🔻
Environmental Health
Lets begin by defining Major concepts and how they affect human lives.
!! Environment !!
According to Jones & Bartlett (2011), the environment is the external aspect of the physical, chemical, and microbiological exposures/processes that affects individuals and groups beyond their control.
The environment can also be seen as the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
It could also be seen as the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity.
What ever the definition may be, most importantly, we all leave in the environment and what ever we do affects it and it also affects us.
!! Health !!
It is a state of complete physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity and the ability to lead a socially and economically productive life (WHO, 2002).
looking at the above definition we can link health to four main concepts;
Physical health – the functioning of the body.
Intellectual health – ability to think clearly
Emotional health – ability to recognize and appropriately express emotions such as fear, joy, grief, anger etc. It also involves the ability to cope with stress, anxiety and depression.
Social health – the ability to communicate with others and form relationships.
How does the environment affect health?
Humans interact with the environment as individuals and in groups called communities. A community is a sociological group living together in a large space, sharing one environment. Individuals within a community make up small units called the family.
!! Environmental Health !!
These are the aspects of human health that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social and psychological factors in the surrounding environment. Environmental health can be better understood by looking at the health of individuals within the community and the community as a whole.
!! Community Health !!
It is the art and science of maintaining, protecting and improving the health of all the members of the community through organised and sustained community efforts.
The environment affect humans in various ways and human activities also affect the environment positively or negatively. Below is an example from the World Health Organisation (WHO) showing how the environment impacts on Human health.
Some of man's activities affect the environment negatively, distorting its normal natural state which causes harmful effects on human health. The environment and human health is bound together in a relationship that is influence, by individuals and the community as a whole. what we put in it is what we will get out of it.
