Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 47 in total

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  1. [Sanitary and environmental engineering: the importance of planning in regard to health needs]
    Horwitz A
    Bol Oficina Sanit Panam, 1986 Sep;101(3):193-207.
    PMID: 2944521
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  2. [Environmental health in Malaysia]
    Jörgensen HS
    Lakartidningen, 1978 May 17;75(20):2034-7.
    PMID: 661431
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  3. Fulltext Urban governance and the systems approaches to health-environment co-benefits in cities
    Oliveira JA, Doll CN, Siri J, Dreyfus M, Farzaneh H, Capon A
    Cad Saude Publica, 2015 Nov;31 Suppl 1:25-38.
    PMID: 26648361 DOI: 10.1590/0102-311X00010015
    The term "co-benefits" refers to positive outcomes accruing from a policy beyond the intended outcome, often or usually in other sectors. In the urban context, policies implemented in particular sectors (such as transport, energy or waste) often generate multiple co-benefits in other areas. Such benefits may be related to the reduction of local or global environmental impacts and also extend into the area of public health. A key to identifying and realising co-benefits is the adoption of systems approaches to understand inter-sectoral linkages and, in particular, the translation of this understanding to improved sector-specific and city governance. This paper reviews a range of policies which can yield health and climate co-benefits across different urban sectors and illustrates, through a series of cases, how taking a systems approach can lead to innovations in urban governance which aid the development of healthy and sustainable cities.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  4. Urban environmental Health: respiratory infection and urban factors in urban growth corridor of Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang, Malaysia
    Ling OHL, Siti Nur Afiqah Mohamed Musthafa, Abdul Rauf Abdul Rasam
    Sains Malaysiana, 2014;43:1405-1414.
    Environmental health in general is referring to the aspect of concern on healthy environment, and the interrelations between environment and human health. Due to the urbanization, urban development is changing the natural environment into a man-made environment. Along with the process, level of environmental quality and human health are decreased. Air quality as reference shows that urban ambient air is more polluted than rural. Due to high density of human population and their activities in urban areas, it produces air pollutants with higher rate as compared to less-developed areas. Air pollutants contribute to various health problems. People suffering from respiratory diseases are the most likely to be affected by air pollution. This paper aimed to examine the rate of respiratory infection among residents in an urban growth corridor (Petaling Jaya-Shah Alam-Klang) and the relationship with the urban land uses, traffic volume and air quality. There were four major types of data used in this study i.e., respiratory infection of the respondents, air quality, land use and traffic volume. A health questionnaire survey was carried out besides the secondary data collection from the various government departments. Relationship analysis was performed between respiratory health and the urban factors (air quality, traffic volume and land uses). The study found out that the relationship between the respiratory health and the urban factors is different in city-wide land use and traffic factors, as compared to the localised air quality and land use factors. To conclude, the urban factors are potentially affecting the respiratory health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  5. Fulltext Transformation of Industrial Relations in Malaysia: The effectiveness on Management of Occupational Safety and Health
    NUR FARHANNA SADON
    Trends in Undergraduate Research, 2018;1(1):0-0.
    MyJurnal
    The occupational safety and health of workers are aimed to protect employees.. Safety at workplace is a crucial aspect in a company’s organization. Safety in workplace is important in guaranteeing the worker’s wellbeing. The Malaysia Government has taken the required steps by introducing the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 on 25th of February 1994. The responsibilities in enforcing Occupational Safety and Health Act is given to the Occupational Safety and Health Department (OSHD) which is under the Ministry of Human Resource.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  6. Fulltext The status of international collaborations in compilation of Iranian scientific articles on environmental health engineering
    Tirgar A, Sajjadi SA, Aghalari Z
    Global Health, 2019 02 27;15(1):17.
    PMID: 30813953 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-019-0460-3
    BACKGROUND: Scientific cooperation is one of the effective methods to access current knowledge and technologies and also to use successful experiences of researchers in developed countries by academicians living in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the level of international contribution in compilation of scientific articles in Iranian journals published in the field of environmental health engineering.

    METHODS: This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted within a 10-year period (2008-2017), in which all articles published in five specialized Iranian journals of environmental health engineering were reviewed using a researcher-made checklist. The information collected in the checklist included: the year of publication, number of issues and articles, information about the status of authors' participation in terms of number of authors, sex, institutional affiliation, country, continents, and research centers. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as index of dispersion, measures of central tendency, and Chi-square and t tests were used to statistically analyze the data. Besides, VOSviewer software was used to visualize the data.

    RESULTS: The review of 1276 articles published in 102 issues of the five journals of environmental health engineering in Iran showed that 184 articles were written with the participation of researchers from other countries. Most articles with the participation of international authors during the last decade were published in 2014. Chi-square test indicated a significant difference in the publication of these articles within 2014-2015 than other years (P = 0.001). Among the five journals, the best participation of international researchers was observed in J Environ Health Sci Engineer (168 articles, 91.3%). Considering the number of joint articles with Iran, the top continents were Asia, Europe, and Africa each with 117, 52, and 32 articles, respectively. India, Turkey, and Malaysia had the highest level of cooperation with Iranian researchers with 53, 16, and 14 articles, respectively. 637 authors contributed in 184 articles, of whom 469 (73.6%) were male and 121 (18.9%) were female. T test was used to compare the mean number of male and female authors in the articles with or without the participation of international researchers, which showed no significant difference.

    CONCLUSION: International contribution of researchers in compilation of specialized environmental health articles was good. Given the low level of cooperation between researchers from developed European and American countries and their Iranian counterparts, it seems necessary to adopt different methods to attract more collaboration from researchers working in developed countries considering their significant role in health-related areas.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  7. Fulltext The importance of data in developing environmental health guidelines – an IMU perspective
    Stephen Ambu
    International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2013;7(11):47-50.
    MyJurnal
    The global environment is in a dynamic flux due to rapid development. As a result of this, new
    diseases are emerging and old diseases are re-emerging in many parts of the world. Therefore there is a constant need for appropriate data for formulation of effective policies to mitigate the adverse effects of environmental degradation on human health. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 is a milestone that sets the direction for good environmental management initiatives and the success
    of this depends on good data. Malaysia currently has the Environmental Quality Act 1974 in place to
    control environment related problems. However good guidelines must be developed to keep the initiatives for good environmental management on course, for this we need good data. The Centre for Environmental and Population Health at IMU, coordinates research activities in specific thrust areas in an endeavour to produce important data that is required for developing appropriate guidelines for environmental health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  8. The Case for Public Financing of Environmental Common Goods for Health
    Lo S, Gaudin S, Corvalan C, Earle AJ, Hanssen O, Prüss-Ustun A, et al.
    Health Syst Reform, 2019;5(4):366-381.
    PMID: 31860403 DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2019.1669948
    Safeguarding the continued existence of humanity requires building societies that cause minimal disruptions of the essential planetary systems that support life. While major successes have been achieved in improving health in recent decades, threats from the environment may undermine these gains, particularly among vulnerable populations and communities. In this article, we review the rationale for governments to invest in environmental Common Goods for Health (CGH) and identify functions that qualify as such, including interventions to improve air quality, develop sustainable food systems, preserve biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage carbon sinks. Exploratory empirical analyses reveal that public spending on environmental goods does not crowd out public spending on health. Additionally, we find that improved governance is associated with better performance in environmental health outcomes, while the degrees of people's participation in the political system together with voice and accountability are positively associated with performance in ambient air quality and biodiversity/habitat. We provide a list of functions that should be prioritized by governments across different sectors, and present preliminary costing of environmental CGH. As shown by the costing estimates presented here, these actions need not be especially expensive. Indeed, they are potentially cost-saving. The paper concludes with case examples of national governments that have successfully prioritized and financed environmental CGH. Because societal preferences may vary across time, government leaders seeking to protect the health of future generations must look beyond electoral cycles to enact policies that protect the environment and finance environmental CGH.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health/economics; Environmental Health/standards
  9. Socio-economic development, environmental and health perspectives in Malaysia
    DeWitt GF, Sekarajasekaran A, Wan KC
    Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1979 Dec;10(4):572-8.
    PMID: 538507
    With Malaysia independence in 1957, development in the country changed from system maintenance to development planning. Environmental and health perspectives are discussed in relation to current development as reflected in the Second Malaysia Plan 1971--1975 and the Third Malaysia Plan 1976--1980.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  10. Fulltext Smoking behaviours and attitudes toward tobacco control among assistant environmental health officer trainees
    Tee GH, Gurpreet K, Hairi NN, Zarihah Z, Fadzilah K
    Int J Tuberc Lung Dis, 2013 Dec;17(12):1652-5.
    PMID: 24200284 DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.12.0241
    Assistant environmental health officers (AEHO) are health care providers (HCPs) who act as enforcers, educators and trusted role models for the public. This is the first study to explore smoking behaviour and attitudes toward tobacco control among future HCPs. Almost 30% of AEHO trainees did not know the role of AEHOs in counselling smokers to stop smoking, but 91% agreed they should not smoke before advising others not to do so. The majority agreed that tobacco control regulations may be used as a means of reducing the prevalence of smoking. Future AEHOs had positive attitudes toward tobacco regulations but lacked understanding of their responsibility in tobacco control measures.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health/manpower*
  11. Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health
    Whitmee S, Haines A, Beyrer C, Boltz F, Capon AG, de Souza Dias BF, et al.
    Lancet, 2015 Nov 14;386(10007):1973-2028.
    PMID: 26188744 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60901-1
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  12. River sediment metal and nutrient variations along an urban-agriculture gradient in an arid austral landscape: implications for environmental health
    Dalu T, Wasserman RJ, Wu Q, Froneman WP, Weyl OLF
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2018 Jan;25(3):2842-2852.
    PMID: 29143261 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0728-1
    The effect of metals on environmental health is well documented and monitoring these and other pollutants is considered an important part of environmental management. Developing countries are yet to fully appreciate the direct impacts of pollution on aquatic ecosystems and as such, information on pollution dynamics is scant. Here, we assessed the temporal and spatial dynamics of stream sediment metal and nutrient concentrations using contaminant indices (e.g. enrichment factors, pollution load and toxic risk indices) in an arid temperate environment over the wet and dry seasons. The mean sediment nutrient, organic matter and metal concentration were highest during the dry season, with high values being observed for the urban environment. Sediment contaminant assessment scores indicated that during the wet season, the sediment quality was acceptable, but not so during the dry season. The dry season had low to moderate levels of enrichment for metals B, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mg, K and Zn. Overall, applying the sediment pollution load index highlighted poor quality river sediment along the length of the river. Toxic risk index indicated that most sites posed no toxic risk. The results of this study highlighted that river discharge plays a major role in structuring temporal differences in sediment quality. It was also evident that infrastructure degradation was likely contributing to the observed state of the river quality. The study contributes to our understanding of pollution dynamics in arid temperate landscapes where vast temporal differences in base flow characterise the riverscape. Such information is further useful for contrasting sediment pollution dynamics in aquatic environments with other climatic regions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  13. Fulltext Risk perceptions and acceptance towards the uptake of pertussis vaccine amongst the healthcare workers in Sabah and Sarawak
    Michal Christina Steven, Jeffery Stephen
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(106):87-87.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction:The incidence of pertussis has been said to increase over the years, and the affected patient-age group has also changed with the increasing number of cases amongst adolescents and adults. Therefore, adults require booster vaccination for protection against pertussis infection. Vaccination among healthcare workers (HCW) should be prioritized when a country implements an adult vaccine. However, the coverage of pertussis vaccination is still deficient among HCW due to low-risk perception. This study focused on finding the risk perception of pertussis in-fection amongst the HCWs based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and their acceptance to take pertussis vaccination. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using online survey. The website link is given to the Health-care workers consisting of doctors, Assistant Medical Officers, nurses, and Environmental Health Officers. Results: A total of 853 responders responded to the questionnaire. Most of the respondents (81.5%) are willing to receive the pertussis vaccine. Independent t-test showed that the PMT score was significantly different between those willing and those not willing to take the vaccine (p-value < 0.001, t statistics (df)= 7.729 (325). Robust path analysis showed that sociodemographic factors (age, the institution of working and prior pertussis vaccination) (p=0.004), threat (p
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  14. Fulltext Research on Hygiene Based on Fieldwork and Experimental Studies
    Yajima I
    Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi, 2017;72(1):49-54.
    PMID: 28154361 DOI: 10.1265/jjh.72.49
    Several experimental studies on hygiene have recently been performed and fieldwork studies are also important and essential tools. However, the implementation of experimental studies is insufficient compared with that of fieldwork studies on hygiene. Here, we show our well-balanced implementation of both fieldwork and experimental studies of toxic-element-mediated diseases including skin cancer and hearing loss. Since the pollution of drinking well water by toxic elements induces various diseases including skin cancer, we performed both fieldwork and experimental studies to determine the levels of toxic elements and the mechanisms behind the development of toxic-element-related diseases and to develop a novel remediation system. Our fieldwork studies in several countries including Bangladesh, Vietnam and Malaysia demonstrated that drinking well water was polluted with high concentrations of several toxic elements including arsenic, barium, iron and manganese. Our experimental studies using the data from our fieldwork studies demonstrated that these toxic elements caused skin cancer and hearing loss. Further experimental studies resulted in the development of a novel remediation system that adsorbs toxic elements from polluted drinking water. A well-balanced implementation of both fieldwork and experimental studies is important for the prediction, prevention and therapy of toxic-element-mediated diseases.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  15. Recent advances on nanocellulose biomaterials for environmental health photoremediation: An overview
    Hitam CNC, Jalil AA
    Environ Res, 2022 03;204(Pt A):111964.
    PMID: 34461122 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111964
    As one of the potential bionanomaterials, nanocellulose has appeared as a favorable candidate for photoremediation of the environment because of its abundance in nature, inexpensive, eco-friendly, decomposable, high surface area, and outstanding mechanical properties. The current review carefully summarized the diverse type of nanocellulose, their preparation approaches, and several previous works on the use of nanocellulose for photoremediation. These include the role of nanocellulose for the increased surface active site of the hybrid photocatalysts by providing a large surface area for enhanced adsorption of photons and pollutant molecules, as a dispersing agent to increase distribution of metal/non-metal dopants photocatalysts, as well as for controlled size and morphology of the dopants photocatalysts. Furthermore, the recommendations for upcoming research provided in this review are anticipated to ignite an idea for the development of other nanocellulose-based photocatalysts. Other than delivering beneficial information on the present growth of the nanocellulose biomaterials photocatalysts, this review is expected will attract more interest to the utilization of nanocellulose photocatalyst and distribute additional knowledge in this exciting area of environmental photoremediation. This could be attained by considering that a review on nanocellulose biomaterials for environmental health photoremediation has not been described elsewhere, notwithstanding intensive research works have been dedicated to this topic.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  16. Protein calorie malnutrition: a major health problem of multiple causation in Malaysia
    Chen ST
    Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1974 Mar;5(1):85-9.
    PMID: 4209141
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  17. Fulltext Prevalence of pathogenic microorganims in ready-to-eat foods prepared at selected ‘high risk' school hostel kitchens and canteens in Pahang
    Jeyaletchumi, P., Ardi, A, Noraliza, M.A., Nurul Aini, I., Maizatul Akmar, H., Suraya, H., et al.
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2006;6(1):23-28.
    MyJurnal
    Two hundred and sixty four samples of ready -to-eat foods (RTE) were obtained over a period of six months (April to September 2005) from 33 school hostel kitchens and canteens previously implicated in food poisoning outbreaks from 2000 to 2004. Sampling was done by food technologists and assistant environmental health ofhcers from various districts in Pahang while microbiological analysis was carried out at the Mentakab Food Quality Control Laboratory. The objective of the study was to obtain a comprehensive picture on the microbiological status of the foods that may have accounted for food poisoning outbreaks at school hostels and canteens in Pahang. Each food sample was analyzed for Total Plate Count (TPC), Salmonella, Coliform, Escheria coli, Staphylococcus aerus and Bacillus cereus. lt was found that none of the ready-to-eat foods sampled contained Salmonella although hve samples contained Bacillus cereus , four samples contained Staphylococcus aerus. High Coliform Counts were found in 15 food samples while Escheria coli was detected in two samples. Overall, it was found that 10.2 % of the samples had unsatisfactory counts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  18. Physical changes of the environment and health effects with special reference to water pollution and sanitation in Malaysia
    Sekarajasekaran IA
    Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1979 Dec;10(4):634-49.
    PMID: 538513
    Development of a human community are not without changes in its environment. Such changes result in either beneficial or adverse effects on human health. In Malaysia, in the wake of the New Economic Policy aimed at the redressing of the poor population and income distribution, development of the nation has brought about various changes in the environment. Some of these changes have elevated basic public health problems, while others, particularly new agricultural practices and industrialisation programmes with urbanisation trends, have brought a new set of problems due to water pollution and sanitation. Various measures are being taken to protect and to improve the environment so that progress can be realised with minimum adverse effects. This also calls for assistance from international sources, in terms of expertise, training and funds.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health*
  19. Paper-based capacitive sensors for identification and quantification of chemicals at the point of care
    Hu J, Yew CT, Chen X, Feng S, Yang Q, Wang S, et al.
    Talanta, 2017 Apr 01;165:419-428.
    PMID: 28153277 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.12.086
    The identification and quantification of chemicals play a vital role in evaluation and surveillance of environmental health and safety. However, current techniques usually depend on costly equipment, professional staff, and/or essential infrastructure, limiting their accessibility. In this work, we develop paper-based capacitive sensors (PCSs) that allow simple, rapid identification and quantification of various chemicals from microliter size samples with the aid of a handheld multimeter. PCSs are low-cost parallel-plate capacitors (~$0.01 per sensor) assembled from layers of aluminum foil and filter paper via double-sided tape. The developed PCSs can identify different kinds of fluids (e.g., organic chemicals) and quantify diverse concentrations of substances (e.g., heavy metal ions) based on differences in dielectric properties, including capacitance, frequency spectrum, and dielectric loss tangent. The PCS-based method enables chemical identification and quantification to take place much cheaply, simply, and quickly at the point-of-care (POC), holding great promise for environmental monitoring in resource-limited settings.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
  20. Fulltext Overview of statutory inspection enforcement for certificated machinery by licensed person
    Shahronizam Noordin, Yuzainie Yusoff, Noorhasimah Awang, Siti Nurani Haji Hassan, Zulfadhli Suhaili, Samuri Mohd Mussim, et al.
    Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2015;12(2):31-40.
    MyJurnal
    Licensed person is a third party who was awarded a license to perform statutory inspection for certificated
    machinery under the provision of section 40 (1A), Factories and Machinery Act (Amendment) (FMA) 2006. The
    objectives of the study is to identify issues related to statutory inspection in Malaysia and to make comparisons with
    respect to the statutory inspection by Licensed Person adopted by other countries. The enforcement of Licensed
    Person in Malaysia is still in not yet implemented although Section 40 (1A) in FMA (Revision) 2006 regulating on
    Licensed Person had been introduced on 2006 and compared with other countries especially our neighboring country
    Singapore. Based on the DOSH inspection data analysis, the main issues relating to statutory inspection in Malaysia
    is the increment in backlog cases due to lack of number officers compare to the number of registered certificated
    machineries in Malaysia. As a conclusion, the implementation of Licensed Person is crucial in Malaysia to reduce the
    work and financial burden of Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) officer in enforcing FMA 1967
    and also to improve the quality of statutory inspection for the safety in workplace.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health
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