This presentation aims to increase the students’ knowledge about environmental epidemiology, by introducing different study designs used to study health effects of exposure to outdoor air pollution. All study designs are illustrated by examples, starting with the Great Smog (Killer Fog) of London in 1952, one of the landmarks in environmental epidemiology.

Nearly one third of the world’s population are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution from the household’s use of solid fuel. The fuel is mainly biomass burning under poor combustion conditions
in open fires or primitive stoves and with low ventilation. This costs more than 4 million lives every year and enormous suffering in particular among women and children.

What is air pollution? What is it in the air that is harmful? This lecture focuses on air pollution, where it occur, and how it spread.

In this presentation, we will describe the global levels and trends in major air pollutants and related health burden. Air pollution is an important global risk factor for disease. People who live in more polluted areas develop more often chronic and infectious disease and die prematurely as compared to people living in areas with low air pollution.

In large part of the World, people spend more than 90 percent of the time in indoor environments, where air quality is important for health. The environment outside the building, what goes on inside the building and the exchange of air pollutants affects the indoor air. Tight buildings can reduce energy consumption and entry of outdoor air pollutants, but unless ventilation is right indoor air pollutants from combustion processes, dampness, microbes, the dwellers bio effluents,
appliances, care and cleaning products, clothing, furniture, building materials, the underground and many other sources will build up indoors causing important health effects.

In this presentation, we will discuss how we can know whether one individual is more susceptible to harmful effect of air pollution than others are. Everyone is exposed, but some groups may be more susceptible to the harmful effect of air pollution than others may.

In this lecture, we will describe the mechanisms by which air pollution causes pulmonary health effects in the human population. The pulmonary health effects include exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), increased risk of lower
respiratory tracts infections and lung cancer.

In this presentation, we will describe the mechanisms by which air pollution causes health effects in other parts of the body than the lungs. In continuation of this, we will discuss the important mechanisms of extra pulmonary health effect.

There is a long way before the whole world complies with the WHO guidelines for air quality, but the enormous burden of disease from outdoor air pollution forces us to increase action to come as far as possible. In continuation of this, we will discuss what we can do about air pollution at global, international, national, city and individual levels. Most of the actions to reduce air pollution also mitigates climate change and/or promote health in other ways – so there are many win-win and
win-win-win situations

Brain development can be damaged by environmental chemicals.
Philippe Grandjean, University of Southern Denmark and Harvard School of Public Health, explains the erroneous assumptions made over time about this. Studies from Faroe Islands, where people have been exposed to toxic agents, shows how this affects brains of children and their IQ levels.

A presentation with Professor Philippe Grandjean about the dangers of chemical interference with the developing brain. This presentation, “Children’s health - Risks to brain development from exposure to environmental chemicals”, presented on 6th November, 2019, meeting of the French High Council for Public Health (Haut Conseil de la Santé Publique, HCSP), at the Ministry for Solidarity and Health in Paris.

Five years after the Paris climate agreement to limit global temperature rise to “well below 2°C” the world observed a 1.2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels. In order to protect human health, it is imperative that efforts are made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep the temperature targets agreed. The changing climate affects the conditions for human health, and the basic requirements for maintaining good health. Starting with the 2015 Lancet Commission on climate change and health that described tackling climate change as the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century, the talk will give an overview of some health impacts covered in the Lancet Countdown and end by focusing on what the Lancet Countdown in 2020 called the often “unseen” impacts of climate change on human health – the mental health impacts.

Our planet is currently being challenged by dramatic changes to earth and human systems under the influence of climate change and variability. These include changes of population and environmental dynamics that impacts human health. Thus, climate change is considered the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century. Health impacts can be direct typically related to extreme weather events; indirect with linkages to climate change induced environmental alterations and damage or in relation to displacement, conflict and social disruption. This presentation provides a series of examples of changes of environmental and social determinants of health with negative or positive health impacts. These include impacts on communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and mental health of importance in particular in vulnerable urban and rural settings as well as among sensitive community groups exposed to variations in temperature and precipitation patterns.

This session will expand the student´s knowledge about human health and quality of life in the context of global and local ecology. Examples will be provided on how environmental management and development influence human health. The session provide an overview of the disease burden attributable to the environment, and much of this burden is placed across different geographical regions of the world. Examples will be presented on the impacts of poor quality water, insufficient access to water, lack of appropriate sanitation and poor personal hygiene. Other examples of environmental health factors included relate to reduced forest cover, unsustainable agricultural production systems, climate change, and poor management of natural resources that significantly influence livelihood, food security and migration patterns.

This presentation provides an introduction to diarrheal diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites and other disease causing agents or pathogens. Furthermore, we’ll look at the range of syndromes associated with diarrhea and uncover two significant pathogens: rotavirus and vibrio cholera. Finally, we’ll delve into methods for managing diarrheal diseases and the significance of sanitation in preventing diarrheal diseases.

The session argues for why the three main resources that humanity needs for its survival on this planet are land / soil, water resources and air. In addition, how degradation of such resources places limits health and to the quality of life for the affected human population.
Participants: Senior adviser (IWA) Robert Ros

This lesson focuses on the impact of limited sanitation coverage and the experiences gained from past sanitation programs. Some of the challenges of expanded sanitation relate to barriers at the community level but equally important at the institutional and policy levels. The most basic problem is that there are limited funds available for investment in sanitation. It is argued that the most important priority will be to design and promote toilets that people can afford and in a design that they would use.
Participants: Professor Sandy Cairncros.

Pesticide self-poisoning is among the leading cause of suicide worldwide. This presentation provides us with an insight to the risk factors for pesticide self-poisoning, the global burden, prevention and treatment of self-harm with pesticides. The session use Sri Lanka as a case. The presentation is of relevance for researchers as well as for public health practitioners. It exemplifies how the different levels of intervention have to work very closely to make an impact.

The discovery of antibiotics less than 100 years ago revolutionized health care, making former deadly diseases treatable. Still many people especially in low-income countries do not have access to these life-saving drugs, while att he same time, in many other arts of the world over-consumption of antibiotics is driving antimicrobial resistance, threatening to throw us back 100 years in time.
Get transcript for video here: https://www.oercommons.org/courseware/module/58789/overview

Part two in the series Paradise under Pressure/ Paradis under pres: https://paradis-under-pres.simplecast.com/

There is good reason to invest in tourism in Zanzibar. In 2019, it was expected that over half a million tourists would visit the island, which is only half the size of Funen island in Denmark. Tourists bring in money and growth, but research shows that, for example, Zanzibarians only have 11% of managerial jobs in restaurants and only 20% of tourism revenue goes to the local community, while 53% disappear from the island.

Danish:
Der er god grund til at investere i turismen på Zanzibar. I 2019 forventede man, at over en halv million turister ville besøge øen, som kun er halvt så stor som Fyn. Turisterne bringer penge og vækst, men forskningen viser, at zanzibarianere for eksempel kun har 11% af lederjobs på restauranter og kun 20% af indtægterne fra turismen går til lokalsamfundet, imens hele 53% forsvinder væk fra øen.