Introduction to Global Environmental Health

Environmental health is a branch of public health. This course is an introduction to the field, current issues, and interventions for solving environmental health problems. The course will assist the participant in becoming aware of the scope of the field of environmental health and the ideas on which environmental health interventions are based. This course also will provide an interdisciplinary introduction to the concept of global health, with a special focus on developing countries.

There are numerous global challenges facing the world today, which will be reviewed in the course in addition to address common issues known to burden health care globally. Such challenges are growing over time which produces disparities in health between and within countries.

1. Identify the major environmental agents, their interactions, and adverse effects
2. Predict the nature of the agent’s adverse effects from its physical, chemical, or infectious properties, and how that may influence environmental or public health
3. Describe and use models for predicting the magnitude of adverse effects in biological systems
4. Identify significant gaps in the current knowledge base concerning health effects of environmental agents, and areas of uncertainty in the risk-assessment process
5. Recognize the current legislation and regulation regarding environmental issues