Population and the enviroment - Environment, health and well-being Flashcards

Question

what are the links between climate and health

Answer 1

Links between natural environment and disease Drought leads to crop, reduction in food consumption and the potential for famine Extreme flooding cause by heavy rains or tropical storms can lead to waterborne diseases and respiratory infections Seasonal affective disorder - type of depression that has a seasonal pattern which episodes tend to occur at the same time each year, usually during winter linking to reduced exposure to sunlight during the shorter days of the year - In NYC 4.3% of population have SAD Everyday illnesses also linked to natural environment e.g. hay fever, asthma In uk large scale seasonality of mortality has declined possibly due to increase use of heating Air quality increased - number of people affected by respiratory problems in cities declined Small scale aspects of environment have impact on morbidity e.g. relationship between soft water and high levels of heart disease

Answer 2

LIC’s of asia high density of people occupy flood plains of major rivers (e.g. Ganges) Attracted by flat land and seasonal flooding - enables growth of rice Unplanned flooding accounts for 40% of all natural disasters worldwide and causes half of all deaths from natural disasters Most floods occur in LICs and tropical regions Flood consequences impact on health - respiratory infections and typhoid fever occuring after floods, contaminated freshwater supplies increase risk of waterborne diseases, creates breeding grounds for disease carrying insects e.g. mosquitoes High death toll - drowning Physical injuries Damage to homes - large number of people displaced Disrupt medical and health services Nepal - mountains and steeps slopes 2015 earthquake caused avalanches on Mount Everest, 19 died and over 120 injured or missing Langtang valley 329 people killed by landslide of weathered rock and soil After earthquake hospitals destroyed or badly damaged in four worst affected districts so could not function Landslides damaged roads and tracks Medical personnel treated patients on ground and emergency aircraft and aid vehicles were required to transport people to health centres and hospitals further away Natural hazards have an indirect link to disease Haitian earthquake, 2010, before earthquake - lack of public sewage systems, less than half people had access to drinking water, high levels of malnutrition, nearly 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and only half the population vaccinated against basic diseases. after earthquake - in refugee camps, infectious disease spread quickly with UNICEF reporting that from 2010-2014 there had been nearly 700,000 cases and 8,500 deaths of cholera

Answer 3

Ambient (outdoor) air pollution - major health problem, potential to affect everyone in developed and developing countries Air pollution is now world's largest single environmental health risk Cardiovascular and respiratory health affected by polluted air linked to 3.7 millions premature deaths worldwide in 2012 - 80% due to heart disease and strokes People living in low and middle income countries are more affected by air pollution - 88% premature deaths occurring in developing countries, Sources of outdoor air pollution need to be controlled by authorities and policymakers e.g. cleaner transport, energy efficient housing, power generation which would reduce sources of urban outdoor air pollution. Rural air pollution in developing areas tackled by reducing emissions from biomass energy systems, agricultural waste incineration, forest fires Reducing air pollution levels - reduce stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, respiratory diseases Household air pollution - Use of fuel wood for indoor cooking and heating producing harmful pollutants Exposure to smoke increase risk of respiratory infections, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and cataracts In 2012 WHO reported that 4.3 million deaths globally were attributable to household air pollution - this is 7.7% of global mortality and almost all is in low and middle income countries with women and children most at risk because they spend more time in fuelwood-burning environments

Answer 4

Two million deaths annually attributed to unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene Water related diseases and morbidity Diarrhoeal diseases e.g. cholera - caused by bacteria and chemicals in water that people drink, inadequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene estimated to cause 842,000 diarrhoeal disease deaths per year, diarrhoea leading cause of malnutrition and second leading cause of death in children under five years, more than 50 countries still report outbreaks of cholera according to the WHO Schistosomiasis - acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms which have part of their life cycle in water, people affected during exposure to infected water, estimated 260 million people suffering Malaria - water related vectors Cancer and tooth/skeletal damage - exposure to unsafe levels of naturally occurring arsenic and fluoride Human sewage is one of the main pollutants of water - will drop into a water source that can then be used for drinking water, washing, watering animals 2015 - 800 million people live without access to safe water, 500,000 children die every year due to diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation Water related diseases caused by methods of water resource development and management Manage water supplies through dam construction, irrigation development and flood control lead to health impact of preventable diseases due to water pollution e.g. man-made reservoirs in sub-saharan africa create perfect conditions for malaria spreading mosquitoes to breed Cases of malaria in high risk areas are associated with people living within the vicinity of a dam More sustainable strategies e.g. increasing the use of wastewater in agriculture, are also associated with health risks Diseases and health problems related to water quality are preventable and affordable WHO claims that 4% of global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation and hygiene Number of children dying from diarrhoeal diseases fallen steadily since 1990 and 2.3 billion people gained access to improved drinking water Improve and protect drinking water quality at the community and urban level e.g. water safety plans - better education and awareness to reduce faecal contamination and disinfecting supplies with chlorine Availability of simple and inexpensive approaches to treat and safely store water at household level e.g. boiling and covered storage Other contaminants harm human health - oil spills contaminate land and water leading to digestive problems and diarrhoea, in niger delta region oil spills water dumping and gas flaring have damaged soil water and air quality causing hundreds of thousands of people to be affected particularly poorest and those who rely on traditional livelihoods such as finishing and agriculture

Answer 5

schoolgirl died of asthma attack linked to air pollution lived 25m from South circular road in Lewisham died february 2013 3 years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks expert linked death to dangerously high pollution from desil traffic that had breached legal limits association between times she was admitted to hospital and recorded spikes in nitrogen dioxide

Answer 6

an organisation with global mandates, generally funded by contributions from national governments Top down organisations

Answer 7

a non-profit organisation that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue Bottom up

Answer 8

further reach to help people government funded - get money easily money to use technology to do research in science

Answer 9

more general - do not meet specific needs lack of trust from locals (sometimes) - if social practices ignored

Answer 10

stronger relationship with community if locally run can understand culture able to remain independent neutral and impartial - not given money by governments so do not have to priorities certain countries

Answer 11

difficult to raise money - 90% of MSFs income comes from individual donations not as powerful

Answer 12

provide exchange center for information and research sponsor measures for the control of epidemic and endemic diseases by promoting mass campaigns e.g. vaccination programs advising on the prevention of treatment of infectious and noncommunicable diseases working with other UN agnecies - UNICEF - and NGOs on international health issues and crises 700 employees

Answer 13

monitor epidemics on the ground and able to mount rapid emergency responses alerting and responding to diseases epidemics MSF - work with over 60 countries - work alongside people - 3 million donors

Answer 14

Over 2 million people dying yearly around 1900 1950 advances in vaccination production techniques - heat-stable, freeze-dried smallpox vaccines stored without refrigeration Smallpox eliminated in North America - 1952, Europe - 1953 Global smallpox eradication program 1959 World Health Organisation plan to rid world of smallpox Permanent reduction to zero cases without risk of reintroduction Lack of funds, personnel, commitment from countries, shortage of vaccine donations Smallpox still widespread in 1966 - regular outbreaks across South America, Africa, Asia Intensified Eradication Program began 1967 Renewed efforts to eradicate smallpox Laboratories in many countries where smallpox occurred regularly Soviet Union able to produce more, higher quality freeze dried vaccine - elimination of smallpox in eastern europe, china, india Success dues to the development of bifurcated needle, establishment of a case surveillance system, mass vaccination campaigns Cases still occurring in South America, Asia, Africa 1970 - outbreak in south-west India, over 1300 cases and 123 deaths. Response - all available national and international health personnel were dispatched on a week-long house-by-house search of the area, vaccinating everyone identified as a contact of a recent case. 1971 smallpox eradicated from South America 1975 smallpox eradicated from Asia 1977 smallpox eradicated from Africa Cost of $300 million - ⅔ came from endemic countries for their own eradication efforts British, Canadian, Cuban, French, Soviet, and US vaccines given freely to WHO and distributed onwards Strategic financial support of sweden May 8th 1980 world declared free of smallpox disease Two locations store and handle virus under WHO supervision Universal childhood immunisation programs, mass vaccination, targeted surveillance - containment strategies

Answer 15

Vaccines to protect against some types of ebola have been used to control the spread of ebola outbreaks Vaccines in development Early care with rehydration and treatment of symptoms improves survival WHO made strong recommendations for the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments Average fatality rate 50%, varied from 25-90% in past outbreaks - depends of circumstances and response Good outbreak control - care of patients, infection prevention and control, disease surveillance and contact tracing, good laboratory services, safe and dignified burials, social mobilisation Community engagement key to successfully controlling outbreaks WHO prevents Ebola outbreaks - maintaining surveillance, supporting at risk countries to develop preparedness plans WHO responds to an outbreak detected by supporting community engagement, disease detection, contact tracing, vaccination, case management, laboratory services, infection control, logistics, training and assistance with safe and dignified burial practices More than 11,000 people died in the ebola pandemic WHO criticised for not declaring the epidemic an international emergency sooner - cost of delay was enormous WHO failed to recognise the risks of the disease in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone Volunteer doctors started to treat the cases as soon as the outbreak was officially diagnosed which was three months after the first case A failure of WHO experts in the field to send reports to WHO headquarters in Geneva WHO head of its Guinea office refused to help get visas for an expert Ebola team $500,000 in aid was blocked by administrative hurdles Unethical - burial practices e.g. cleaning the body, was ignored causing local communities and authorities to go against the WHO as they did not trust the WHO People hiding family who were ill as they didn't want them to be taken away when they were ill or died as they could not bury them according to their culture

Answer 16

Went into Guinea before outbreak had been declared - March 18 2014 Next 2 weeks joined by over 60 more staff Over 1,000 workers during first year Opened 19 ebola treatment units in 6 countries - capacity of over 700 beds over 8,000 patients been admitted - 5,100 with confirmed ebola, 2,400 survived disease Distributed 70,000 protection kits, 65,00 antimalarial treatments in Monrovia, Liberia Try to contain virus - carry out health promotion campaigns within community to change community infection behaviours and interrupt disease transmissions, reinforce infection control in health care facilities to try prevent transmissions When cases identified they decontaminate households and the immediate environment Assist with safe burials Find ebola cases by going to known contacts of a known case and explaining to them that it is good for them to be visited everyday so that when they fall ill they can be brought to care to protect their family and receive the best care Some communities enforce own quarantine on people who were visited by contact tracers enlist community support - film activity within ebola treatment units - take films out into the communities and show them what is actually going on so they can see that health care is in fact being delivered, because the rumours - accused of coming there to spread the disease, not to stop it, of drawing blood and sending it off to pharmaceutical companies to enrich Western economies, and of stealing organs and selling them on the black market - makes communities trust MSF Ebola vaccine 6,000 people receiving vaccine all free of virus 10 days later

Answer 17

Asia, Russia and India had highest number of DALYs lost a year in 2012 with over 30 areas with 10-19 DALYs lost a year - majority of central Afrcia, several areas of Indonesia lowest number of DALYs lost a year - Europe, China, Australia, USA distribution reflects the wealth of the countries - HICs have lowest number of DALYs lost a year because they can afford better healthcare and therefore improve treatments which further increases the number of deaths LICs much higher amount of DALYs lost per year - have lower income means better healthcare cannot be afforded so therefore number of deaths will rise 1990 - 42 million DALYs globally 2020 - 82 million DALYs globally number of CHD cases decreasing in developed countries but they are increasing in developing countries which hugely populate the planet

Answer 18

Air quality - industrialization increases exposure to airborne pollutants increasing the risk of CHD, suggests rural environments with less air pollution would have decrease risk however no clear evidence Climate - air quality not necessarily link to CHD mortality rates however temp and sunshine do, average CHD mortality rates were higher in areas of lower average temp and hours of sunshine, may be because cold/damp winters can have negative impact on the cardiorespiratory system increasing risk of a heart attack Relief and topography - no clear link but it is implied that areas with more challenging relief require more physical effort when walking, can increase exercise - therefore decrease risk of CHD, could also be a threat for those with other risks

Answer 19

lifestyle choices important risk factors - Japanese diet consume a lot of fish which reduces CHD risk but when Japanese migrants move to America they may adapt American lifestyle habits which can affect the CHD rates social deprivation - positive correlation between deaths from circulatory diseases and deprivation e.g. those living in tower hamlets in London 3x more likely to die of CHD than those living in Kensington tobacco use - mortality from CHD 60% higher in smokers alcohol use - WHO estimates 2% CHD in men in due to alcohol consumption high blood pressure - 22% heart attacks in wester Europe due to hypertension which double risk of heart attacks high cholesterol - 45% heart attacks in western Europe due to abnormal blood lipids poor nutrition - WHO states that poor diet of lots of fat, sodium and sugar increases CHD risk obesity - huge risk factor, associated with high blood pressure and diabetes diabetes - men with type 2 4x more likely to get CHD, women 3-5x infrequent exercise - physical activity reduces rick of CHD family history - first degree relatives of patients with premature heart attacks have doubled the risks of themselves getting CHD

Answer 20

man symptoms of CHD - angina (low level but constant chest pain which can spread to other parts of the upper body), heart attacks - permanently damage heart muscles and have potential to be fatal if not addressed immediately can lead to heart failure which can cause fluid to build up in the lungs leading to respiratory problems, those suffered from heart attacks may feel less confidence in taking part in physical exercise and may have to take medication for the rest of their lives

Answer 21

cost individual and family lots of money and time estimated CHD cost UK healthcare system £8.7 billion and the economy £19 billion in 2009 US - accumulative cost of treatment of heart diseases in those over 65 amounted to US$76 million in 2000

Answer 22

public needs to be educated on the causes and effects treatment needs to be made affordable and available and patients should be advised on healthy living practices - some dieticians promote the benefits of eating oil fish, more fruit and veg, less saturated fats in the UK while Japan there have been government health lead education campaigns and an increased treatment of high blood pressure, New Zealand - government introduced recognizable logos for health foods which have resulted in may companies reformulation their products which has therefore led to reduced salt content in processed foods

Answer 23

schools can provide healthier diets, ban smoking and provide exercise opportunities WHO coordinated world heart day events since 2000 on 29th sep each year - includes blood pressure testing, engaging the public health in physical activity, scientific conferences and activities to promote a heart-healthy diet and from 2015 over 120 countries take part

Answer 24

governments can pass legislations in order to prevent/control CHD - most common being reduction in tobacco smoking which has clear links to reduce heart disease can advertise bans, create smoke free areas put health warnings on packets and put outright bans in public areas first smoking ban came in 1970 in singapore UK, smoking has been banned in virtually all indoor places since July 2007 Uk 2024 - propose a new law called the Tobacco and Vapes Bill - bans selling cigarettes or any other tobacco product to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 2023 - WHO global tobacco report said around 5.6 billion people - 71% of the world's population - were covered by at least one smoke-free policy.

Population and the enviroment - Environment, health and well-being Flashcards

(48 cards)