Health in Society, Book + Lectures (second half of the course)
Part 5: Unhealthy environments: global and Australian perspectves
Chapter 14. Global physical threats to the environment and Public Health
The impact on the global environment is now so great that it rivals that of major natural forces.
The current era is called the Anthropocene because of this great human infuence. There are
many ways in which the strain on our ecosystem will afect human health. Causality is however
hard to fnd, most outcomes are produced through diferent infuences.
● Climate and atmospheric change.
The earth’s climate is changing rapidly, likely as a result from human actvity. The underlying
cause of global warming seems to be fossil fuel burning.
We can distnguish direct and indirects efects of climate change on human health,
Direct efects:
- Thermal extremes can have several efects on health
- Ozone layer depleton efects
- Natural disasters
- Direct injury risks and outbreaks of infectous diseases resultng from extreme weather
- Displacement and disrupton of livelihoods in for example low-lying areas
- Lack of nutriton and mental stress as a result from extreme weather events
- Excessive heat exposures
- Heat exhauston that reduces productvity
Indirect efects mediated through other environmental systems::
- Communicable diseases because of increasing survival of vectors due to rising
temperature:
- Malnutriton and undernutriton due to failing agriculture
- Spread of diseases and mental health issues due to forced migraton
- Changes in access to clean drinking water and illnesses of dirty water:
- Mental illness and confict-prone tensions caused by forced migraton
- Potentally increased risk of violent confict because of scarcity and populaton
movements
It is necessary to see global warming as one of a suite of problems arising from a system of
capitalist politcal economy, a system that is now globalised.
It is universally true that poor people live in the worst deterioratng and health-damaging
environments. The health impact of climate change will be felt most by those in low- and
middle- income countries mainly because of the underlying determinants of vulnerability:.
,Health in Society, Book + Lectures (second half of the course)
Chapter 15. Urbanisatonn Populatonn Communites and Environments: Global trends
While cites may provide their residents with access to services and employment, rapid
urbanisaton can also produce damaging combinatons of health determinants. Examples are an
increased threat of infectous diseases, non-communicable diseases and injuries.
Aspects of the impact of place on health in rich and poor countries:
- Violence and crime. Problems of violence and crime have increased in cites. People in
low-income countries are over three tmes more likely to die as a result of interpersonal
violence. Levels of gender violence are high.
- Living conditons. Whereas poor used to mean having a plot of land that did not produce
much, those living in slums in urban areas: now own nothing but their bodies. Housing
is an essental element of the health of people in urban areas.
- Crowding and health. Perceptons of overcrowding appear to be a culturally determined
concept, rather than determined by density. It has to do with privacy perceptons. High
density can be a health hazard and can in certain cases cause social disorder. Well-
managed high-density urban environments have the potental to minimise their
ecological footprint the resources required to sustain their inhabitants:.
Modern urban society has been characterised as isolatng and anomic. Cites and suburbs have
been accused of encouraging isolaton and not providing a sense of community. There is a
sense that modern life does not provide the opportunites for intmacy and support that were
available to past generatons.
Social capital seems to be declining. Social capital is the term used for the processes between
people which establish networks, norms, social trust and facilitate coordinaton and
cooperaton for mutual beneft. Increasing social capital cannot be expected to solve problems
that are essentally those of poverty and deprivaton. Communites are likely to beneft from
partcipaton and mutual trust, but these may well rely on suffcient material opportunites,
such as jobs, good afordable housing and clean safe environments.
Automobile dependence has greatly increased. Problems of automobile dependence are
extensive.
- Social and health problems: Respiratory disorders because of air polluton:, care use
and stress because of noise of traffc, fnding parking, busy traffci frustraton:, road
accidents, transport exclusion women, children, older and poor people:, transport and
inequity, car dominance of inner cites, lack of exercise.
,Health in Society, Book + Lectures (second half of the course)
Chapter 25. Linking Localn Natonal and Global Public Health.
Longer term and meaningful change in health will result only if the powerful structural factors
that afect people are the focus of public health initatves. Current ideas that are partcularly
crucial in shaping public health are the balance between individualism and collectvism, the
dominance of economic consideratons and market philosophy in public policy-making and the
importance accorded to social solidarity and social partcipaton.
The overall mission of the new public health is to create a healthy and equitable society in
which the natural environment is sustainable, politcal will for equity is artculated, policies are
used to create health and equity in a proactve manner, and there are numerous opportunites
for lifelong personal, intellectual, social and emotonal development. Stacking these factors up
together in a coherent way will result in healthy populatons with equitably distributed health.
Public health will have to be global to be efectve.
Tackling the social and economic aspects of health will be controversial and very likely to bring
public health workers into confict with those who have an interest in maintaining the status
quo and opposing public policy that benefts the poorer an more vulnerable and so less
powerful: members of society.
A vision for 2050 public health dreaming::
- Limits to growth accepted. So less consumerism.
- Physical environment protected and restored. A more ecological way of thinking and
being.
- Corporatons tamed. Business and industry on smaller scale, more locally controlled.
- Natonal and global governance and regulaton for health and well-being the norm. Less
privatsaton. Reduced inequites between countries
- Health for all.
- Shape of health services. Good, local care.
Pages 665-669 give some extensive defnitons of broad concepts that were discussed in the
book: public health, new public health, populaton health, health promoton, primary health
care, community health services, social determinants of health, health equity.
29-5 Lecture 5
Environmental threats and health. → and how not all of us are afected equally by that.
Public health and environment. Environment critcally infuences individual and populaton
, Health in Society, Book + Lectures (second half of the course)
health and wellbeing. Looking afer the environment is a way of promotnggprotectng public
health.
Our physical environment directly infuences our health and wellbeing. Think about when you
live near factories, or a forest.
Environmental health infuencesi interrelated threats to ecosystems:
- Climate and atmosphere
- Air and water quality
- Water supply
- Nuclear energy, exposure to radiaton
- Biodiversity, diversity of species
The common factor in these threats is human behaviour → that’s why looking at environmental
problems and the efects on health are important in social science.
Anthropocenei Current geological era in which human actvity is considered the most important
infuence on the global ecosystem.
Climate change. There is discussion on whether climate change is actually happening. In science
it seems that it is. The politcs of climate change are complex.
Health efect of climate change can be direct and indirect.
Direct efects: environmental changes that increase likelihood of adverse health events. -
Respiratory illness for example seasonal efects:, -thermal extremes think about heat waves:. -
ozone layer depleton -natural disasters storms, foods, bushfres:
Indirect efects: environmental changes that adversely afect health through other systems. -
communicable diseases for examplei lymei malariai the plaguei cholera: -sea level rise can for
example have efects on habitability: -food security
Environmental health causesi
Arrangements of contemporary societes
