Introduction to Environmental Health

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the definitions, risk factors, and core functions of environmental health as presented in the lecture notes.

Public Health (WHO 1951)

An ART and SCIENCE of preventing diseases, prolonging life, promoting physical Health and efficiency through community organized effort for sanitation, hygiene education, disease control, and medical service organization.

Sanitation (National Sanitation of USA)

A way of life; the quality of living that is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business and industry, the clean neighborhood, and the clean community.

Environment (Park 2002)

All external factors, living, material or non-material surrounding man.

Health (WHO 1948)

A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Environmental Health (WHO 2005)

Directly concerns aspects of human health determined by physical, chemical, biological, social, and psychosocial factors; it involves assessing, correcting, and preventing environmental factors that can potentially affect health.

Hazard

Anything that harms our health.

Contaminant

Something introduced to the environment (air and water) that may or may not pose a significant health risk.

Pollutant

A contaminant introduced into the environment that adversely affects animal and human life.

Acute Health Effects

Short term health effects resulting from the environment.

Chronic Health Effects

Longer term health effects resulting from the environment.

Biological Hazards

Living organisms or their products that are harmful to humans.

Water-borne diseases

Diseases transmitted in drinking water, such as polio virus, hepatitis A virus, salmonella, shigella, cholera, amoebic dysentery, giardia, and cryptosporidium.

Food-borne diseases

Diseases transmitted in or on food, such as salmonella and escherichia coli 0157:h7.

Vector-borne diseases

Diseases transmitted by insects or other arthropods, such as malaria and yellow fever (mosquitoes) or plague (fleas).

Chemical Hazards

Risks resulting from the mismanagement or misuse of chemicals.

Pesticides

Chemicals manufactured for the purpose of reducing populations of undesirable organisms (pests), categorized as herbicides and insecticides.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)

A pollutant classified as a carcinogen produced by smokers, associated with lung cancer and heart disease.

Lead

A naturally occurring element used in industrial and domestic products; exposure can lead to anemia, birth defects, and neurological damage.

Physical Hazards

Hazards including airborne particles, humidity, equipment design, and radiation (e.g., Radon and UV radiation).

Radon

A naturally occurring gas from the earth that can cause lung cancer when it reaches dangerous levels in buildings.

Psychological hazards

Environmental factors that produce psychological changes expressed as stress, depression, or hysteria.

Sociological hazards

Hazards resulting from living in a society where one experiences noise, lack of privacy, and overcrowding.

Carrying Capacity

The point reached in the equilibrium phase when environmental resources can support no further population growth.

Pollution Prevention

A management approach focusing on stopping pollution from being produced or reducing waste generation at the source.

Pollution Control

Measures taken to control pollution and wastes after they have been generated or produced.

Environmental Risk Factors

Environmental conditions and practices that facilitate the carrying of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, etc.) into the body.

Fomites

Inanimate objects that carry infectious agents, such as dishes, cups, and other contaminated surfaces.

Assessment (EH Function)

The core function involving the monitoring of health status and the diagnosis/investigation of health hazards in the community.

Policy Development (EH Function)

The core function involving informing and empowering people, mobilizing community partnerships, and developing plans to support health efforts.

Assurance (EH Function)

The core function involving the enforcement of laws, linking people to health services, assuring a competent workforce, and evaluating service effectiveness.