Environmental Health Quiz and Flashcards: Hygiene and Public Health

Study Notes

Environmental Health

Environmental health refers to external factors responsible for ailments, diseases, and deaths.

Definition of Health

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or ailment.

Disease and Morbidity

A disease is an abnormal change in a body's condition that diminishes important physical or psychological functions.
Morbidity refers to illness, while mortality refers to death.

Public Health

Public Health is the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policymaking, and research for disease and injury prevention.

Roles of Public Health Officials

Monitor the health status of a community to identify potential problems.
Diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards in the community.
Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues, especially those that are high risk.
Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
Link people to needed personal health services and ensure the provision of health care if unavailable.
Ensure a competent public health and personal health care workforce.
Evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
Research new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.

Environmental Health Science

Environmental Health Science is the study of the factors in the environment that affect human health.
These factors can be pollutants or toxicants in the air, water, soil, food, plants, or animals.
They can be transferred to humans by inhalation, ingestion, or absorption, producing adverse health effects.

Environmental Contributors

Physical contributors: Air, water, soil, flora, fauna, housing, climate, geography, heat, light, noise, debris, etc.
Biological contributors: Virus, bacteria, and other microbes, insects, rodents, animals, and plants.
Social contributors: Culture, values, customs, habits, morals, religions, education, lifestyle, community life, health services, social and political organizations.

Healthy Environment

Clean air, safe and sufficient water, safe, nutritious, and accessible food, safe and strong settlements, and a stable global environment.

Scope of Environmental Health

Water supplies, wastewater treatment, waste management, vector control, prevention and control of land pollution, food hygiene and safety, air quality management, environmental radiation hazards, occupational health and safety, environmental noise management, accommodation establishment, environmental health aspects of public recreation and tourism, and establishment of an effective environmental health surveillance and information system.
Research on environmental health issues, water and health, accident prevention, and environmental health aspects of epidemics, emergencies, disasters, and migrations of populations.

Water and Health

Water should be free from pathogenic agents, harmful chemical substances, and have a pleasant taste, i.e., free from color and odor.
Water is essential for domestic purposes (150-200 liters/person/day), public purposes, industrial purposes, agricultural purposes, and hydropower production.
Sources of water include meteoric water (rain, snowmelt, hail, sleet, glacial melt water), surface water (rivers, streams, lakes, ponds), and groundwater (dug wells, tubewells, natural springs, fountains).
Sources of water pollution include sewage, industrial and commercial effluents, pesticides, chemical manures, radioactivity, organic, inorganic, and dissolved solids.

Description

Test your knowledge on environmental health, disease, morbidity, mortality, and public health. Explore the factors responsible for ailments and diseases, as well as the concepts of health according to WHO.