Public Health: Environmental, Economic, Social Health Risks Analysis

This essay explores the public health challenges faced by Susan and Lisa due to various environmental factors. It identifies physical risks such as air pollution from industries and vehicles, which exacerbate Lisa's asthma and pose respiratory threats to Susan. Economic hardships limit their access to balanced diets and exercise opportunities, further impacting their health. Social factors, including lack of education, low-paying jobs, and social isolation, contribute to stress and overall well-being. The essay recommends policy interventions, such as restricting residential areas near industrial zones, promoting physical activity in schools, ensuring access to nutritional food, supporting single mothers, and regulating industrial emissions, to mitigate these health risks and foster a healthier environment. Desklib provides this assignment solution and many other resources for students.

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH 1
Public Health
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations

PUBLIC HEALTH 2
Public Health
Features of the Physical, Economic, and Social Environments that Create Health
Risks to Susan and Lisa
Good health is admired by everybody since it results in happiness, comfort, success, and
performance of day-to-day activities. The physical, economic as well as social environment play
a significant role in one’s life and also act as health determinants. First, the physical environment
in which Susan and Lisa live is not conducive for a healthy living. It consists of industries which
release harmful gases such as carbon monoxide to the air. The gas can adversely impact the
respiratory system. It is important to note that carbon dioxide emission from factories, trucks,
and cars can worsen Lisa’s health through irritating the asthma lungs, therefore, weakening the
defense of the lungs to the disease (Neidell, 2017). The dust produced by the highway vehicles
and factories can also lead to breathing impairment and consistence illness. Susan can also
contract some of the respiratory diseases as result of the environmental pollution by the vehicles
and industries due to poor quality of air.
Similarly, Susan and Lisa experience economic problems which can create health risks to
them. Susan does not have a well-paying job; resulting in lack of money to purchase basic needs.
Most importantly, due to lack of enough money, the family cannot afford a balanced diet. Fund
inadequacy also result in Lisa not having a bicycle which she can use to exercise or for physical
activity. It is important to note that lack balance diet and physical activity can lead to health
problems such as obesity and other respiratory diseases such as asthma. Lack of exercise is likely
to hinder Lisa’s health. The family also does a mistake of purchasing take away food which
might be rich in fats or calories.

PUBLIC HEALTH 3
Additionally, some of the social health risks factors experienced by the family include
lack of education, poor paying job, and segregation from relatives and neighbors. According to
Braveman and Gottlieb (2014), lack of social interaction due to discrimination can result in stress
which in turn deteriorates health.
Recommendations for Addressing the Environmental Factors
The environmental risk health factors should be addressed through enacting policies and
coming with actions which will help maintain good health conditions. First, legislation should be
enacted to bar individuals from residing in industrial areas because the industries pollute the air
consumed by individuals (Giles-Corti et al., 2016). Breathing of polluted air can lead to
contraction of respiratory disease such as asthma. Secondly, the government should formulate
Acts in schools which will ensure children participate in physical activities such bicycle raiding
or running to enable them to burn fats and calories which lead to health issues, for example,
obesity. Physical activity will enable the children to be active.
Thirdly, actions should be taken to ensure that children eat nutritional food and cease
consumptions of snacks. In the same token, the government should take actions to ensure the
single mothers are well taken care of to avoid unnecessary stress usually experienced by most of
them. This would involve offering them better job opportunities which can help them buy dietary
food, pay rent, and buy other essential things for life. Lastly, regulations should be put in place to
ensure the factories emit purified gases into the air (El-Halwagi, 2017). This would ensure the
public does not to inhale toxic air polluted by gases such as carbon monoxide.

PUBLIC HEALTH 4
References
Braveman, P., & Gottlieb, L. (2014). The social determinants of health: it's time to consider the
causes of the causes. Public health reports, 129(1_suppl2), 19-31.
El-Halwagi, M. M. (2017). Sustainable design through process integration: fundamentals and
applications to industrial pollution prevention, resource conservation, and profitability
enhancement. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Giles-Corti, B., Vernez-Moudon, A., Reis, R., Turrell, G., Dannenberg, A. L., Badland, H., ... &
Owen, N. (2016). City planning and population health: a global challenge. The lancet,
388(10062), 2912-2924.
Neidell, M. J. (2017). The Dynamics of Air Pollution Impacts. NBER Reporter, 2017(2), 20.