Key Environmental Health Burdens and Non-Communicable Disease
Epidemiological review of an environmental issue from a global health perspective
Indoor air pollution is one of the most frequently discussed environmentally-related issues. The lives of about half of all people depend on the conditions under which cooking and heating processes are organized. Indoor air pollution from the use of harmful solid fuels causes about 1,5 million deaths from pneumonia and about 2,7 million death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In India, more people die because of asthma in comparison to any other country (The Editorial Board, 2014). Such numbers should make people understand the importance of control over the indoor air pollution issue to avoid health problems as well as many other domestic problems.
How would you help people in Guatemala to adopt the use of better stoves?
First, people in Guatemala should know about the threats that come from their stoves, this is why they need special brochures or other informative sources, where the indoor air pollution issue is discussed. Second, not all people may allow themselves to buy better stoves, this is why they may try to use dried fuels, maintain their chimneys, or place their kitchens far from houses. Finally, the stoves may be improved by the use of appropriate fuel or choose special electric stoves that do not influence human health.
How would you expand access to low-cost sanitation in Nepal? Why? What would constrain the people in Nepal from investing their resources in improved low-cost sanitation?
The access to low-cost sanitation in Nepal may be expanded due to the involvement of the public and private sectors or such organizations as NGOs. Public demand for toilets is obvious, and the private sector may be encouraged to set the standards and follow certain techniques. Still, people may not want to invest their resources as they know that public sectors can do it or they know a little about the threats of poor sanitation and the importance of good hygiene.
Unintentional Injuries and Their Relation to the Global Burden of Disease
How important are unintentional injuries to the global burden of disease?
Unintentional injuries turn out to be one of the leading reasons for unexpected deaths in the whole world. In 2013, more than 3,5 million people died because of such injuries (Smith, 2015), and the number of people, who become disabled, is hard to imagine. The importance of this issue lies in the fact that such injuries are hard to control and impossible to predict. Some people cannot even understand that their organism suffers and requires a certain treatment. Besides, unexpected financial costs on treatment may create another problem based on the unintentional injuries issue.
What are the most important unintentional injuries that affect children?
Many unintentional injuries may affect children, still, parents should know the most frequent and dangerous to avoid them. These injuries come from wrong motor vehicle traffic, the cases of suffocation, drowning, and poisoning, inabilities to control fires and serious burns as a result, unexpected falls that lead to invisible injuries, and even sports harm because of parental neglect or unwillingness to check child’s health status.
What is Haddon’s matrix? How would you use this matrix to assist you in analyzing accidents?
Haddon’s matrix is a theoretical foundation that prevents injuries from using understanding their reasons and features. It consists of several stages: the analysis of a host (a person, whose behavior leads to an accident, a vector (a cause of an injury), and the environment of an accident. This matrix may be used to analyze accidents in case several particular examples are taken into consideration, the components of the accident are identified, and their possible interactions are evaluated to identify different situations and get an ability to predict and overcome them. For example, car accidents may be used to explain to the drivers the risks of breaking the rules on a road.
Reference List
Smith, J.N. (2015). Fatal accidents as a global health crisis.The New York Times. Web.
The Editorial Board. (2014). India’s air pollution emergency.The New York Times. Web.