Environmental health and its evolution Environmental health has evolved as a dynamic arm of public health, encompassing a range of external factors that could be of harm to human life. Its importance stems from the central role it plays in infection prevention and management. Currently, environmental health’s areas of concerns go beyond mere water and air pollution as it was previously perceived.
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Technology and modern living has made the issue of environmental health more complex, forcing it to put into consideration extreme aspects such as air quality, recreation water sources and facility permitting, lead toxicity, chemical waste management and issues of environmental health justice (Lafronza, 2003). Today, environmental health is a widely recognized science, which is being used to inform various sectors of the economy while redefining human health and safety. This article will retrace evolution of environmental health and examine it as a discipline.
Environmental science as a discipline emerged in the late 20th century following the realization that human factors and activities were increasingly posing harm to humans and animals alike (Lafronza, 2003). Well before this, a few regulations were in place though widely lacking in organization (Novick, Morrow & Mays, 2008). Aspects such as sewage disposal, water and food protection and disease control were therefore still disarray, resulting to numerous deaths from water and food-borne diseases as possible hazards were hardly addressed.
Increasing environmental health- related accidents therefore prompted establishment of environmental protection agency in 1970, and mandating it to institute environment protection and conservation mechanisms in promotion of human health and overall wellbeing of the environment (Lafronza, 2003). More complex concepts such as occupational health, chemical safety and pathogen control were introduced under this framework, most of which have grown into modern day trends and areas of focus in environmental health.
More federal agencies and centers were also incorporated, each with its own area of focus. Currently, significant strides have been made in this field and various laws instituted towards mitigation of preventable disasters. As a discipline, environmental health concerns itself with physical, biological and chemical factors that pose a risk to health and wellbeing of plants and animals, and subsequent management and control; of these towards prevention of diseases and institution of environmental safety (Friis, 2011).
Current trends in environmental health are largely informed by studies in environmental epidemiology that links health to environmental factors (Pekkanen & Pierce, 2001). These concepts are being used to open up new areas of focus in environmental health especially in disease prevention and control. Further, environmental health is concerned with identification of disease-causing agents including pathogenic agents, toxic elements, chemicals and ionizing agents and subsequent clarification of the role of each in disease development and prevention.
Environmental exposures and lifestyle choices capable of impacting negatively on health is also an area of focus (Kelley, 2009). Generated knowledge is applied in establishment of air, water and food safety, occupational health, agricultural management and waste management. Environmentalists are also involved in policy and regulation, an area that involves evidence-based formulation of laws and policies that guide operations in various sectors (Friis, 2011). In conclusion, environmental health is a science that links physical, biological and chemical factors with overall wellbeing of living things.
Its concepts have been in existence ever since the medieval times though formal consolidation of these occurred in the 20th century following persistent occurrence of fatal health and environmental disasters. Today, environmental health is regulated by the law and executed through agencies, which focus on monitoring of essential environmental parameters towards institution of environmental health alongside institution of public health.
