Lecture 1 Flashcards
What is environmental health?
Comprises those aspects of human health that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social, and psychological factors in our environment (WHO)
How can we measure wellbeing?
Health-Related Quality of Life(HRQOL)
Individual level: physical and mental health perceptions and their correlates including health risks and conditions, functional status, social support, and socioeconomic status
Community level: resources, conditions, policies, and practices that influence a population’s health perceptions and functional status
Can use questionnaires
What are the benefits of well-being?
- decreased risk of disease, illness, and injury
- better immune function
- speedier recovery times
- increased longevity
- higher productivity at work
- greater ability contribute to their communities
Explain how the Earth is like a fish bowl.
Name some different ways that we ingest gaseous and particulate effluents
Describe the epidemiological transition.
What causes non-communicable diseases?
Describe contributors to the environment.
What causes pollutants? (source)
What affects our environment?
What is the WHO precautionary principle?
“In the case of serious or irreversible threats to the health of humans or the ecosystem, acknowledged scientific uncertainty should not be used as a reason to postpone preventive measures”
Describe the clinical intervention model.
Describe the public health intervention model.
Describe the environmental stewardship intervention model.
What is the goal of studying environmental health?
To promote well-being by assessing and managing risk (the chance of harmful effects to human health or to ecological systems resulting from environmental exposures)
What are the three goals of environmental health professionals
- predict risk
- manage risk
- communicate risk
Explain the environmental health paradigm.
What is a source of environmental contaminants?
Any stationary or mobile entity that emits or has the potential to emit an environmental pollutant that has been shown to be associated with an adverse effect, indirectly or directly, on human health.
What is a point source environmental contaminant?
a single identified source of pollutants (e.g. factories)
What is a nonpoint source?
they occur in a wide area that isn’t easy to identify(like smokers)
Give examples of sources of environmental contaminants.
How do chemical structures determine transport and fate?
What is toxicodynamics?
What a chemical does when it gets to its target organ.
What is toxicokinectics?
What our body does with a particular chemical.
Describe exposure points
What is an exposure assessment?
- characterization of exposure setting
- identification of the exposure pathway
- pattern of exposure (air is constant, food 3 times/day)
- quantification of external exposure (often only method of assessing internal exposure)
exposure = intensity x frequency x duration
What are possible approaches to exposure assessment.
What are contaminants?
(also referred to as agents), they are chemical (toxicants), biological and physical
What are vectors/media?
water, air, soil, food, animals
What are the routes of entry?
inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption
Give a summary of the first lecture.
Key Points:
- people and technology are responsible for contaminating the environment
- epidemiological transition/increased prevalence of chronic illnesses are due to environmental contaminants
- different models (clinical, public health, environmental stewardship) to protect human health
- environmental health paradigm is an instrument for understanding the risk of exposure to the contaminants and how to regulate
