The research study “Environmental Risks to Public Health in the United Arab Emirates: A Quantitative Assessment and Strategic Plan” by Jacqueline Gibson and Zeinab Farah has been well researched. The authors have covered all significant elements of a viable scientific research study. Further, they provided ample sources to both support and critiqued their arguments. It is important to mention that the significance of the study is presented in the first paragraphs, albeit not directly. This paper will analyze the research, critically looking at the methods, assumptions, presentation style, and importance of the study. Suggestions to make the study better will also be given.
As stated, one of the commendable attributes of the study is the use of many sources. Burton et al. argue that proper citation is crucial in any scientific paper (78). Authors usually base their arguments on other people’s previous studies. They then use the said research papers to ascertain their arguments and also disagree with some hypotheses. Gibson and Farah provide an extensive list of viable sources making their research paper more prolific and informational (686). The authors also employed the right methodology as per their research objectives. The researchers applied the attributable fraction method. Trias-Llimós et al. define the approach as a definitional formula for population (13). Attributable fraction is mainly used in health-related research topics due to the ability to impose a disease burden on any risk factor involved (Neogi et al. 9). It is also important to mention that the quantification of disease and premature death based on environmental pollution agents is effectively done using the attributable fraction approach.
It can be argued, however, that the authors did not properly treat time preference. Whereas the content is extensive in terms of time lapsed, a majority of the sources used are old. One can argue that the use of sources, however, ensures that little personal bias is featured in the study. The presentation style of the paper attracts little attention. There is no proper outline of some of the sections. For instance, the introduction section does not highlight the significance of the study, the research aim, and objections, among other similar elements. Despite the shortcomings of the paper, it still offers quality research work. The reader can easily understand how environmental factors relate to public health in the UAE.
The conclusions made at the end of the paper are indeed crucial for decision-makers. Zhenhua argues that fast urbanization has led to an even faster increase in pollution (1507). In turn, non-communicable diseases have been on the rise (Calderón-Garcidueñas and Villarreal-Ríos 676). The research paper not only confirms this but also puts forward the idea that the UAE is one of the highly affected countries in the world. Such strong evidence can be used to ensure policies that regulate pollution and other harmful environmental practices are put in place.
In conclusion, the authors can improve the presentation style to make the research better. Additionally, albeit with the use of several sources, the authors should replace the older sources with more recent ones. The main reason for the suggestion is the fact that more recent sources will provide an in-depth analysis of the situation while outlining some of the measures that have already been put in place to mitigate the situation. Also, it can be suggested that the authors proofread the paper again as it contains minor grammatical errors.
Works Cited
Burton, Adrian, et al. “The Data-Literature Interlinking Service.” Program, vol. 51, no. 1, 2017, pp. 75-100.
Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian, and Rodolfo Villarreal-Ríos. “Living Close to Heavy Traffic Roads, Air Pollution, and Dementia.” Lancet, vol. 389, no. 10070, 2017, pp. 675-677.
Gibson, MacDonald Jacqueline, and Farah, S. Zeinab. “Environmental Risks to Public Health in the United Arab Emirates: A Quantitative Assessment and Strategic Plan.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 120, no. 5, 2012, pp. 681-686.
Neogi, Sutapa Bandyopadhyay, et al. “Risk Factors for Stillbirths: How Much Can a Responsive Health System Prevent?” BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, vol. 18, 2018, pp. 1-10.
Trias-Llimós, Sergi, et al. “Comparison of Different Approaches for Estimating Age-Specific Alcohol-Attributable Mortality: The Cases of France and Finland.” Plos ONE, vol. 13, no. 3, 2018, pp. 1-17.
Zhenhua, Tian. “Study of Coordinated Development of Urbanization and the Environment.” Agricultural Science & Technology, vol. 18, no. 8, 2017, pp. 1505-1520.