12-23

    Community engagement in public health policy is easier said than done. One reason is that public health policy is produced in a complex process resulting in policies that may appear not to link up to citizen perspectives. We therefore address the central question as to whether citizen engagement in knowledge production could enable inclusive health policy making. Building on non-health work fields, we describe different types of citizen engagement in scientific research, or 'Citizen Science'. We describe the challenges that Citizen Science poses for public health, and how these could be addressed. Despite these challenges, we expect that Citizen Science or similar approaches such as participatory action research and 'popular epidemiology' may yield better knowledge, empowered communities, and improved community health. We provide a draft framework to enable evaluation of Citizen Science in practice, consisting of a descriptive typology of different kinds of Citizen Science and a causal framework that shows how Citizen Science in public health might benefit both the knowledge produced as well as the 'Citizen Scientists' as active participants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  19. 77 FR 38296 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-27

    ... Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, Attn: National Public Health Action Plan... Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE... topic's public health importance, existing challenges, and opportunities for action to decrease the...

  20. Environmental Protection Agency, Protecting Children's Environmental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... and Research Centers Contact Us Share Protecting Children's Environmental Health Children are often more vulnerable to pollutants ... during development. Learn more about children's health, the environment, and what you can do. Basic Information Children ...

  1. Population mental health: evidence, policy, and public health practice

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cohen, Neal L; Galea, Sandro

    2011-01-01

    ... on population mental health with public mental health policy and practice. Issues covered in the book include the influence of mental health policies on the care and well-­ being of individuals with mental illness, the interconnectedness of physical and mental disorders, the obstacles to adopting a public health orientation to mental health/mental ill...

  2. Healthy e-health? Think 'environmental e-health'!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Richard E; Saunders, Chad; Palacios, Moné; Nguyen, Duyen Thi Kim; Ali, Sajid

    2010-01-01

    The Environmental e-Health Research and Training Program has completed its scoping study to understand the breadth of a new field of research: Environmental e-Health. Nearly every aspect of modern life is associated, directly or indirectly, with application of technology, from a cup of coffee, through transportation to and from work, to appliances in the home and industrial activities. In recent decades the rapidly increasing application of information and communications technologies (ICT) has added to the cacophony of technological 'noise' around us. Research has shown that technology use, including ICTs, has impact upon the environment. Studying environmental impact in such a complex global setting is daunting. e-Health is now being used as a convenient microcosm of ICT application within which to study these impacts, and is particularly poignant given that e-Health's environmental harms conflict with its noble goals of 'doing no harm'. The study has identified impacts, both benefits and harms in all three life-cycle phases for e-Health: up-stream (materials extraction, manufacturing, packaging, distribution), mid-stream (use period), and down-stream (end-of-life processes--disposal, recycling). In addition the literature shows that a holistic 'Life Cycle Assessment' approach is essential to understand the complexity of the setting, and determine the true balance between total harms and total benefits, and for whom.

  3. Experiences in tick control by acaricide in the traditional cattle sector in Zambia and Burkina Faso: possible environmental and public health implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele De Meneghi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Livestock, especially cattle, play a paramount role in agriculture production systems, particularly in poor countries throughout the world. Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs have an important impact on livestock and agriculture production in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors review the most common methods used for the control of ticks and TBDs. Special emphasis is given to the direct application of acaricides to the host animals. The possible environmental and public health adverse effects (i.e. risks for the workers, residues in the environment, and in food products of animal origin are mentioned. The authors present two case studies, describing different field experiences in controlling ticks in two African countries. In Zambia (Southern Africa, a strategic dipping regime was used to control Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks, vectors of theileriosis, a deadly disease affecting cattle in the traditional livestock sector in Southern Province. The dipping regime adopted allowed to reduce the tick challenge and cattle mortally rate, and at the same time, to employ less acaricide as compared to the intensive dipping used so far, without disrupting the building-up of enzootic stability. In Burkina Faso (West Africa, where dipping was never used for tick control, an acaricide footbath was employed as an alternative method to the traditional technique used locally (portable manual sprayers. This was developed from field observations on the invasion/attachment process of the Amblyomma variegatum ticks –vector of cowdriosis- on the animal hosts, leading to a control method aimed to kill ticks temporarily attached to the interdigital areas before their permanent attachment to the predilection sites. This innovative method has been overall accepted by the local farmers. It has the advantage of greatly reducing costs of treatments and has a minimal environmental impact, making footbath a sustainable and replicable method, adoptable also in other West

  4. Geothermal environmental projects publication list with abstracts 1975-1978

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ricker, Y.E.; Anspaugh, L.R.

    1979-05-15

    This report contains 119 abstracts of publication resulting from or closely related to geothermal environmental projects conducted by the Environmental Sciences Division at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Publications are listed chronologically from 1975 through 1978. The main entries are numbered sequentially, and include the full citation, an abstract, and selected keywords. This section is followed by an author index, and a keyword index.

  5. [Public health competencies and contents in Spanish university degree programs of physical therapy, occupational therapy, environmental science, dentistry and veterinary science].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davó-Blanes, M Carmen; Vives-Cases, Carmen; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Segura-Benedicto A, Andreu; Bosch Llonch, Fèlix; G Benavides, Fernando

    2014-01-01

    To identify the basic competencies and contents related to public health to be included in degree programs according to the perspective of lecturers from various Spanish universities. In the context of the Second Workshop on Public Health Contents in Degree Programs (Mahon, 19 to 20 September 2012), 20 lecturers from different Spanish universities were distributed in five working groups. The lecturers had been selected from the instructional guides on public health and epidemiology published on the web sites of the Rectors' Conference of Spanish Universities. Each group worked on a degree program and the results were discussed in plenary sessions. The activities and competencies related to the three basic functions of public health were identified in all degree programs. Most of the professional competencies identified were related to the function of «assessment of population health needs». The contents proposed by the working groups related to epidemiology, basic concepts in public health, public health intervention, health management, and health policy. The main common topics among the degrees concerned the first three contents. Public health professional competencies and contents were identified in the degree programs examined. These results may serve as a starting point for a more detailed review of public health programs across degree levels and the search for a consensus on the common content that should be included in each of them. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  6. Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R.

    2014-01-01

    Health information exchange (HIE) can support several aspects of public health practice by increasing the availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness individual-level patient information. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served...... as an important justification for the US’ investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using...... qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. We derived the codes for the template analysis through a literature review. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature...

  7. Plastics and environmental health: the road ahead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    North, Emily J; Halden, Rolf U

    2013-01-01

    Plastics continue to benefit society in innumerable ways, even though recent public focus on plastics has centered mostly on human health and environmental concerns, including their endocrine-disrupting properties and the long-term pollution they represent. The benefits of plastics are particularly apparent in medicine and public health. Plastics are versatile, cost-effective, require less energy to produce than alternative materials like metal or glass, and can be manufactured to have many different properties. Due to these characteristics, polymers are used in diverse health applications like disposable syringes and intravenous bags, sterile packaging for medical instruments as well as in joint replacements, tissue engineering, etc. However, not all current uses of plastics are prudent and sustainable, as illustrated by the widespread, unwanted human exposure to endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), problems arising from the large quantities of plastic being disposed of, and depletion of non-renewable petroleum resources as a result of the ever-increasing mass production of plastic consumer articles. Using the health-care sector as example, this review concentrates on the benefits and downsides of plastics and identifies opportunities to change the composition and disposal practices of these invaluable polymers for a more sustainable future consumption. It highlights ongoing efforts to phase out DEHP and BPA in the health-care and food industry and discusses biodegradable options for plastic packaging, opportunities for reducing plastic medical waste, and recycling in medical facilities in the quest to reap a maximum of benefits from polymers without compromising human health or the environment in the process.

  8. Mind the public health leadership gap: the opportunities and challenges of engaging high-profile individuals in the public health agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shickle, Darren; Day, Matthew; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Public health leadership has been criticized as being ineffective. The public health profession is relatively small. Critics have argued that there is over-emphasis on technical aspects and insufficient use of the 'community as a source of public health actions'. The paper analyses the resources, motivations and skills utilized by high-profile individuals who have made contributions to the public health agenda. The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy is critiqued. Two exemplars are discussed: Jamie Oliver and Michael Bloomberg. The risks of involving celebrities are also considered. Leaders for public health demonstrate 'a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will' to make the 'right decisions happen'. While they may have ego or self-interest, in this context, at least, they channel their ambition for the public health cause, not themselves. Leaders from outside public health may have no understanding of what public health is nor consider their work as part of a wider public health agenda. It is important to understand why they become leaders for public health. This will inform a strategy for how others may be encouraged to collaborate for public health causes. Some key points for working with high-profile leaders for public health are identified. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. The Public Health Responsibility Deal: brokering a deal for public health, but on whose terms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panjwani, Clare; Caraher, Martin

    2014-02-01

    Coalitions of multinational food and drink businesses have pledged to reformulate their products and to market them responsibly. Largely business-led and self-regulated, the integrity of these voluntary initiatives has been questioned. The Public Health Responsibility Deal in England is an example of a voluntary initiative that is government-led. Does this approach provide evidence that with public leadership there is potential for voluntary actions to deliver meaningful results for public health? The subject of the research is the calorie reduction initiative of the Responsibility Deal. Source material was obtained primarily through a series of UK Freedom of Information requests and comprises previously unpublished Department of Health documentation relating to relevant meetings held during 2011 and 2012. The Responsibility Deal approach to calorie reduction deliberately involves the food industry in the specification of the measures it is to implement (reformulation and portion control). Finding the common ground between private and public interests has resulted in the deflection of public health objectives and the preclusion of adequate monitoring and evaluation. The Responsibility Deal approach is fundamentally flawed in its expectation that industry will take voluntary actions that prioritise public health interests above its own. Being government-led counts for little in the absence of sanctions to drive compliance. Instead the initiative affords private interests the opportunity to influence in their favour the public health policies and strategies that affect their products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Environmental and human health challenges of industrial livestock and poultry farming in China and their mitigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yuanan; Cheng, Hefa; Tao, Shu

    2017-10-01

    Driven by the growing demand for food products of animal origin, industrial livestock and poultry production has become increasingly popular and is on the track of becoming an important source of environmental pollution in China. Although concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have higher production efficiency and profitability with less resource consumption compared to the traditional family-based and "free range" farming, they bring significant environmental pollution concerns and pose public health risks. Gaseous pollutants and bioaerosols are emitted directly from CAFOs, which have health implications on animal producers and neighboring communities. A range of pollutants are excreted with the animal waste, including nutrients, pathogens, natural and synthetic hormones, veterinary antimicrobials, and heavy metals, which can enter local farmland soils, surface water, and groundwater, during the storage and disposal of animal waste, and pose direct and indirect human health risks. The extensive use of antimicrobials in CAFOs also contributes to the global public health concern of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Efforts on treating the large volumes of manure generated in CAFOs should be enhanced (e.g., by biogas digesters and integrated farm systems) to minimize their impacts on the environment and human health. Furthermore, the use of veterinary drugs and feed additives in industrial livestock and poultry farming should be controlled, which will not only make the animal food products much safer to the consumers, but also render the manure more benign for treatment and disposal on farmlands. While improving the sustainability of animal farming, China also needs to promote healthy food consumption, which not only improves public health from avoiding high-meat diets, but also slows down the expansion of industrial animal farming, and thus reduces the associated environmental and public health risks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Public health legal preparedness in Indian country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryan, Ralph T; Schaefer, Rebecca McLaughlin; DeBruyn, Lemyra; Stier, Daniel D

    2009-04-01

    American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments are sovereign entities with inherent authority to create laws and enact health regulations. Laws are an essential tool for ensuring effective public health responses to emerging threats. To analyze how tribal laws support public health practice in tribal communities, we reviewed tribal legal documentation available through online databases and talked with subject-matter experts in tribal public health law. Of the 70 tribal codes we found, 14 (20%) had no clearly identifiable public health provisions. The public health-related statutes within the remaining codes were rarely well integrated or comprehensive. Our findings provide an evidence base to help tribal leaders strengthen public health legal foundations in tribal communities.

  12. Systematic review of public health branding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, W Douglas; Blitstein, Jonathan; Hersey, James C; Renaud, Jeanette; Yaroch, Amy L

    2008-12-01

    Brands build relationships between consumers and products, services, or lifestyles by providing beneficial exchanges and adding value to their objects. Brands can be measured through associations that consumers hold for products and services. Public health brands are the associations that individuals hold for health behaviors, or lifestyles that embody multiple health behaviors. We systematically reviewed the literature on public health brands; developed a methodology for describing branded health messages and campaigns; and examined specific branding strategies across a range of topic areas, campaigns, and global settings. We searched the literature for published studies on public health branding available through all relevant, major online publication databases. Public health branding was operationalized as any manuscripts in the health, social science, and business literature on branding or brands in health promotion marketing. We developed formalized decision rules and applied them in identifying articles for review. We initially identified 154 articles and reviewed a final set of 37, 10 from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Branded health campaigns spanned most of the major domains of public health and numerous communication strategies and evaluation methodologies. Most studies provided clear information on planning, development, and evaluation of the branding effort, while some provided minimal information. Branded health messages typically are theory based, and there is a body of evidence on their behavior change effectiveness, especially in nutrition, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS. More rigorous research is needed, however, on how branded health messages impact specific populations and behaviors.

  13. Education for climate changes, environmental health and environmental justice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hens, L.; Stoyanov, S.

    2013-01-01

    Full text: The climates changes-health effects-environmental justice nexus is analyzed. The complex issue of climate changes needs to be approached from an interdisciplinary point of view. The nature of the problem necessitates dealing with scientific uncertainty. The health effects caused by climate changes are described and analyzed from a twofold inequalities point of view: health inequalities between rich and poor within countries, and inequalities between northern and southern countries. It is shown thai although the emission of greenhouse gasses is to a large extent caused by the industrialized countries, the effects, including the health effects, will merely impact the South. On the other hand, the southern countries have the highest potential to respond to and offer sustainable energy solutions to counteract climate changes. These inequalities are at the basis to call for environmental justice, of which climate justice is part. This movement calls for diversification of ecologists and their subject of study, more attention for urban ecology, more comprehensive human ecological analyses of complex environmental issues and more participation of stakeholders in the debate and the solution options. The movement advocates a more inclusive ecology targeted to management, sodo-ecological restoration, and comprehensive policies. The fundamental aspects of complexity, inter-disciplinary approaches, uncertainty, and social and natural inequalities should be core issues in environmental health programs. Training on these issues for muitidisciplinary groups of participants necessitates innovative approaches including self-directed, collaborative, and problem oriented learning in which tacit knowledge is important. It is advocated that quality assessments of environmental health programs should take these elements into account. key words: environmental justice, climate changes, sustainable energy solutions

  14. The ineffectiveness and unintended consequences of the public health war on obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos Salas, Ximena

    2015-02-03

    The public health war on obesity has had little impact on obesity prevalence and has resulted in unintended consequences. Its ineffectiveness has been attributed to: 1) heavy focus on individual-based approaches and lack of scaled-up socio-environmental policies and programs, 2) modest effects of interventions in reducing and preventing obesity at the population level, and 3) inappropriate focus on weight rather than health. An unintended consequence of these policies and programs is excessive weight preoccupation among the population, which can lead to stigma, body dissatisfaction, dieting, disordered eating, and even death from effects of extreme dieting, anorexia, and obesity surgery complications, or from suicide that results from weight-based bullying. Future public health approaches should: a) avoid simplistic obesity messages that focus solely on individuals' responsibility for weight and health, b) focus on health outcomes rather than weight control, and c) address the complexity of obesity and target both individual-level and system-level determinants of health.

  15. Personalism for public health ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlo Petrini

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

  16. Personalism for public health ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

    2010-01-01

    In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

  17. Petroleum Scarcity and Public Health: Considerations for Local Health Departments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Cindy L.; Caine, Virginia A.; McKee, Mary; Shirley, Lillian M.; Links, Jonathan M.

    2011-01-01

    Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts. PMID:21778471

  18. Decision support for risk prioritisation of environmental health hazards in a UK city.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Mae; Crabbe, Helen; Close, Rebecca; Studden, Mike; Milojevic, Ai; Leonardi, Giovanni; Fletcher, Tony; Chalabi, Zaid

    2016-03-08

    There is increasing appreciation of the proportion of the health burden that is attributed to modifiable population exposure to environmental health hazards. To manage this avoidable burden in the United Kingdom (UK), government policies and interventions are implemented. In practice, this procedure is interdisciplinary in action and multi-dimensional in context. Here, we demonstrate how Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) can be used as a decision support tool to facilitate priority setting for environmental public health interventions within local authorities. We combine modelling and expert elicitation to gather evidence on the impacts and ranking of interventions. To present the methodology, we consider a hypothetical scenario in a UK city. We use MCDA to evaluate and compare the impact of interventions to reduce the health burden associated with four environmental health hazards and rank them in terms of their overall performance across several criteria. For illustrative purposes, we focus on heavy goods vehicle controls to reduce outdoor air pollution, remediation to control levels of indoor radon, carbon monoxide and fitting alarms, and encouraging cycling to target the obesogenic environment. Regional data was included as model evidence to construct a ratings matrix for the city. When MCDA is performed with uniform weights, the intervention of heavy goods vehicle controls to reduce outdoor air pollution is ranked the highest. Cycling and the obesogenic environment is ranked second. We argue that a MCDA based approach provides a framework to guide environmental public health decision makers. This is demonstrated through an online interactive MCDA tool. We conclude that MCDA is a transparent tool that can be used to compare the impact of alternative interventions on a set of pre-defined criteria. In our illustrative example, we ranked the best intervention across the equally weighted selected criteria out of the four alternatives. Further work is needed

  19. Public health and the Australian Constitution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, C

    1995-06-01

    The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution contain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is not often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad range of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specified in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the various heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the potential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Australia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwealth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its power to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into specific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in some important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying rights and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both state and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant source of public health law, and public health policy makers should recognise the full potential of its power to make such laws.

  20. Environmental contamination and its impact on human health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cornescu, A.

    2009-01-01

    Chernobyl, site of the worst accident in the history of peaceful use of atomic energy, remain, a huge danger for Europe in the overall levels of exposure to ionizing radiation continues to increase, which is demonstrated by recording new information on biological effects of exposure to radiation (Regional and global aspects of Radiation Protection, IRPA 2007). Criteria fundamental radiation, which is necessary today as result of various practical applications of nuclear energy, obliges us to carefully analyze environmental issue as a result of the presence of radioactive isotopes into the environment. This is due to the fact that the study of correlated environmental contamination and transmission vectors of radionuclides to humans is a primary means to protect public health. (authors)