Winter Quarter 2005
Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course explores the relationship of people to their environment - how it affects their physical well-being, and what they can do to protect and enhance their health, and to influence the quality of the environment. Emphasis is on providing a general understanding of how environmental factors are involved in the transmission of communicable diseases and on some of the health hazards resulting from exposure to chemical and physical materials in our environment.

This course is a survey course intended to give students a basic understanding of how environmental factors impact the health of people and the community, and of the efforts made to prevent or minimize the effects of negative impacts. The course is designed to acquaint the student with the scientific and technical foundations of the field, and examines both the practice of environmental health and the problems which are addressed by the practitioners in this career discipline

Learning Objectives

It is intended that at the completion of this course, each student should be able to:

1. Describe, and document by case example, ways in which environmental factors in community, occupational and residential settings impact health;
2. Explain the pertinent scientific principles associated with the major environmental health program areas;
3. Explain, and be able to illustrate with examples, how factors, such as community perceptions, public health law, traditions, socioeconomic conditions, politics and interpersonal communications, may influence the practice of environmental health;
4. Describe the benefits and limitations of the various methodologies (such as regulation, education, impact statements and public funding) through which society attempts to minimize negative environmental health impacts;
5. Explain the theoretical framework which guides environmental health practitioners and differentiates them from other environmental and health professionals;
6. List the major agencies and organizations involved in environmental health protection and explain their basic responsibilities, programs and problems; and,
7. Analyze at least one environmental health program in the Puget Sound area for its theoretical and legal base, its organization and management, and its interaction with and impact on the community and other agencies.

Course Requirements

1. Examinations: There will be a mid-term and a final examination. The tests will be cumulative only in the sense that the basic principles and concepts learned in the early portions of the course are applicable to the problems examined in the later portions.
   • Mid-Term Exam: 2:30 - 4:00 pm, February 7, 2005
   • Final Exam: To Be Determined
     
     
2. Course Projects: The class will be divided into to teamsthat will work together on special topics/issues involving the environment and human health. Each week we will present a "case" -- it may be a video, guest lecture, article or some similar experience that illustrates the topic or program area under discussion. Working in groups, the studens will consider the caseand prepare a brief report to the class for the following week. Some of the things that you should consider in preparing your presentation include

1. a description of the problem -- its size, scope and affected population(s); stressing the available information or data that best supports the group's position with regard to the public health significance of the problem or issue and its relationship to, or impact on, members of the community;
2. the etiology or causative factors involved with this particular problem, including the agent(s), mechanism(s) of injury or health impact, and the transmission pathway(s);
3. prevention or control strategies and programs -- including the statutory basis for government regulation or intervention in this area and the major agency or agencies (if any) responsible for dealing with the problem and describe the activities, procedures, etc. employed or under discussion by the agencies; and,
4. the weight of evidence or coherence of the argument mad by the case presentation.

Course Materials

1. Textbook: Basic Environmental Health by Annalee Yassi, Tord Kjellstrom, Theo De Kok, Tee L. Guidotti, Oxford University Press (March 15, 2001), ISBN: 019513558X.
   
2. Supplementary Readings: The materials in the above textbook will be supplemented by a series of readings.
   
3. Suggested Readings: There are a number of journals related to environmental health currently available. People wishing to stay abreast of this fast changing field should at least scan the journals most related to their interests every month. These include:
   • Journal of Environmental Health
   • American Journal of Public Health
   • Environment
   • EPA Journal

   In addition there are a number of general textbooks in ecology, environmental engineering and environmental health which are recommended for students desiring to obtain greater technical information in the practice of environmental health.

   1. Anderson SH, Beiswenger RE, Purdom PW. Environmental Science [3d Ed.], Merrill Publishing Co., Columbus, 1987. [A good general text in environmental science, although seriously dated.]
   2. Bernarde, Melvin, Our Precarious Habitat: Fifteen Years Later, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1989. {Another dated but still interesting textbook, written from a different perspective than Nadakavukaren's book.]
   3. Blumenthal DS [Ed.] Introduction to Environmental Health, Springer Publishing Co., New York, 1985. [This book gives good coverage of certain problems like toxic substances and occupational hazards but is very sketchy on the traditional areas like food and water.]
   4. Moeller DW. Environmental Health, Revised Edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1997.
   5. Moore GS. Living with the Earth: Concepts in Environmental Health Science, Lewis Publishers, New York, 1999.
   6. Salvato JA. Environmental Engineering and Sanitation [4th Ed.], John Wiley & Sons. 1992. [This is the best, up-to-date, comprehensive environmental health textbook available, however, it is expensive, technical and somewhat tedious to read.]
   7. Sadler, AE (Ed.) The Environment: Opposing Viewpoints, Greenhaven Press, San Diego, 1996.
   8. Wekesser C. (Ed.) Water: Opposing Viewpoints, Greenhaven Press, San Diego, 1994.

Course Policies

1. The group paper must be typewritten. Your report will be graded on the substance of your report and on the effectiveness of its organization and presentation. Groups should see me if they need help with making/obtaining their poster board or other materials, including graphics.
   
2. There will be no make-up examinations unless approved by the instructor in advance. If a test is missed because of an unexcused absence, it will not be rescheduled.
   
3. Your final grade will be the average of the two course exams and your course projectgroup presentations.