Overcrowding and Indigenous Health †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Overcrowding and Indigenous Health. Answer: Introduction Development, and industrialization, in particular, have contributed significantly to health, including by facilitating personal and social development, and by significantly improving health and education services, transport and communications. There is no doubt that globally people live longer and healthier lives than centuries or even decades ago. However, industrialization also has negative effects on the health, not only of the labor force but also of the general population. These effects are attributable either directly to the existence of safety problems and harmful agents (Booth Caroll, 2016). This article describes the impacts of poor housing and overcrowding health risks, environmental health, risk characterization and management strategies in inner apartments of Melbourne city. Poor housing and overcrowding health risks can be biological, chemical, physical, biomechanical or psychosocial. Environmental health risks include classical hazards created by poor hygiene and housing conditions, as well as agricultural and industrial pollution of air, water, food and soils. These risks are accompanied by multiple health impacts, ranging from directly related disasters (such as the 1991 cholera epidemic in Latin America and the many chemical poisoning cases in Bhopal, India) to (Such as in Minamata, Japan), or subtle, indirect, or even contested effects (e.g. Love Canal, USA) (Booth Caroll, 2016). The assessment was carried out in the inner-city apartments of the city of Melbourne, and it was realized that there are some factors that affect risks to health and their management plans established that can effectively solve these problems. For a large number of people living in the inner apartments of Melbourne city coupled with poor hygiene, there has been experienced an increase in transmission of highly epidemic diseases such as cholera, typhoid, meningitis and acute respiratory infections. The rates of outbreaks of these infections are higher in a crowded area of residence as compared to the area which has a lower population. Water pollution is common in areas with poor living standards. The often poor and reckless methods of disposing of industrial waste - negligent discharge into watercourses, or open dumps, which often pollute water and soil - are a serious threat to environmental health. As a result of this water bodies and resources have become contaminated by microorganisms e.g. Salmonella typhi which has resulted in infectious disease such as typhoid. Water may also be contaminated by toxins and poisonous chemicals that can be fatal to both human and animal health. Due to overcrowding and the high number of people that consume the contaminated water the rate of spread of these infections have increased (Gifford, 2012). Air pollution, especially in industrialized areas of the city, is also very common. Gasses emitted from factories and even dusty environments created by the existence of a high number of people have to lead to an increase in respiratory disease in these residential areas. Such common infections include pulmonary diseases such as asthma. A dense population will also effect public health facilities available as the number of patients are high and therefore increased ease by which germs can spread in healthcare environments. In emergency situations, the number of nosocomial infections is typically high. Decreasing overcrowding through the provision of enough healthcare facilities and ensuring proper organization of the Management services should, therefore, be a top priority (Booth Caroll, 2016). People in overcrowded areas are more susceptible to fire risk because of stuffy living conditions. Once a fire outbreak has occurred it is very difficult to stop it because belongings are piled next to each other that can easily catch fire. Since these people are poor, their houses are also made up of cheap materials that are susceptible to fire. Purchase and access to fire extinguishers are also a major barrier to fire safety (Gifford, 2012). People living in poor living standards have a poor eating habit something that can negatively affect their health. This because they are not able to obtain decent foods. Another factor could be that most of them do not care about their bodies and hence no need to be keen on whatever they eat. Eating food with low nutritional status might lead to malnutrition especially in children. Some of this population eat a lot of fatty food resulting in obesity. Hazard and exposure assessment Here were are going to determine whether the issues identified above have the ability to pose a risk to the health of an individual or a population. Pollutants and their derivatives can have harmful effects by altering, through their interaction, molecules essential to the biochemical or physiological processes of the human body. Three factors affect the degree of toxicity of these substances: their chemical and physical properties, the dose of pollutants that reaches key tissue areas, and the response of these tissues to the pollutant. Health effects of air pollutants may also vary among demographic groups; Young people and the elderly, in particular, are often sensitive to their deleterious effects (Krieger Higgins, 2002). People with asthma or other respiratory or cardiac conditions may experience aggravation of their symptoms if they are exposed. Water pollution is a major health concern for people in densely populated areas and poor living conditions. This is because polluted water can be a medium by which many infectious organisms spread to the general population. The main short-term health risks associated with water are infectious. They come from the presence of micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites). The effects are usually mild (digestive disorders, mycoses) but may prove more important (hepatitis, leptospirosis, typhoid, cholera, legionellosis). (Krieger Higgins, 2002). For long-term risks, the symptoms depend on the dose and duration of exposure. Developed diseases often have a chemical origin: lead poisoning, arsenic, mercury, chromium, nitrate, hydrocarbons that are present in water. With water contamination, the general population may be hardly hit by the health risks but children under the age of five years are likely to suffer more because of their low immunity hence can develop infectious symptoms faster than the adults. Infectious diseases are a single common cause of children morbidity and mortality these days (Booth Caroll, 2016). Fire and accidents The occurrence of fire in a living setup has the most painful experience of all dangers. Uncontrolled fire outbreaks can kill many people. It also can cause several severities of injuries in individuals. Fire victims often over-bleed leading to loss of large amounts of body fluids and if emergency treatments are not given the patient may lose his or her life. A fire victim may also lose part of his or her body becoming disabled, increasing dependence on an already poor population (Lucas, 2016) .Accident mainly results from poor infrastructure and designing and building of the living units where quite often they fall injuring a large number of people. The injured patients suffer a lot of pain and emotional stress. Most people also lose their lives through these accidents. The spread of infectious diseases is facilitated by a population in a dense area. When people are crowded, it means the relative distance between there is also reduced hence contagious diseases such tuberculosis are easily spread. In densely populated areas if an individual is suffering from tuberculosis the infection can spread very fast since it spread by air. (Krieger Higgins, 2002). Eating food with low nutritional status deny the body of important molecules for its normal functioning hence one is prone to fall sick. Eating high fatty foods lead to obesity which predisposes one to several diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. This, therefore, is a pathway in which diseases enter into one's systems. Some health risk factors are directly related to the provision of health services by the relevant authorities, and the impacts of neglect of these duties have been summarized in the table below (Gifford, 2012). Problems related to the provision of health services Risk for the health Garbage not collected Presence of pathogens in waste, vectors of diseases (mainly flies and rats) that reproduce or feed in garbage, fire hazards, pollution of waterways Insufficient quantity or quality of water Diarrhea, trachoma, infectious dermatoses, lice infections, other infections caused by the consumption of unwashed foods Lack of sanitary facilities Infections of the digestive and oral pathways (diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever), intestinal parasites, filariasis Absence of sewer Accidents (floods, landslides, house collapses), infections of the digestive and oral tracts, schistosomiasis, diseases transmitted by mosquitoes (malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever), filariasis at Wuchereria bancrofti Workers whose immediate or extended work environment is not adequately provided with such services are exposed to many occupational hazards. Those who work to provide services or to maintain urban infrastructures, such as garbage collectors and sweepers, are all the more exposed. Also, insufficient health services to all people living in the crowded regions may make an individual miss an opportunity to be medically be attended to thereby leading to exacerbation of their diseases. This can lead to long term suffering to these patients (Gifford, 2012). Risk characterization is used to give health risk incidence in a given population under study. The mostly affected group by infectious diseases in these settlements are children under the age of five considering they have lower immunity as compared to those of adults. Although it is evidenced that the general population is also commonly affected, the percentages are high in these children. Immune compromised patients such as those living with HIV/AIDS also have higher chances of getting infections form the microorganisms. This is because the ability of their bodies to fight off infections are reduced, and hence they can be easily attacked by the pathogens and cause infections. (Krieger Higgins, 2002). Fire and accident incidences Incidences of fire are not very common as there can be three fire evidence in half a year but when this occur many people lose their lives, stuff and a lot of suffering are experienced. Fire incidences have however been related to smoking as it was revealed during the assessment that the main cause of these fires was from smokers. Accidents experienced as a result of the poor housing and building plans were surprisingly many. Sometimes a house would fall with people inside causing the death of many. This is because of poor building plans and overcrowding in a building especially the story buildings beyond its capacity. (Lucas, 2016). This is most common among those of lower socioeconomic classes who cannot afford pure water for cooking and drinking. They are therefore forced to use the cheaper option of the water that is freely available which in many cases is contaminated with infectious pathogens. The virulent pathogens are only common in these populations who suffer from various diseases (Booth Caroll, 2016). This is mainly common among those who work in the industries and those who live near industries that emit their wastes into the environment. The impacts of air pollution are also directly associated with the period that one has been in the area of pollution. It was realized that people who had stayed for more than five years in the area or have worked in the industries for more than three years had a high exposure to the damaging effects of the pollutants. The nutritional imbalance has the greatest effect on young children. This is because young children require food nutrients to strengthen their immune systems. The absence of these important molecules in their food will lower their immune systems predisposing them to several infections and diseases. (Krieger Higgins, 2002). Risk management plan The following recommendations are put forth to help in solving the health-related risks in the dense and poor living conditions in Melbourne city. The local government should formulate policies to ensure that landlords adhere to building rules put in place to enhance the safety of the tenants. Factors to be considered when putting up a building should include; The prevention of domestic problems includes the adoption of measures at different stages of the provision of housing: Location (safe and disease-free) i.e. should be away from unhygienic areas to prevent the spread of pathogenic infections. Housing design (spaces with sufficient dimensions and climate protection, use of non-perishable building materials, adequate protection of equipment) - adequate protection and use of non-perishable materials in the building will prevent it from catching fire easily. Construction (prevention of construction defects); ensure unscrupulous contractors are dealt with according to the law. Maintenance (satisfactory inspections and controls of the equipment, etc.) inspections are important in helping to identifying fault equipment e.g. fire extinguishers and replaced (Lucas, 2016). The local government should put up an effective sewerage system to prevent contaminating water meant for human and animal consumption. The construction of disposal sites (containment) for hazardous products is relatively expensive. Each site should be carefully selected to prevent pollution of surface water and major aquifers (groundwater). Each site must be designed and constructed with impermeable barriers to prevent contamination of soil and groundwater. These barriers usually consist of a thick plastic wrap which is placed on a layer of compressed clay. In reality, a barrier is used to delay breaks and slow infiltrations that always occur but are acceptable insofar as they do not cause accumulation and do not seriously pollute groundwater. The spatial distribution of the population, land use restrictions, transportation costs and ecological concerns of society are all pressures to find a solution to the economically viable disposal of hazardous wastes. As a result, there is increasing interest in methods such as source reduction, recycling, chemical neutralization and the development of safe disposal facilities for hazardous wastes. The first two solutions are aimed at reducing the amount of waste produced. Chemical neutralization reduces the toxicity of the waste and can transform it into more easily manipulated solids. As much as possible, it is better to carry out this operation at the place where the waste is produced to limit the volume of waste to be moved. For residual waste, well-designed facilities are required, using the best techniques for processing and packaging chemicals (Booth Caroll, 2016). The government can partner with other stakeholders and build more health facilities to the people. The presence of a well-equipped health facility that is accessible to all is a big step forward in trying to solve the issues of health risks. Public health should be promoted considering different aspects e.g. though hand washing after visiting a toilet can help in reducing the chances of the outbreak of several infectious diseases. The government should provide clean water to these citizens and decongestion done by putting up better housing units. Better housing leads to better health care, and a healthy nation will have enough human resources to steer its growth and development (Lucas, 2016). Conclusion To give a summary of the assessment it has been determined that several factors impart health risks in populations of people living in a crowded, poor conditions in the inner-city apartments of Melbourne city. The factors include increased the risk of infections among others. The government has been seen to have a big role to play in ensuring these health risk factors are put in control. This they can do by partnering with other stakeholders and controlling how building are put up in these areas to ensure its citizens are secure. The government should, therefore, put long-term goals to enable achievement of better housing and healthcare for all socio-economic status not-with-standing. References Bansal, R. K., Saxena, D. M. (2002, April). Overcrowding and health. 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