Advancing Global Health through Environmental and Public Health Tracking

Paolo Lauriola, Helen Crabbe, Behrooz Behbod, Fuyuen Yip, Sylvia Medina, Jan C. Semenza, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Dan Kass, Ariana Zeka, Irma Khonelidze, Matthew Ashworth, Kees de Hoogh, Xiaoming Shi, Brigit Staatsen, Lisbeth E. Knudsen, Tony Fletcher, Danny Houthuijs and Giovanni S. Leonardi
Additional contact information
Paolo Lauriola: National Research Council, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Helen Crabbe: Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ, UK
Behrooz Behbod: Centre for Medical Education, Cardiff University, United Kingdom, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK
Fuyuen Yip: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
Sylvia Medina: Direction of Environmental and Occupational Health, Santé Publique France, 94415 Saint Maurice, France
Jan C. Semenza: Scientific Assessment Section, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 169 73 Solna, Sweden, Sweden
Sotiris Vardoulakis: National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia
Dan Kass: Vital Strategies, New York, NY 10005, USA
Ariana Zeka: Environmental Health and Epidemiology, Brunel University, London UB8 3PH, UK
Irma Khonelidze: National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, 0198 Tbilis, Georgia
Matthew Ashworth: Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, Kenepuru, Porirua 5240c, New Zealand
Kees de Hoogh: Swiss Tropical and Public health Institute, Basel, Switzerland, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
Xiaoming Shi: National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
Brigit Staatsen: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Lisbeth E. Knudsen: Department of Public Health, Denmark University of Copenhagen, 1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tony Fletcher: Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ, UK
Danny Houthuijs: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Giovanni S. Leonardi: Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ, UK

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: Global environmental change has degraded ecosystems. Challenges such as climate change, resource depletion (with its huge implications for human health and wellbeing), and persistent social inequalities in health have been identified as global public health issues with implications for both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. This contributes to pressure on healthcare systems, as well as societal systems that affect health. A novel strategy to tackle these multiple, interacting and interdependent drivers of change is required to protect the population’s health. Public health professionals have found that building strong, enduring interdisciplinary partnerships across disciplines can address environment and health complexities, and that developing Environmental and Public Health Tracking (EPHT) systems has been an effective tool. EPHT aims to merge, integrate, analyse and interpret environmental hazards, exposure and health data. In this article, we explain that public health decision-makers can use EPHT insights to drive public health actions, reduce exposure and prevent the occurrence of disease more precisely in efficient and cost-effective ways. An international network exists for practitioners and researchers to monitor and use environmental health intelligence, and to support countries and local areas toward sustainable and healthy development. A global network of EPHT programs and professionals has the potential to advance global health by implementing and sharing experience, to magnify the impact of local efforts and to pursue data knowledge improvement strategies, aiming to recognise and support best practices. EPHT can help increase the understanding of environmental public health and global health, improve comparability of risks between different areas of the world including Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), enable transparency and trust among citizens, institutions and the private sector, and inform preventive decision making consistent with sustainable and healthy development. This shows how EPHT advances global health efforts by sharing recent global EPHT activities and resources with those working in this field. Experiences from the US, Europe, Asia and Australasia are outlined for operating successful tracking systems to advance global health.

Keywords: environmental health; public health; global health; environmental public health tracking; surveillance; hazard; exposure and health outcomes; environmental epidemiology; health policy; prevention strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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