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Globalization and Health Dec 2019The circular economy framework for human production and consumption is an alternative to the traditional, linear concept of 'take, make, and dispose'. Circular economy...
BACKGROUND
The circular economy framework for human production and consumption is an alternative to the traditional, linear concept of 'take, make, and dispose'. Circular economy (CE) principles comprise of 'design out waste and pollution', 'retain products and materials in use', and 'regenerate natural systems'. This commentary considers the risks and opportunities of the CE for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), acknowledging that LMICs must identify their own opportunities, while recognising the potential positive and negative environmental health impacts.
MAIN BODY
The implementation of the CE in LMICs is mostly undertaken informally, driven by poverty and unemployment. Activities being employed towards extracting value from waste in LMICs are imposing environmental health risks including exposure to hazardous and toxic working environments, emissions and materials, and infectious diseases. The CE has the potential to aid towards the achievement of the SDGs, in particular SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). However, since SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) is critical in the pursuit of all SDGs, the negative implications of the CE should be well understood and addressed. We call on policy makers, industry, the health sector, and health-determining sectors to address these issues by defining mechanisms to protect vulnerable populations from the negative health impacts that may arise in LMICs as these countries domesticate the CE.
CONCLUSION
Striving towards a better understanding of risks should not undermine support for the CE, which requires the full agency of the public and policy communities to realise the potential to accelerate LMICs towards sustainable production and consumption, with positive synergies for several SDGs.
Topics: Developing Countries; Environmental Health; Humans; Sustainable Development
PubMed: 31847867
DOI: 10.1186/s12992-019-0501-y -
American Family Physician Nov 2019Concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at increasing rates, heating the Earth's surface and destabilizing climate. Health impacts... (Review)
Review
Concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at increasing rates, heating the Earth's surface and destabilizing climate. Health impacts from climate change may include increased morbidity and mortality from worsening cardiopulmonary health, worsening allergies, and greater risk of infectious disease and mental illness, including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder from extreme weather events. Family physicians should advise patients to minimize exposure to air pollution, which is potentiated by rising temperatures. Use of self-monitoring devices, tracking local weather information, and awareness of events such as wildfires can alert patients to poor ambient air quality. Vulnerable individuals should avoid intense outdoor exercise and stay indoors or wear protective N95 masks when air quality is in the harmful range. Physicians can teach patients to recognize early symptoms of heat illness and advise adequate hydration and cooling on hot days. Physicians should become aware of the signs and symptoms of vectorborne illnesses to ensure early treatment and limit spread. Physicians should be aware of the climate and health benefits of active transport and plant-based diets when counseling their patients. Physicians can have a positive impact on climate change awareness and policy by incorporating counseling, public health precepts, and advocacy into their practice.
Topics: Climate Change; Environmental Health; Global Health; Humans; Physician's Role; Public Health
PubMed: 31730308
DOI: No ID Found -
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2023Current data and scientific predictions about the consequences of climate change are accurate in suggesting disaster. Since 2019, climate change has become a threat to...
Current data and scientific predictions about the consequences of climate change are accurate in suggesting disaster. Since 2019, climate change has become a threat to human health, and major consequences on health and health systems are already observed. Climate change is a central concern for the nursing discipline, even though nursing theorists' understanding of the environment has led to problematic gaps that impact the current context. Today, nursing discipline is facing new challenges. Nurses are strategically placed to respond to the impacts of climate change through their practice, research, and training in developing, implementing, and sustaining innovation towards climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is urgent for them to adapt their practice to this reality to become agents of change.
Topics: Humans; Climate Change; Environmental Health; Adaptation, Physiological; Acclimatization; Disasters
PubMed: 37174199
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095682 -
Environmental Health Perspectives Dec 2019Environmental health (EH) professionals, one of the largest segments of the public health workforce, are responsible for delivery of essential environmental public...
BACKGROUND
Environmental health (EH) professionals, one of the largest segments of the public health workforce, are responsible for delivery of essential environmental public health services. The challenges facing these professionals and research needs to improve EH practice are not fully understood, but 26% of EH professionals working in health departments of the United States plan to retire in 5 y, while only 6% of public health students are currently pursuing EH concentrations.
OBJECTIVES
A groundbreaking initiative was recently launched to understand EH practice in health departments of the United States. This commentary article aims to identify priority EH practice challenges and related research needs for health departments.
METHODS
A horizon scanning approach was conducted in which challenges facing EH professionals were provided by 1,736 respondents working at health departments who responded to a web-based survey fielded in November 2017. Thematic analyses of the responses and determining the frequency at which respondents reported specific issues and opportunities identified primary EH topic areas. These topic areas and related issues informed focus group discussions at an in-person workshop held in Anaheim, California. The purpose of the in-person workshop was to engage each of the topic areas and issues, through facilitated focus groups, leading to the formation of four to five related problem statements for each EH topic.
DISCUSSION
EH professionals are strategically positioned to diagnose, intervene, and prevent public health threats. Focus group engagement resulted in 29 priority problem statements partitioned among 6 EH topic areas: ) drinking water quality, ) wastewater management, ) healthy homes, ) food safety, ) vectors and public health pests, and ) emerging issues. This commentary article identifies priority challenges and related research needs to catalyze effective delivery of essential environmental public health services for common EH program areas in health departments. An unprecedented initiative to revitalize EH practice with timely and strategic recommendations for student and professional training, nontraditional partnerships, and basic and translational research activities is recommended. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5161.
Topics: Environmental Health; Public Health; United States
PubMed: 31799881
DOI: 10.1289/EHP5161 -
Environmental Health Perspectives Oct 2023
Topics: Environmental Pollution; Environmental Health
PubMed: 37824085
DOI: 10.1289/EHP14069 -
Annals of Global Health Jul 2018Promotion of biomedical research along with the development of evidence-based prevention policies have been suggested as an effective way to reduce environmental risks... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Promotion of biomedical research along with the development of evidence-based prevention policies have been suggested as an effective way to reduce environmental risks for children's health in Latin America. However, there is little information on the current state of childhood environmental health research, which might help identify its strengths and limitations, as well as to design a strategy to improve the future of child environmental health research in the region.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the current state of environmental health research on children exposed to environmental pollutants in Latin America.
METHODOLOGY
We performed a comprehensive search of published peer-reviewed environmental health articles (1994-2014), dealing with the exposure of Latin American children to chemical compounds. We described the type of studies and their research topics, and identified networks of co-authors. We also analyzed the relationship between research funding sources and the impact factor (IF) of the journal where research was published.
RESULTS
The average number of publications was about 20 per year. Mexico and Brazil produced almost 70% of the 409 identified papers. The most studied contaminant was lead, but research on this element has declined since 2005. Retrospective studies were the most frequent, and also showed a decreasing trend. Most studies did not assess health effects. Four groups of leading investigators and two collaboration models for scientific production were identified. Except for Mexico, there was very little collaboration with North American and European countries. Compared to articles that did not report financial support, those that received international funding had on average an IF around 7, and those with national funding reached a mean IF near 3.
CONCLUSION
There is a limited number of publications and insufficient collaboration between Latin-American scientists. It is necessary to identify strategies to stimulate South-South-North alliances and strengthen the scarce research on the environmental health of children in the region.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Child; Child Health; Child Welfare; Environmental Health; Humans; Latin America
PubMed: 30873771
DOI: 10.29024/aogh.908 -
American Journal of Public Health Jan 2022Children's environmental health (CEH) has a 25-year history at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during which the agency has advanced CEH through research,...
Children's environmental health (CEH) has a 25-year history at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during which the agency has advanced CEH through research, policy, and programs that address children's special vulnerability to environmental harm. However, the Trump administration took many actions that weakened efforts to improve CEH. The actions included downgrading or ignoring CEH concerns in decision-making, defunding research, sidelining the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee, and rescinding regulations that were written in part to protect children. To improve CEH, federal environmental statutes should be reviewed to ensure they are sufficiently protective. The administrator should ensure the EPA's children's health agenda encompasses the most important current challenges and that there is accountability for improvement. Guidance documents should be reviewed and updated to be protective of CEH and the federal lead strategy refocused on primary prevention. The Office of Children's Health Protection's historically low funding and staffing should be remedied. Finally, the EPA should update CEH data systems, reinvigorate the role of the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee, and restore funding for CEH research that is aligned with environmental justice and regulatory decision-making needs. (. 2022;112(1):124-134. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306537).
Topics: Child Health; Environmental Health; Government Regulation; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Politics; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency
PubMed: 34936388
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306537 -
American Journal of Public Health Mar 2020
Topics: Environmental Health; Forecasting; Health Occupations; Workforce
PubMed: 32023116
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305500 -
International Journal of Environmental... Sep 2019Social science-environmental health (SS-EH) research takes many structural forms and contributes to a wide variety of topical areas. In this article we discuss the...
Social science-environmental health (SS-EH) research takes many structural forms and contributes to a wide variety of topical areas. In this article we discuss the general nature of SS-EH contributions and offer a new typology of SS-EH practice that situates this type of research in a larger transdisciplinary sensibility: (1) environmental health science influenced by social science; (2) social science studies of environmental health; and (3) social science-environmental health collaborations. We describe examples from our own and others' work and we discuss the central role that research centers, training programs, and conferences play in furthering SS-EH research. We argue that the third form of SS-EH research, SS-EH collaborations, offers the greatest potential for improving public and environmental health, though such collaborations come with important challenges and demand constant reflexivity on the part of researchers.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Community Participation; Environmental Health; Environmental Science; Humans; Intersectoral Collaboration; Research Design; Social Sciences; United States
PubMed: 31546760
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16183483 -
Environmental Health and Preventive... Jan 2013Health forecasting is a novel area of forecasting, and a valuable tool for predicting future health events or situations such as demands for health services and... (Review)
Review
Health forecasting is a novel area of forecasting, and a valuable tool for predicting future health events or situations such as demands for health services and healthcare needs. It facilitates preventive medicine and health care intervention strategies, by pre-informing health service providers to take appropriate mitigating actions to minimize risks and manage demand. Health forecasting requires reliable data, information and appropriate analytical tools for the prediction of specific health conditions or situations. There is no single approach to health forecasting, and so various methods have often been adopted to forecast aggregate or specific health conditions. Meanwhile, there are no defined health forecasting horizons (time frames) to match the choices of health forecasting methods/approaches that are often applied. The key principles of health forecasting have not also been adequately described to guide the process. This paper provides a brief introduction and theoretical analysis of health forecasting. It describes the key issues that are important for health forecasting, including: definitions, principles of health forecasting, and the properties of health data, which influence the choices of health forecasting methods. Other matters related to the value of health forecasting, and the general challenges associated with developing and using health forecasting services are discussed. This overview is a stimulus for further discussions on standardizing health forecasting approaches and methods that will facilitate health care and health services delivery.
Topics: Communication; Environmental Health; Forecasting; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Models, Statistical; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 22949173
DOI: 10.1007/s12199-012-0294-6