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2nd Edition of Achieving Environmental Health Equity: Great Expectations
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2nd Edition of Achieving Environmental Health Equity: Great Expectations

A topical collection in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This collection belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

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Editors

Prof. Dr. Timothy E. Ford

E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences, Center for Pathogen Research & Training (CPRT), University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA
Interests: environmental microbiology; community-based participatory research; water and health; waterborne disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Margaret J. Eggers

E-Mail Website
Co-Collection Editor
Microbiology and Cell Biology Department, Montana State University Bozeman, PO Box 173520, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Interests: tribal environmental health; drinking water quality; drinking water insecurity; community-engaged research; cumulative risk assessment; environmental health impacts of climate change; environmental health workforce development; mentoring Native American students in STEM fields

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to invite you to consider contributing to this Topical Collection and 2nd Edition on Achieving Environmental Health Equity: Great Expectations.

To the rationally minded, it has long been obvious that environment and human health are intricately linked, and that there are vast disparities in individual, community, and population environmental health risks. These disparities are heavily influenced by socio-economics, geography, occupation, government policies, and many other exacerbating factors, such as conflict and climate change. In the last decade or so, funding agencies have recognized the importance of addressing health disparities in improving community and population health, and reducing the economic burden of poor health. In the US, centers of excellence have emerged (e.g., NIMHD’s U54 program), and global health centers and institutes that include health disparities in their mandates created. However, how does this help us to achieve environmental health equity, and is this even remotely possible? A mining community, whether in Appalachia or the Witwatersrand, will always face greater environmental health challenges than wealthier communities that can afford access to clean air and water.

The premise of this topical collection is that we can do more to move closer toward environmental health equity through reducing disparities, and that there are many “lessons learned” to be shared by and with communities that face these disparities—urban, peri-urban, and rural. Invariably, these “lessons” are community-driven, and therefore, community leadership and engagement should be a major focus in addressing health disparities. Papers describing studies in which community–academic partnerships reduce environmental health risks in sustainable ways are encouraged, but also research that realistically outlines the challenges community–academic collaborations are facing is welcome. We encourage submission from as broad a range of international community and research groups as possible, representing a wide diversity of communities and their environmental health risks. The goal is to compile a sufficient number of these papers into an online resource to inform future work in this critical area of environmental health.

Prof. Dr. Timothy E. Ford
Dr. Margaret J. Eggers
Collection Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • health equity
  • community engagement
  • CBPR
  • disparities
  • environmental health
  • environmental justice
  • inequalities
  • marginalized communities
  • health risks

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

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2023

Jump to: 2022, 2021

20 pages, 2894 KiB  
Article
Impact of Population Aging on Carbon Emissions in China: An Empirical Study Based on a Kaya Model
by Hua Xiang, Xueting Zeng, Hongfang Han and Xianjuan An
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1716; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031716 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1963
Abstract
As the world’s largest developing country, China is facing the serious challenge of reducing carbon emissions. The objective of this study is to investigate how China’s aging population affects carbon emissions from the production and consumption sides based on an improved Kaya model. [...] Read more.
As the world’s largest developing country, China is facing the serious challenge of reducing carbon emissions. The objective of this study is to investigate how China’s aging population affects carbon emissions from the production and consumption sides based on an improved Kaya model. The advantage of the Kaya model is that it links economic development to carbon dioxide generated by human activities, which makes it possible to effectively analyze carbon emissions in relation to the structure of energy consumption and human activities. Based on different energy consumption structures and technological innovation levels, a threshold effect model is constructed. The results show that: (1) There is an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between population aging and carbon emissions in China. (2) Energy consumption structure and technological innovation thresholds can be derived for the impact of population aging on carbon emissions, with thresholds of 3.275 and 8.904 identified, respectively. (3) Population aging can reduce carbon emissions when the energy consumption structure does not exceed the threshold value. (4) There is no significant intervention effect of technological innovation on the relationship between population aging and carbon emissions. Based on the research results, some countermeasures and suggestions to reduce carbon emissions are proposed. Full article
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2022

Jump to: 2023, 2021

14 pages, 12328 KiB  
Article
Analyzing the Spatial Equity of Walking-Based Chronic Disease Pharmacies: A Case Study in Wuhan, China
by Yue Liu, Yuwei Su and Xiaoyu Li
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010278 - 24 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1972
Abstract
Chronic diseases place a substantial financial burden on both the patient and the state. As chronic diseases become increasingly prevalent with urbanization and aging, primary chronic disease pharmacies should be planned to ensure that patients receive an equitable distribution of resources. Here, the [...] Read more.
Chronic diseases place a substantial financial burden on both the patient and the state. As chronic diseases become increasingly prevalent with urbanization and aging, primary chronic disease pharmacies should be planned to ensure that patients receive an equitable distribution of resources. Here, the spatial equity of chronic disease pharmacies is investigated. In this study, planning radiuses and Web mapping are used to assess the walkability and accessibility of planned chronic disease pharmacies; Lorenz curves are used to evaluate the match between the service area of the pharmacies and population; location quotients are used to identify the spatial differences of the allocation of chronic disease pharmacies based on residents. Results show that chronic disease pharmacies have a planned service coverage of 38.09%, an overlap rate of 58.34%, and actual service coverage of 28.05% in Wuhan. Specifically, chronic disease pharmacies are spatially dispersed inconsistently with the population, especially the elderly. The allocation of chronic disease pharmacies is directly related to the standard of patients’ livelihood. Despite this, urban development does not adequately address this group’s equity in access to medication. Based on a case study in Wuhan, China, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating the spatial equity of chronic disease medication purchases. Full article
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24 pages, 3965 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Ecological Protection Compensation Policy Based on PMC Index Model
by Shengli Dai, Weimin Zhang and Linshan Lan
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10227; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610227 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2695
Abstract
As a comprehensive benefit coordination mechanism, ecological protection compensation has received increasing attention internationally. China has also introduced a series of policies to promote ecological protection compensation mechanism improvement. The evaluation of ecological protection compensation policies is the main basis for the formulation, [...] Read more.
As a comprehensive benefit coordination mechanism, ecological protection compensation has received increasing attention internationally. China has also introduced a series of policies to promote ecological protection compensation mechanism improvement. The evaluation of ecological protection compensation policies is the main basis for the formulation, adjustment and improvement of the policy. Based on the front-end perspective of policy formulation, this paper selects 10 ecological protection compensation policies issued by the State Council and various ministries in China from 2006 to 2021. A text mining-based PMC index evaluation system using the ROSTCM tool is constructed to quantitatively evaluate these 10 typical policies, and four representative policies are selected for comparative analysis. The overall design of China’s ecological protection compensation policies is reasonable, and 5 out of 10 policies have good PMC index scores, which are: P1, P2, P5, P7 and P9; and 5 are at acceptable levels, which are: P3, P4, P6, P8 and P10. However, the PMC surface and the concavity index indicate that there are still some limitations that need to be improved, including the obvious internal differentiation of the policies, the single effectiveness of the policies, and the insufficient incentive and guarantee measures. Finally, this paper provides suggestions for the optimization of ecological protection compensation policies accordingly. Full article
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25 pages, 3344 KiB  
Article
Exploring Environmental Health Inequalities: A Scientometric Analysis of Global Research Trends (1970–2020)
by Sida Zhuang, Gabriele Bolte and Tobia Lakes
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7394; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127394 - 16 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2889
Abstract
Environmental health inequalities (EHI), understood as differences in environmental health factors and in health outcomes caused by environmental conditions, are studied by a wide range of disciplines. This results in challenges to both synthesizing key knowledge domains of the field. This study aims [...] Read more.
Environmental health inequalities (EHI), understood as differences in environmental health factors and in health outcomes caused by environmental conditions, are studied by a wide range of disciplines. This results in challenges to both synthesizing key knowledge domains of the field. This study aims to uncover the global research status and trends in EHI research, and to derive a conceptual framework for the underlying mechanisms of EHI. In total, 12,320 EHI publications were compiled from the Web of Science core collection from 1970 to 2020. Scientometric analysis was adopted to characterize the research activity, distribution, focus, and trends. Content analysis was conducted for the highlight work identified from network analysis. Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analysis were applied to identify the knowledge domain and develop the EHI framework. The results show that there has been a steady increase in numbers of EHI publications, active journals, and involved disciplines, countries, and institutions since the 2000s, with marked differences between countries in the number of published articles and active institutions. In the recent decade, environment-related disciplines have gained importance in addition to social and health sciences. This study proposes a framework to conceptualize the multi-facetted issues in EHI research referring to existing key concepts. Full article
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21 pages, 4083 KiB  
Article
Building Environmental Health and Genomics Literacy among Healthcare Providers Serving Vulnerable Communities: An Innovative Educational Framework
by Kathleen Mead Vandiver, Esther Erdei, Amanda G. Mayer, Catherine Ricciardi, Marcia O’Leary, Kathleen Burke and Judith T. Zelikoff
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 929; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020929 - 14 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2878
Abstract
This study addresses healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits in environmental health and genetics, and primarily focuses on student nurses and nurses serving marginalized, low-income communities frequently exposed to environmental toxicants. Our approach to improve public health is unique, combining hands-on modeling exercises with case-based [...] Read more.
This study addresses healthcare providers’ knowledge deficits in environmental health and genetics, and primarily focuses on student nurses and nurses serving marginalized, low-income communities frequently exposed to environmental toxicants. Our approach to improve public health is unique, combining hands-on modeling exercises with case-based lessons in addition to three targeted 40 min lectures on toxicology. These lectures included the team’s community-based environmental health research among Indigenous peoples of the U.S. The hands-on approach employed DNA and protein molecular models designed to demonstrate normal and dysfunctional molecules, as well as genetic variants in world populations. The models provided learners with visuals and an experience of “learning by doing.” Increased awareness of the effects of environmental toxicants is the first step toward improving health care for exposed communities. We measured knowledge gains by pre- and post-tests among student nurses and nurses serving Native Americans living both in urban and rural areas of the U.S. (n = 116). The modeling lessons illustrated genetic variants in liver proteins common in Native peoples and their resulting health vulnerabilities. Participants were engaged and enthusiastic; and pre- and post-test results reported substantial knowledge gains and a greater understanding of genetic susceptibility (p < 0.0001). Our study demonstrates the utility of this framework across diverse populations and remote communities. Full article
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2021

Jump to: 2023, 2022

15 pages, 545 KiB  
Article
Impact of Environmental and Health Risks on Rural Households’ Sustainable Livelihoods: Evidence from China
by Wei Wang, Chongmei Zhang, Yan Guo and Dingde Xu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(20), 10955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010955 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2878
Abstract
China has entered a “post-poverty alleviation” era, where the achievement of sustainable livelihoods by farmers has become a focus. This study used the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database, which was constructed based on an analysis of the DFID sustainable livelihood framework, and [...] Read more.
China has entered a “post-poverty alleviation” era, where the achievement of sustainable livelihoods by farmers has become a focus. This study used the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database, which was constructed based on an analysis of the DFID sustainable livelihood framework, and built a sustainable livelihood index system for farmers using the entropy weight method to measure the weights of sustainable livelihood indexes and calculate a sustainable livelihood index. This study used the Tobit model to discuss the impacts of different types of risk on the achievement of a sustainable livelihood by farmers. The results showed that environmental risk, chronic disease risk, and major disease risk all had significant negative impacts on the ability of farmers to achieve a sustainable livelihood. The impacts of major disease and chronic disease risks on the achievement of a sustainable livelihood by farmers living in plain areas were stronger than those associated with environmental risk. In China, the environmental risks were complex and diverse and were the most important factors that affect the achievement of a sustainable livelihood by rural households in mountainous areas. Chronic disease risk was also an important adverse factor that affected the achievement of a sustainable livelihood by rural households in mountainous areas. Full article
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