Essay
P4- Explain factors that influence health
- Module
- Unit 24 - Public health
- Institution
- OCR
P4- Explain factors that influence health
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Unit 31P4- Explain factors that influence health
Health is a board term. When you think of the term "health" the first thing that may pop into your
health is physical health, however, health as a term means much more than that, health alone is not just
physical, but also emotional, intellectual, and social, and there are factors that and influence all these
factors of health, but what are these factors that influence health. Well, below I will explain what factors
influence health.
Factors that influence health
There are various factors that influence health and these factors include social-economic factors,
environmental factors, service access factors, genetic factors and lifestyle factors. While some factors
have a bigger influence on health then others, they all influence health in one way or another, so what
are these factors and how do they influence health?
Environmental
The environment is what we surround ourselves in and what we are imbedded in. It is the surroundings
or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. Someone living in the woods will have
a different environment to someone living in the city, and the same goes for different countries, us in
the UK are used to cold and mild heat environments, whereas someone in Africa is used to scotching hot
environments. Environmental factors include climate change, exposure to hazardous substances in the
air, water, soil and food and occupational hazards. In our different environments we are exposed to
different pollutants, climates and hazards substances and all of such can influence our health, but
individually how do environmental factors influence our health exactly? I will explain below.
Outdoor air quality
Poor air quality and especially pollution can influence health a great deal. Poor air quality is linked to
premature death, cancer and long-term tedious damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Unhealthy air emissions could come from car exhausts, factories and even burning plastic and are what
is known as air pollution, commonly seen in big factory and industrial cities such as Birmingham. Poor air
quality and air pollution can influence health and harm anyone, but it can be very hazardous for a lot of
people, such as children and teenagers, lung disease sufferers including those with asthma, over 65 year
olds and even anyone who has health conditions such as cardiovascular disease. So, how does air
pollution influence health.
Exposure to high and bad levels of air pollution can lead to a variety of adverse health outcomes and
reactions. Poor air quality can increase the probability of respiratory infection, lung cancer and even
heart disease. Both short- and long-term exposure to pollutants in the air has been linked with negative
health impacts, with the worse occurring in those who are already ill or of an old age. This means that
air pollution, influences health by making us more susceptible to deadly diseases and health conditions
all of which can influence our health as a whole, our life expectancy, the life we live and our overall
outlook on life.
, Occupational hazards
Occupational hazards are the hazards you are exposed to in your occupation or job. Not every
occupation has it hazards, however many do and they influence of health. Many jobs have occupational
hazards that can be influential to health, and according to the Health and Safety Executive, the most
fatal injuries and hazards are seen in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry. With such
occupations bringing big hazards, we can see how our occupation has an influence on our health.
Such trades including construction can have a range of hazards that can shorten life expectancy and
even lead to death taking asbestos for example. Asbestos is a carcinogenic substance found on roofs,
insulation, artex celling’s and many other areas. Asbestos which leads to asbestosis a form of cancer,
was banded in the UK in 1999 due to it being found that asbestos leads to cancer. Sadly, many workers
exposed to asbestos before its ban died due to the onset of asbestosis many years on, as it continues
without a cure. Today asbestos, in houses built before the ban is still found and that is why it is an
occupational hazard to the construction industry. If left undistributed, you will be fine, however, as soon
as you start chipping away at a bit of asbestos, whether it be white or blue asbestos, the fibres will go
into your lungs, lay dormant for a while, be absorbed, influence health greatly and lead to major health
complications in the future including asbestosis.
Not only is asbestos the only occupational hazard out there, there are many more. Including biological
hazards including mould or vermin, chemical hazards including bleach and acids, physical hazards
including noise and heights, ergonomic hazards including poor posture and workstation set up and even
tripping hazards, exposed wires and dangerous objects are classed as occupational hazards. Every
occupation has its hazards, and like I said above can be detrimental and influential to health. Hazards
such as high ladders can lead to death or bad injury if fallen off, chemical hazards such as acid can lead
to serious burns and even vermin or mould can lead to infection, disease or sickness.
All in all, the occupational risks that come with a job in most cases are unavoidable, all occupational
hazards can influence our health, life expectancy and health outcome, so protection in the workplace is
key.
Poor water quality
A big environmental factor that influences health is poor water quality. Although in the UK, we are very
privileged and have access to water, many go without safe water and have poor quality water. As seen
in my P2 task, poor water quality can be detrimental to health. Contaminated water is correlated to the
transmission of diseases causing diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis and dysentery. Sadly, statistics suggest and
show that around 300,000 children a year under the age of 5 die due to diarrhoea caused by
contaminated water or poor sanitation. We see on the TV many charities such as Water Aid, appealing
for donations to support children in third world, poorer countries to provide them access to clean water
and sanitation, as in such countries, very little money is there to spend on clean water.
As we can see, poor water quality can be extremely challenging and influential to health. Poor quality of
water influences health by making individuals more suspectable to bacteria and sanitation related
diseases, which can lead to negative health and at worst case death.
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