Referring to the recent lectures and examined readings, I have learnt that there is a range of factors influencing the public health, and these factors are social, psychosocial, political, and economic ones; thus, the public health is affected by the fact of living in rural or urban environments, by climatic changes, and by differences in ecosystems (Costanza 2012, p. 24).
I received the opportunity to think over such a significant fact that ecosystem influences the public health directly, but a man has the more influential effect on the ecosystem itself, and this effect is often negative that is why it is important to become ‘Earth Friendly’ (Landon 2006, p. 158). Furthermore, I have changed my vision about the role of living in the rural territories for the people’s health because today I know that many people living in the country suffer from depression, poverty, and even violence (Landon 2006, p. 183).
On the other hand, the life in cities is also challenging for people because they can suffer not only from the hazardous effect of the industrial pollutants but also from social isolation (Landon 2006, p. 183). At this stage, I can also think about the direct connection between the public health, environments, and policies because the effective policies can contribute to improving the public health (Costanza 2012, p. 24).
This knowledge is important for individuals because reflecting on aspects of living in the rural and urban territories, people can choose the places to live to improve their health and quality of life (Lopez 2012, p. 230).
Changes in ecosystems influence individuals complexly because, for instance, the extreme use of fossil fuels leads to air pollution and provokes asthma, and the use of fossil fuels leads to climatic changes which cause mental health because of the necessity to adapt to new conditions (Landon 2006, p. 157). Moreover, people with low incomes can choose to move to cities in order to avoid poverty because, for instance, poor quality of housing leads to poor hygiene and emotional stress (Landon 2006; Lopez 2012, p. 230).
This information is also related to the life in communities because, according to Lopez, communities are responsible for improvement of their ecosystems and for promoting their social capital (Lopez 2012, p. 228). Connections with the other persons are important for people to improve their mental health, and this idea is correlated with the discussion of negative effects of social isolation typical for many urban territories with high-rise buildings when the social balance is absent (Lopez 2012, p. 230).
Governments can also play an important role in improving the public health because, according to Baum, the liberal-democratic approach is effective to contribute not only to economic development but also to direct disease prevention and health promotion (Baum 2008, p. 73-74; Baum 2008, p. 383). Moreover, governments are responsible for developing policies to prevent negative effects of climatic changes which can lead to malnutrition and lack of resources (Landon 2006, p. 139).
The learnt concepts and ideas are also important for the future career because now I can refer to the concrete associations between the people’s psychological state and the environments where they live; thus, I can refer, for instance, to the issue of loneliness which affects depression, to inappropriate nutrition because of unemployment, or to the development of cardiac and respiratory diseases because of living in a city (An ensemble of definitions 1998; Landon, M 2006, p. 200).
To decide about the risk of infectious diseases, I should refer to the aspects of climate and social factors influential for the people’s health because poverty or the lack of water resources can lead to violating the principles of hygiene, for instance (Health A to Z 2013).
The knowledge about all the aspects of environments in which the patient lives is important for me to create the complete picture of the health risks for this person, with references to social, psychosocial, and economic factors which can seem insignificant for clients themselves (Health A to Z 2013).
Reference List
An ensemble of definitions 1998. Web.
Baum, F 2008, ‘Health Economic Policies’, in F Baum (ed.), The New Public Health, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp. 371-388.
Baum, F 2008, ‘Politics and Ideologies: The Invisible Hands of Public Health’, in F Baum (ed.), The new public health, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, pp. 71-97.
Costanza, R 2012, ‘Ecosystem health and ecological engineering’, Ecological Engineering, vol. 45. no. 1, pp. 24-29.
Health A to Z 2013. Web.
Landon, M 2006, ‘Action at global and local levels’, in M Landon (ed.), Environment, health and sustainable development, Open University Press, Maidenhead, pp. 198-207.
Landon, M 2006, ‘Global climate change and human health’, in M Landon (ed.), Environment, health and sustainable development, Open University Press, Maidenhead, pp. 139-155.
Landon, M 2006, ‘The balance of ecosystems and human health’, in M Landon (ed.), Environment, health and sustainable development, Open University Press, Maidenhead, pp. 156-166.
Landon, M 2006, ‘The urban environment and health’, in M Landon (ed.), Environment, health and sustainable development, Open University Press, Maidenhead, pp. 183-197.
Lopez, R 2012, ‘Social Capital’, in R Lopez (ed.), The built environment and public health, Jossey-Bass, Hoboken, pp. 227-245.