Basic 7 · Career Technology · Environmental Health
Factors of Environmental Health
In this topic you will explain environmental health, discuss the factors in the environment that affect human health, and describe the consequences of poor environmental health.
By the end of these notes you should be able to:
- Explain the meaning of environmental health
- Discuss the factors of environmental health
- Describe the consequences of poor environmental health
What you already know
- Personal and food hygiene
- Safety in the workshop
Copy everything that has a blue line on its left into your notebook. The other parts are for reading.
Lesson 1
- Strand
- Health and Safety
- Sub-strand
- Environmental Health
- Indicator
- B7.1.3.1.1 – Discuss the factors of environmental health
Introduction
You may keep your body clean, but if the gutter in front of your house is choked, mosquitoes will breed and you can still get sick. Our health depends on the environment around us.
1. Meaning of Environmental Health
Environmental health: The protection of the quality of life through the prevention and control of diseases related to the natural and built environment.
The natural environment includes air, water, soil, plants and animals. The built environment includes houses, roads, markets, schools, drains and toilets. When these are clean and safe, people stay healthy. When they are dirty or polluted, diseases spread.
2. Factors of Environmental Health
| Factor | How it affects health |
|---|---|
| water | unsafe water spreads cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea |
| air | smoke and dust cause coughs, asthma and lung disease |
| waste (refuse) | heaps of rubbish attract flies, rats and cockroaches |
| sanitation (toilets and drains) | open defecation and choked drains spread germs |
| housing | overcrowded, poorly ventilated rooms spread tuberculosis |
| vectors | mosquitoes, flies and rats carry diseases |
| noise | loud noise causes stress and hearing loss |
| food | food sold in dirty places causes food poisoning |
3. Vectors of Disease
Vector: A living thing, such as an insect or rat, that carries disease germs from one person or place to another.
| Vector | Breeding place | Disease |
|---|---|---|
| female Anopheles mosquito | stagnant water in gutters, tyres and tins | malaria |
| housefly | rubbish heaps and faeces | cholera, typhoid, dysentery |
| rat | refuse dumps and food stores | Lassa fever, leptospirosis |
| cockroach | dirty kitchens and drains | food poisoning |
4. Human Activities That Affect Environmental Health
Many environmental health problems are caused by people: dumping rubbish in gutters, open defecation, burning plastics, illegal mining that pollutes rivers, cutting down trees, and building on waterways. These actions lead to flooding, polluted air and water, and the spread of disease.
5. Institutions That Protect Environmental Health
In Ghana, several bodies work to protect environmental health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets and enforces rules on pollution. District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies collect refuse, build drains and employ environmental health officers who inspect homes, markets and food sellers. The Ghana Health Service runs health education and disease control. Community members also have a role: they must obey by-laws and report sanitation problems to the authorities.
New words
- environmental health
- Preventing diseases linked to the environment.
- vector
- A living thing that carries disease germs.
- sanitation
- The safe management of human waste and refuse.
- built environment
- The parts of the environment made by people.
Summary
- Environmental health protects people by keeping the environment clean and safe.
- Water, air, waste, sanitation, housing, vectors, noise and food are its main factors.
- Vectors such as mosquitoes and flies spread diseases from dirty environments.
Class activity: Environment Survey
- Walk around the school compound wearing gloves.
- Record any environmental health problems, such as litter, stagnant water or a dirty toilet.
- Match each problem to the factor of environmental health it affects.
You need: Used sachet-water bags, Labelled waste bins, Work gloves
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Which vector spreads malaria?
- A. Mosquito
- B. Housefly
- C. Rat
- D. Cockroach
Show answer
Answer: MosquitoFemale Anopheles.2. Overcrowded, poorly ventilated rooms help to spread…
- A. tuberculosis
- B. malaria
- C. Lassa fever
- D. scabies only
Show answer
Answer: tuberculosisAirborne disease.3. Noise is a factor of environmental health.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueIt causes stress and hearing loss.4. A living thing that carries disease germs is a ______.
Show answer
Answer: vectorCarrier.5. Name four factors of environmental health.
Show answer
Answer: Water, air, waste, sanitation (or housing, vectors, noise, food).Any four.6. Explain how dumping rubbish in gutters can cause malaria.
Show answer
Answer: Rubbish blocks the gutter, water collects and becomes stagnant, and mosquitoes breed in it and spread malaria.Link waste to vectors.
Lesson 2
- Strand
- Health and Safety
- Sub-strand
- Environmental Health
- Indicator
- B7.1.3.1.1 – Discuss the factors of environmental health
Introduction
When the environment is neglected, the effects reach everyone: children fall sick, roads flood, the air smells and money is spent on hospital bills instead of development.
1. Effects on Health
| Disease | Main cause in the environment |
|---|---|
| malaria | mosquitoes breeding in stagnant water |
| cholera | faeces in water and food; flies |
| typhoid fever | contaminated water and food |
| diarrhoea | dirty water, poor hand washing |
| respiratory diseases | smoke, dust and burning refuse |
| skin diseases | dirty water and poor personal hygiene |
2. Effects on the Environment and Property
Choked drains cause flooding during heavy rains. In Accra, floods have destroyed homes, shops and lives, partly because waterways were blocked by rubbish and buildings. Burning refuse pollutes the air. Galamsey turns rivers such as the Pra, Offin and Ankobra brown, so towns struggle to get clean drinking water. Littering makes communities ugly and discourages tourism.
3. Effects on the Economy and Society
Sick people cannot go to school or work. Families spend money on medicine instead of food and fees. The government spends large sums on treating diseases, clearing drains and rebuilding after floods. Poor sanitation also affects a country's image and the number of tourists and investors who come.
4. A Chain of Causes and Effects
Trace the consequences
Follow what happens when a community dumps refuse into its main drain.
- The drain is blocked by plastics and rubbish.
- Rainwater cannot flow and becomes stagnant, while floodwater spreads into homes.
- Mosquitoes breed in the stagnant water and flies multiply on the rubbish.
- People get malaria, cholera and diarrhoea; property is destroyed.
- Families and government spend money on treatment and repairs.
Answer: One bad habit leads to disease, flooding and economic loss for the whole community.
5. Protecting Vulnerable Groups
Babies, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and sick people suffer most from poor environmental health. Their bodies have weaker defences, so diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria affect them more seriously. Children who play near open drains or refuse dumps are at great risk. Protecting these groups is one strong reason why every household should keep its surroundings clean.
New words
- consequence
- A result or effect of an action.
- stagnant water
- Water that does not flow.
- flooding
- Water covering land that is normally dry.
- respiratory disease
- A disease of the lungs and breathing passages.
Summary
- Poor environmental health causes diseases such as malaria, cholera and typhoid.
- It also causes flooding, pollution and loss of property.
- It reduces income, education and national development.
Class activity: Consequence Chain
- Choose one poor environmental practice in your community.
- Draw a chain of at least five consequences that follow from it.
- Present your chain and suggest where the chain could be broken.
You need: Used sachet-water bags, Labelled waste bins, Work gloves
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Stagnant water mainly encourages the breeding of…
- A. mosquitoes
- B. goats
- C. fish
- D. bees
Show answer
Answer: mosquitoesThey lay eggs in still water.2. Burning plastic refuse mainly causes…
- A. air pollution
- B. clean water
- C. better soil
- D. more trees
Show answer
Answer: air pollutionHarmful smoke.3. Poor environmental health can affect a country's economy.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueThrough sickness and repair costs.4. Water that does not flow is ______ water.
Show answer
Answer: stagnantStill water.5. Give three consequences of poor environmental health.
Show answer
Answer: Disease, flooding, loss of income (or pollution, loss of tourism).Any three.6. Explain how galamsey affects environmental health in Ghana.
Show answer
Answer: It pollutes rivers with mud and chemicals, making drinking water unsafe and expensive to treat, and destroys farmland.Water pollution.
Homework
- Interview an adult about a flood or disease outbreak in your area and write its causes and effects.