Many of us wake up every day and pay little attention to what surrounds us and many of us take life on earth for granted. The reason why life is taken for granted is due to many of us being misinformed about what the environment is all about.
As Humans, we interact with the environment three hundred and sixty-five days a year and twenty-four-seven around the clock. These interactions affect the quality of life, years of healthy life lived, and many types of health disparities. According to the World Health Organization, it defines the environment as it relates to health as, “all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related behaviors” (WHO, n.d.).
Issues and concepts related to the impact of environmental health on our global society is a competency I chose to reflect on because many people live freely and are incognizant of what is going on around them. Preventing or controlling disease, injury, and disability related to the interactions between people and their environment are some of the highlights that fall under environmental health. As a public health professional, it is my job to diligently inform those I am around about our behaviors.
Educating them on what we do affects our human population and everything else that surrounds us. It is essential to maintain a healthy environment due to it being the core in increasing the quality and years of a healthy life. According to the Healthy People website, it states “Globally, 23% of all deaths and 26% of deaths among children under age 5 are due to preventable environmental factors” (WHO, n.d.). Some of these factors that play a role and could be prevented are exposure to hazardous substances in the air, water, soil, and food, Natural and technological disasters, climate change, occupational hazards, and the built environment (“Environmental Health,” 2014).
Several issues affect environmental health on a global scale. The first and foremost issue is pollution. Cars, factories, farms, and other facilities release a myriad of fumes into the air (WHO, n.d.). This affects global societies in direct and indirect ways. The fumes themselves contain particles that can provoke cancer, allergies, and a myriad of other adverse reactions in a human body, contributing to the rising levels of cancer, heart, lung, and skin diseases across the world, especially in the industrialized nations.
The second issue connected to environmental health is global warming, which affects climate and exposes numerous individuals to the changing weather patterns, hot and cold fronts, and natural disasters (“Environmental Health,” 2014). There is evidence that the multitude of hurricanes to hit the shoreline of the Mexican Gulf in the past 20 years was caused by climate change. As a result, many people died, and countless more were left without homes. Disease outbreaks followed the affected areas, as the government and healthcare agencies were not ready to deal with the incidents.
MSci in Health Information Management and Environmental Policy and Management addresses the issues of the organization, information management, and environmental policy. Should I undertake these programs, I would be able of utilizing information technology in healthcare to coordinate the efforts of numerous healthcare agencies, non-government organizations, and civilian populations in an event of an environmental health hazard.
Besides, a degree in Environmental Policy would provide me with skills to understand and address environmental issues in the scope of environmental healthcare and seek to reduce the negative aspects of pollution, climate change, and deforestation in the global society.
To apply Environmental Health in our society, I must be knowledgeable about what is harming the human population. Poor environmental quality has its greatest impact on individuals who’s health is already in jeopardy.
Therefore, as an environmental health professional, I must address the societal and environmental factors that increase the possibility of exposure and disease by promoting campaigns and lobbying for pressing issues that are in need for a change, like outdoor air quality, Surface and Ground Water, Hazardous Wastes, Homes and Communities. Many people spend most of their time at home, work, or school and are unaware, the best thing to do is to advocate and educate, so if something is not right, the correct measures can be taken to fix it, so everyone can live a healthy life.
“Regardless of age, sex, lifestyle, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status, infectious diseases are a continuous threat to all persons,” (CDC, 1998). These complex issues cause suffering and death and impose a financial burden on society. The second competency I chose to speak on is, examine the application of epidemiology to screening, infectious disease prevention, and policy. According to the BMJ website, it states epidemiology is the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why.
These findings are then used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness. It is also used as a guide to the management of patients who already have the disease. Being an epidemiologist is one job with many different hats. As an epidemiologist, I would have to lead and participate in clinics for childhood vaccinations, sexually transmitted diseases, and influenza vaccinations. The aim would be to prevent or decrease infectious disease transmission.
Epidemiology is critical to screening, prevention, and policy advocacy to prevent diseases. Screening processes are used to verify what determinants of health in vulnerable populations contribute to the rise or decline of disease incidence. Various social groups have different exposure rates compared to others. Women, children, single parents, minorities, and the poor are typically associated with higher vulnerability to diseases and are typically the focus of most epidemiological efforts.
Epidemiology is valuable in any prevention effort, as understanding the factors that facilitate the spread of diseases is important for the formulation of strategies to prevent them. Lastly, advocacy efforts, to be successful, require a solid grasp and understanding of the epidemiology, as such knowledge would be required to devise policies to improve the state of public health as well as convincing others that the proposed course of action is efficient.
The two programs that could help me affect public health in regards to epidemiology is an MSci in Nursing and MSci in Healthcare Administration. Nurses are the primary agents of change in any healthcare setting. Their jobs are related to disease prevention, providing healthcare services, facilitating research, and advocating for changes in public policy based on research findings and evidence-based practice.
In short, a Master’s degree in Nursing would provide me with all the core competencies necessary for improving public health. The second program to help address the core issue is Healthcare Administration. This program deals with the legal, organizational, and leadership side of healthcare and public policy. It would provide me with the skills and knowledge necessary to facilitate change on an organizational scale.
Also, as an epidemiologist, one must assess health trends and risk factors of groups and determine priorities for targeted interventions. In taking these measures, I would have to be able to inform health care professionals, community organizations, and others in doing consultations. As stated previously, being an epidemiologist is one name with many jobs under the title, some I have previously described, but there are many more that keep a healthy functioning community.
In conclusion, both competencies tie into one great ordeal, create a health-conscious community, and keep many health issues at bay or irradiate them permanently. Environmental factors affect epidemiological ones, creating a system. It is impossible to have a lasting long-term change in the national healthcare effort and policy without addressing the underlying issues behind them. The programs I have chosen would help me address the outlined competencies in the best possible manner, enabling me to engage in direct practice, advocacy, and research.
References
CDC. (1998). Preventing emerging infectious diseases: A strategy for the 21st century overview of the updated CDC plan. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 47(15), 1-14.
Environmental health. (2014). Web.
World Health Organization (WHO) (n.d.). Preventing disease through healthy environments: A global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks. Web.