Environmental Health Exam Correct Answers
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Define Environmental Health -ANS>- Environment = complex of physical, chemical,
& biotic factors that act upon an organism or ecological community & ultimately
determine form & survival
- Environmental Health = addresses all the physical, chemical, & biological factors
external to the person, & all the related factors impacting behaviors --
encompasses control of environmental factors & aims to prevent disease
Is environmental health a global issue? -ANS>Yes: pollution crosses boundaries;
infectious disease; food safety -- only a small percentage actually tested
Define Ecosystem -ANS>- "Dynamic complex of plant, animal, & microorganism
communities & the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit"
- Natural systems that function as a unit
- The Ecological Model: proposes that the determinants of health interact & are
interlinked over the life course of individuals
Define Natural Population Fertility Rate -ANS>Keeps populations stable - in the US,
about 2.1 births per woman
Causes of population growth: increases in fertility, reductions in mortality,
migration
,Understand & estimate the global disease burden attributable to environmental
sources -ANS>25-33%
What is meant by "sensitive subpopulations"? -ANS>Very young, women of
childbearing age, very old, immune compromised
What factors confer sensitivity to examples of these subpopulations? -ANS>-
Young: immune systems not well developed, behavioral actions, dependence on
others, rapidly growing
- Women of childbearing age: concern with child being carried
- Old: neurodegeneration, immune system doesn't work as well
- Immune compromised: vibrio
What are the characteristics (overall and within each stage) of the demographic
transition? The epidemiological transition? -ANS>- Demographic Transition has 3
stages: underdeveloped is triangular (have more kids, kids don't survive, people
don't live very long) >> transition to less triangular (death rates drop, birth rates
stay the same, rapid growth) .. developed (fertility rates change)
- Epidemiological Transition: communicable & infectious diseases remain the
leading cause of morbidity & mortality in developing countries >> in developed,
replaced by chronic, degenerative, noncommunicable diseases
What are the "three P's"? How are they interrelated to one another in terms of
determinants of global environmental health? -ANS>- Pollution: combustion of
fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases into atmosphere may cause climate
, change -- environmental disaster events, alter precipitation/atmospheric wind
patterns, change in distribution of insect vectors
- Population: overpopulation in developing nations is leading to the human
population possibly exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet --> urban
crowding; infectious disease epidemics like H5N1 and H1N1
- Poverty: "Living wage" in US refers to someone who cannot support themselves
even with job/income; linked to population growth; well recognized determinant
of adverse health outcomes
- Interrelation: more people --> more pollution --> more poverty
- Fewer controls; interaction does not create healthy environment for many
What are examples of significant historical texts that lay the foundation of
Environmental Health Science as a discipline? -ANS>- Hippocrates: "On Airs,
Waters, & Places" proposed that environmental & climatic factors were influential
in causing changes in human health
- Upton Sinclair and "The Jungle"
- Rachel Carson and "Silent Spring"
Be familiar with historical & modern examples of environmental health issues -
ANS>- Bubonic Plague in Europe
- Smallpox
- Municipal sewers in London
- Industrial revolution
- Cholera in NY
- Belgian air pollution
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