Community Environmental Assignment

Clinical Assignment #2: Environmental Health

This assignment will develop a beginning understanding of environmental health concepts in the community setting. Students will consider how HealthyPeople 2020 environmental health themes impact their community, and apply concepts such as “social justice” and “the greater good” in evaluating public health initiatives.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the impact of various environmental public health hazards.

2. Investigate strategies that address solutions to environmental public health hazards.

3. Explore policy and legislation related to environmental health issues in the community.

Background

Students should familiarize themselves with HealthyPeople 2020’s Environmental Health objectives, which focus on 6 themes: 1) outdoor air quality; 2) surface and ground water quality; 3) toxic substances and hazardous wastes; 4) homes and communities; 5) infrastructure and surveillance; and 6) global environmental health.

Students can access https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/environmental-health for more information.

Instructions for Individual Activity

Each student will choose one of the HealthyPeople 2020’s Environmental Health themes to investigate and explore how their community (chosen with Clinical Assignment #1: Community Assessment/Windshield Survey) is affected and impacted by this theme, as well as what is being done to address this environmental health theme to safeguard or improve societal and environmental health. Students should search relevant public/governmental agency websites and media/newspaper publications to help understand the situation from historical, present, and future oriented perspectives. The EPA’s My Environment website may also be helpful (https://www3.epa.gov/enviro/myenviro/). Students will then create a 2-page paper (approximately 500 words) that addresses the following:

· Briefly describe the selected environmental health theme.

· Discuss how the community is affected/impacted by this environmental health theme.

· Explore the selected environmental health situation from historical, present, and future-oriented perspectives.

· Discuss any strategies that are planned or have been implemented to address this environmental health theme to safeguard or improve societal and environmental health. Consider the barriers and facilitators for success of these strategies. Propose strategies if none are found.

· Within the paper, students should consider and address population health concepts such as “social justice” and “the greater good.”

· Student should utilize and appropriately cite relevant public/governmental agency websites and media/newspaper publications to substantiate their writing.

· Students will submit their APA formatted paper to Brightspace by the assigned due date.