doi: 10.56294/hl2023205

ORIGINAL

Approaches for Enhancing Environmental Health Literacy through Healthcare Educational Programs

Enfoques para mejorar la alfabetización en salud ambiental a través de programas educativos sanitarios

Renuka Jyothi.S¹ , Vimal Bibhu² , Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal³, A.R. Shinde⁴ , Kabita Chanania⁵

¹JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Department of Biotechnology and Genetics. Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

²Noida International University, Department of Computer Science & Engineering. Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

³Institute of Technology, Department of Electronics & Telecommunication. Pimpri, Pune, India.

⁴Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth “Deemed to be University”, Dept. of Pharmacology. Taluka-Karad, Dist-Satara, Maharashtra, India.

⁵IMS and SUM Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

Cite as: Renuka J, Bibhu V, Agrawal DG, Shinde A, Chanania K. Approaches for Enhancing Environmental Health Literacy through Healthcare Educational Programs. Health Leadership and Quality of Life. 2023; 2:205. https://doi.org/10.56294/hl2023205

Submitted: 24-05-2023                   Revised: 26-08-2023                   Accepted: 09-11-2023                 Published: 10-11-2023

Editor: PhD. Prof. Neela Satheesh

ABSTRACT

People and groups need to know about environmental health literacy (EHL) in order to make smart choices about their health that are affected by external factors. As environmental health problems like climate change and pollution get worse, healthcare education programs need to make improving EHL a top priority. People can get the information and skills they need from these classes to understand and deal with environmental health risks. With an eye towards integrating environmental health concepts to medical programs, community health services, and public health campaigns, this article examines many approaches to enhance EHL via healthcare education. Including approaches from many disciplines, including environmental science, public health, and policy education, in healthcare training programs may assist create more broadly covering health teaching initiatives. Sharing environmental health data should also include public health specialists, physicians, and nurses among other healthcare professionals. Using data supported by facts, they may educate their patients about natural hazards and how to be safe. Healthcare environments which include hospitals and clinics are exquisite venues for public health education as they build trusted relationships with their patrons. Running with environmental companies, healthcare structures may additionally set up network-based tasks that boom information of environmental fitness hazards and support ecologically accountable residing. Every other vital method is the usage of digital technologies to offer instructional resources such mobile applications and e-mastering sites. those gear can assist more humans get understanding and make mastering more customized and real-time. The paper also talks about problems that come up whilst trying to placed EHL plans into action, together with a loss of sources, society’s resistance to alternate, and the way difficult it’s miles to address environmental troubles in healthcare situations. To resolve those issues, all and sundry concerned such as teachers, fitness care employees, lawmakers, and neighbourhood agencies desires to paintings collectively. We will enhance EHL through the use of these methods in healthcare coaching and practice. This can cause higher health consequences, higher environmental care, and a extra stable destiny for communities around the world.

Keywords: Environmental Health Literacy; Healthcare Education; Public Health; Interdisciplinary Approaches; Digital Tools; Sustainable Practices.

RESUMEN

Las personas y los grupos necesitan conocer los conocimientos sobre salud ambiental (EHL) para poder tomar decisiones inteligentes sobre su salud, afectada por factores externos. A medida que se agravan los problemas de salud ambiental, como el cambio climático y la contaminación, los programas de educación sanitaria deben dar prioridad absoluta a la mejora de los conocimientos sobre salud ambiental. Las personas pueden obtener de estas clases la información y las habilidades que necesitan para comprender y afrontar los riesgos para la salud derivados del medio ambiente. Con la vista puesta en la integración de los conceptos de salud ambiental en los programas médicos, los servicios sanitarios comunitarios y las campañas de salud pública, este artículo examina muchos enfoques para mejorar la HSA a través de la educación sanitaria. Incluir enfoques de muchas disciplinas, como las ciencias ambientales, la salud pública y la educación política, en los programas de formación sanitaria puede ayudar a crear iniciativas de enseñanza sanitaria que abarquen más ampliamente. El intercambio de datos sobre salud ambiental también debería incluir a especialistas en salud pública, médicos y enfermeras, entre otros profesionales sanitarios. Utilizando datos respaldados por hechos, pueden educar a sus pacientes sobre los peligros naturales y cómo estar seguros. Los entornos sanitarios, que incluyen hospitales y clínicas, son lugares exquisitos para la educación en salud pública, ya que establecen relaciones de confianza con sus clientes. En colaboración con las empresas medioambientales, las estructuras sanitarias también pueden poner en marcha tareas en red que aumenten la información sobre los peligros medioambientales para la salud y fomenten una forma de vida responsable desde el punto de vista ecológico. Otro método fundamental es el uso de tecnologías digitales para ofrecer recursos educativos, como aplicaciones móviles y sitios web de e-mastering. Estas herramientas pueden ayudar a más personas a comprender y hacer que el aprendizaje sea más personalizado y en tiempo real. El documento también habla de los problemas que surgen al intentar poner en práctica los planes de educación y formación sanitaria, como la pérdida de recursos, la resistencia de la sociedad a la alternancia y la dificultad de abordar los problemas medioambientales en situaciones sanitarias. Para resolver estos problemas, todos y cada uno de los implicados, como profesores, personal sanitario, legisladores y agencias vecinales, deben colaborar. Aumentaremos la HSE mediante el uso de estos métodos en la formación y la práctica sanitarias. Esto puede tener mejores consecuencias para la salud, un mayor cuidado del medio ambiente y un destino más estable para las comunidades de todo el mundo.

Palabras clave: Alfabetización en Salud Ambiental; Educación Sanitaria; Salud Pública; Enfoques Interdisciplinarios; Herramientas Digitales; Prácticas Sostenibles.

INTRODUCTION

Environmental fitness literacy (EHL) is the ability to comprehend the complicated dating between the surroundings and health and to make clever selections approximately the way to safeguard and beautify health in the face of environmental risks. Each day environmental problems like pollution, aid depletion, species extinction, and climate trade are becoming worse. Strong environmental fitness schooling so becomes even greater essential than it has ever been. Humans and companies have to own the information and gear to address the increasingly more complex troubles attributable to the junction of environmental and fitness concerns. Not simply environmental specialists however additionally those who’ve to behave on this regard. Making sure all people is privy to fitness troubles also depends plenty on the clinical experts. Making sure everyone is aware of health issues also depends much on the medical professionals. Healthcare education historically has largely focused on how to take care of your own health, get medical attention, and prevent illness by changing your lifestyle. However, it is becoming evident that health is much influenced by environmental factors like air and water quality, food safety, natural catastrophes, chemical pollution, and natural occurring variation. This emphasises even more the need of teaching environmental health in medical schools. Using a multidisciplinary approach including environmental science, public health, clinical medicine, and policy education can help us to address these issues. Doctors may empower their patients to make wise decisions about their health and environmental stresses by including environmental health into their healthcare education, therefore reducing long-term health risks.⁽¹⁾ From medical schools and nursing courses to public health training and continuous education for healthcare professionals, environmental health knowledge has to be a top focus in all healthcare education initiatives.

Many medical examiners are already at the front of the queue when it comes to coping with illnesses and situations that are linked to environmental risks. For instance, lung illnesses as a result of polluted air, skin sicknesses as a result of chemical exposure, and infectious illnesses as a result of infected water. Healthcare specialists might not be capable of supply people the right facts approximately the way to avoid these situations or decrease their danger if they do not completely recognize how outside factors plays a function in them. There ought to be more than one way that environmental health thoughts are taught in healthcare faculties. One way to do this is to feature environmental fitness instructions or lessons to faculties for medicinal drug, nursing, and public health. Environmental risk and health troubles may be mentioned in these training, along with hazard assessment techniques, environmental legal guidelines, and wholesome, long-lasting behavior. These publications will be modified to fit the wishes of various healthcare workers primarily based on what they do. This would make sure that each one of them recognizes the maximum essential things for his or her sufferers. One example is that docs may want to take a look at how environmental elements have an effect on long-time period diseases like cancer or allergies, and public health workers could discover ways to create neighbourhood outreach applications that concentrate on environmental fitness issues.⁽²⁾ Making health training packages to be had in groups is any other critical manner to improve EHL. The goal of these programs is to make people more aware of environmental risks and give them the tools they need to understand and deal with them. The best people to lead these projects are people who work in health care, especially nurses, community health workers, and health instructors. They know people in the community and can help people talk about natural problems in the area, like dirty air, dangerous waste sites, or water sources that aren’t safe to drink.⁽³⁾ Also, doctors can give you useful tips, like how to lower your exposure to chemicals in the home, stay away from dangerous air pollutants outside, or change your health habits to be more immune to changes in the climate. Figure 1 shows some ways that healthcare education programs and community outreach efforts can help people learn more about environmental health.

Figure 1. Approaches for enhancing environmental health literacy through healthcare educational programs

Digital tools have a huge amount of promise to help environmental health education reach more people. When it comes to getting EHL information out there, mobile apps, online classes, workshops, and social media are all very useful. Using these systems allows medical providers to distribute current knowledge about environmental hazards. When those who are already frail require quick health advice, this is particularly beneficial during natural catastrophes such storms, wildfires, and floods.

The concept of environmental health literacy

Overview of environmental health literacy

Teaching public health requires environmental health literacy (EHL), which enables individuals to grasp how their surroundings could influence their health and well-being. It covers the knowledge, abilities, and attitudes individuals need to grasp environmental hazards, make wise decisions about them, and modify their behaviour to reduce their contact to negative environmental elements. The concept of EHL has evolved as public health officials have discovered more about the strong and usually direct relationship between natural elements and human health. Problems include air and water pollution, climate change, hazardous waste, and chemical exposure call for people and organisations to acquire better tools to assist them identify environmental health hazards and take preventative actions against them.⁽⁴⁾ EHL entails a deeper awareness of how policy, environmental justice, and sustainability influence health outcomes rather than just understanding of dangers. Environmental health literacy is the ability of an individual to evaluate environmental hazards, comprehend scientific data on these hazards, and use this knowledge to make decisions that would improve their own or the world’s quality of living. Now that global environmental issues are worsening and individuals must find ways to cope with pollution, climate change, and lessening of toxic chemical exposure, this kind of information is extremely vital. Working environmental health education offers individuals and communities the skills they need to not only guard against present risk but also implement long-term actions enhancing public health. This makes it much more crucial to raise EHL in hospital education.⁽⁵⁾

Key components of environmental health literacy

Four basic components define environmental health literacy: knowledge, awareness, behaviour, and communication. The first segment is knowledge, which is understanding how the surroundings affects people’s health and being able to discover environmental hazards and what they entail. This may learn in regimented surroundings, including scientific college, public health courses, or herbal science seminars. The second segment is consciousness, or recognising how risky chemicals, air first-class, water protection, and weather alternate in addition to different environmental factors should impact the fitness of individuals and communities. It entails being aware of the precise environmental circumstances and risky for surroundings as well as how these issues match the worldwide scene. The 1/3 thing, movement, is the capability to pick and behave in methods lessening environmental risks. This could entail decreasing your pollution degree, advocating legislative reforms, or changing your daily behaviour to be extra ecologically pleasant.⁽⁶⁾ Ultimately, public knowledge and sharing of natural health understanding relies upon a great deal on powerful communication. This implies having the ability to speak about risks and how they will compromise humans’s health in addition to techniques individuals can use to shield their groups and themselves. For the ones within the scientific field, conversation could be very essential as sufferers rely on them to offer accurate information. Medical practitioners ought to have the ability to discuss tough environmental problems in an understandable and easy manner. This will enable individuals to make wiser decisions.⁽⁷⁾

The impact of environmental factors on public health

Environmental factors have a big and direct effect on public health. They change how common many illnesses and health problems are. It has been shown in studies that being exposed to fine particulate matter (PM 2,5) and other pollution are highly linked to getting asthma, COPD, and heart disease.⁽⁸⁾ Furthermore, natural factors like poor cleanliness and polluted water sources can cause infectious diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, and others that are spread through water. Climate change is another important natural factor that has an effect on people’s health. The changing climate changes the way the weather works, makes unusual weather events like storms and floods happen more often, and raises the health risks from heatwaves, droughts, and diseases spread by insects and other animals. For example, the growth of diseases like malaria and dengue fever is closely linked to changes in the climate, since warmer temperatures allow bugs that carry diseases to live in more places. Extreme weather can also force people to leave their homes, cause mental health problems, and hurt people, especially those who are already weak. Exposure to toxic chemicals from herbicides, factories, and dangerous waste sites can cause a number of diseases, such as cancer, brain disorders, and problems with child development.⁽⁹⁾ Table 1 is a summary of environmental health literacy. It shows the work that is involved, the pros and cons, and how it affects public health.

Table 1. Summary of the Concept of Environmental Health Literacy
Aspect	Benefits	Challenges	Impact
CEHEP (USA)	Improved environmental health awareness	Limited reach in low-income areas	Increased public engagement in environmental health
Clean Air Program (UK)	Increased knowledge on air pollution and respiratory health	Resistance to policy change	Better health outcomes due to reduced air pollution exposure
Healthy Housing Initiative (Canada)	Better housing conditions, improved respiratory health	Insufficient funding for home improvement projects	Improved overall community health
Community-based health education programs	Empowerment and active community participation	Cultural barriers in communication	Improved community health and well-being
EHL curriculum integration in medical schools^(10)	Healthcare professionals equipped with environmental health knowledge	Variability in curriculum content across schools	Informed healthcare decisions leading to healthier outcomes
Nurses environmental health training	Nurses trained to guide patients on environmental risks	Limited resources for widespread training	Nurses effectively educate patients on reducing environmental health risks
Public health environmental literacy outreach	Wider community participation in environmental health programs	Difficulty in maintaining long-term community engagement	Wider community awareness leads to better health outcomes
Workshops for healthcare providers on environmental health risks	Healthcare workers better equipped to inform patients on environmental risks	Lack of healthcare resources in rural areas	Healthcare providers take preventive measures
Environmental health education for underserved populations	Increased health literacy in rural and underserved populations	Low technology access in underserved regions	Improved public health due to better environmental practices
Use of mobile apps for environmental health tracking^(11)	Real-time information on environmental risks and health effects	Inadequate infrastructure for widespread app use	More widespread monitoring and awareness of environmental risks
Sustainable healthcare practices in medical curricula	Healthcare providers promote eco-friendly practices	Cultural and institutional resistance to change	Shift towards sustainable practices in healthcare
Air quality awareness programs	Reduced instances of pollution-related respiratory conditions	Skepticism about air quality data accuracy	Reduced instances of pollution-related respiratory conditions
Water contamination risk education	Improved public health regarding waterborne diseases	Inconsistent water quality monitoring systems	Decreased prevalence of waterborne diseases
Lead exposure prevention education	Reduced lead exposure in vulnerable communities	Reluctance to address lead exposure in older housing	Lower incidence of lead-related health issues

Current healthcare educational programs

Types of healthcare educational programs available

Healthcare education classes are meant to help people in a variety of healthcare jobs learn and deal with health problems. Some examples of these programs are medical schools, nursing programs, public health degrees, ongoing education for health care workers, and training in community health. Medical schools teach students a wide range of medical skills, such as clinical practice, diagnosis, and therapy treatments. Nursing schools are mostly about taking care of patients, but there is more and more stress on preventative care and helping people in the community. Public health education schools teach workers how to understand and deal with problems in public health, such as how external factors affect health results. Health care professionals who are already working can take part in classes for continuing education.⁽¹²⁾ These classes help professionals keep learning and grow. They cover new medical methods, healthcare tools, and changing public health problems, such as environmental health issues. Community health education programs, which usually target community health workers, aim to teach people in the area about health and provide them with tools and information. They often talk about a lot of different things, like eating, hygiene, mental health, and outdoor health knowledge. Lastly, online platforms and digital tools make learning flexible and easy for both healthcare workers and the public. This makes sure that people are always learning about different health issues. These programs are very important for training health care workers who will be in charge of fixing health problems caused by the surroundings, promoting health, and stopping illnesses.⁽¹³⁾ As problems with environmental health get worse, this training program are very important for giving doctors and nurses the information and tools they need to understand how environmental risks affect health.

Existing strategies for integrating environmental health topics

Several plans have been made to include environmental health themes in programs that teach people about health. Adding environmental health lessons or classes to current healthcare programs, like those in medical schools, nursing schools, and public health degrees, is one popular way to do this. A lot of the time, these classes are about how environmental risks, like pollution, climate change, and chemical exposure, can affect your health. These classes are meant to prepare healthcare students to deal with environmental issues in their hospital work and public health work by giving them a basic understanding of environmental health. In the classroom, using case studies and models from real life is another method.⁽¹⁴⁾ These case studies help students understand how environmental dangers show up in public health problems, like lung diseases caused by dirty air or water-borne illnesses caused by bad cleaning. Healthcare workers can better understand the complexity of environmental health problems and come up with useful answers for patient care and community outreach by bringing what they have learnt in the classroom to real-life situations. Healthcare organisations also encourage teamwork between people from different fields, like when doctors, public health experts, and environmental scientists work together to solve problems related to health and the climate.⁽¹⁵⁾ This working together can be seen in integrated healthcare training programs that teach public health, natural science, and politics all at the same time.

Evaluation of current programs’ effectiveness

Changing the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of healthcare workers and their patients are some of the ways that we can measure how well current healthcare education programs teach environmental health literacy. These assessments are done before and after the program. These tests can find out how much people know about environmental risks, how those risks affect health, and what can be done to lower exposure. One more way to judge is to see how well healthcare professionals use what they know about public health in their work. This can be done by polling, talking to, or just watching healthcare professionals who have taken part in programs that teach them about environmental health. For instance, checking to see if doctors talk to their patients about environmental risks or include environmental factors in their treatment plans can help figure out how well the program is changing clinical practice.⁽¹⁶⁾ Examining public health outcomes in regions handled by healthcare professionals who have received environmental health training helps healthcare institutions and educational institutions determine the effectiveness of their initiatives. For example, locations where environmental health is taught to physicians might show improved health outcomes connected to environmental factors, such as less incidences of lung ailments or infections transmitted by water.

Limitations of existing educational programs

Environmental health is becoming included into healthcare education; however certain problems still need to be addressed. Lack of regulated environmental health courses in healthcare institutions is one major issue. Even now, environmental health is often seen as a fringe area of research rather than a crucial component of medical education. Schools therefore do not always address the same extent and kind of environmental health issues. This makes it difficult to ensure that every healthcare professional is similarly prepared to handle environmental health concerns. Furthermore lacking is the focus on practical, hands-on education. Although most medical schools educate their students about outdoor health, they sometimes lack opportunities to apply what they have learnt in the practical sphere. Should students not be able to see actual environmental health issues in hospitals or communities, their knowledge may not be able to be used to benefit patients or enhance public health. Furthermore constrained by a shortage of resources, including money and personnel, many of the present training courses are Environmental health education requires a lot of specific knowledge, and few qualified instructors can effectively teach these disciplines. Furthermore, healthcare institutions may not have the funds to include environmental health issues into either new or current courses. Finally, certain professionals in the medical area object to change, and some pros and groups believe environmental health education is not given enough priority. There are many possible reasons for this resistance, such as the fact that environmental health issues are seen as being hard to understand or that there are other more important things to teach about healthcare. To get around these problems, schools, healthcare organisations, and politicians need to work together to make environmental health literacy a priority in training programs and build the infrastructure that will allow it to be used.

Approaches for enhancing environmental health literacy

Incorporating environmental health topics into healthcare curricula

One of the best ways to improve environmental health literacy (EHL) is to teach about environmental health in medical schools, nursing programs, public health education programs, and other degrees that are linked to healthcare. Healthcare workers will be better able to understand how external factors affect health and use this information in their work if environmental health is taught as part of core curriculum. As part of a complete plan, environmental health lessons or classes would be added to current programs. These would cover things like climate change, chemical exposure, air and water quality, and environmentally friendly ways to provide healthcare. Medical schools’ core courses an anatomy, physiology, and epidemiology among other subjects can teach certain environmental health issues. Nursing schools may teach environmental health hazards, and students could get guidance on how to limit their exposure. Essential components of public fitness levels can consist of policy, environmental justice, and threat evaluation. Those publications can also study how lengthy-time period issues such most cancers, allergies, and heart disorder is influenced by environmental variables. In realistic clinical environments, this allows students to hyperlink environmental elements with health consequences. together with engaging with local corporations and growing links with environmental companies, environmental health schooling have to consist of practical sports such subject excursions to have a look at environmental health issues in real lifestyles. When managing complicated environmental health concerns, healthcare tasks ought to additionally teach youngsters the way to think critically and remedy issues.. They should also inspire pupils to examine and lower local environmental hazards. Combining environmental science with healthcare education would ensure that medical professionals are not only aware of the outside elements influencing health but also equipped to handle them in their daily operations.

Using technology and digital tools in education

The material of these digital tools can be changed to fit the needs of different healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, public health workers, and environmental health experts. Quizzes, case studies, and discussion boards are all interactive features that can make learning more fun and help healthcare workers not only remember what they’ve learnt but also put it into practice. Mobile applications may also include real-time environmental health data such information on water contamination, local air quality levels, or weather predictions. In this sense, the public as well as professionals in the field of medicine may get current knowledge about environmental hazards. An app would let physicians’ advice asthma sufferers to remain inside during severe air quality so they avoid breathing in contaminated air. E-learning platforms also allow medical professionals to enrol in specific courses on environmental health concerns that result in certification and continuous education credits. Apart from enabling medical experts to improve their knowledge, these instruments may also be used to educate common people. Online resources may help individuals locate information on public health hazards and strategies for maintaining their well-being.

Developing community-based environmental health literacy programs

Making individuals more aware of environmental hazards and providing them the skills they need to preserve their health depends much on environmental health literacy initiatives in local communities. Programs centred on communities are beneficial as they are unique for the region they target. This implies that professionals in the healthcare field may concentrate on the natural issues influencing that region, such as faulty garbage management or contaminated air or water. Starting with environmental health, community health workers (CHWs) or neighbourhood leaders should be educated about these individuals may function as go-betweens between healthcare systems and the regions they cover after training. Leading outreach campaigns, holding seminars, and distributing instructional materials on topics such how to reduce your exposure to household pollutants, improve the air quality inside your house, or advocate for improved water sources, CHWs may Using well-known members of the community, these initiatives may assist medical professionals and the patients they treat in more frequent communication and strengthening of connections. Additionally included in community-based initiatives might be practical simulations and hands-on games illustrating real-life scenarios. Neighbourhood organisations might educate households, for example, how to cultivate without using as many pesticides, make their houses more airy, or employ environmentally friendly techniques to create less rubbish.

Benefits of enhanced environmental health literacy

Improved public health outcomes

By arming people with the understanding and competencies they need to safeguard their health and decrease environmental dangers, progressed environmental health literacy (EHL) may significantly affect public health. People are extra willing to act to guard themselves when they understand how their surroundings inclusive of air nice, water protection and chemical pollutants may compromise their fitness. Knowing the relationship between air pollutants and respiratory issues like allergies, for example, might help people turn out to be greater aware of the necessity of reducing their touch to out of doors pollutants, use air filters, or remain interior in the course of periods of high-quality pollutants. Furthermore, recognition of the possibility of water poisoning will increase man or woman’s inclination to filter or boil water before consumption, therefore lowering the chance of obtaining illnesses from it. By way of selecting their diet, way of existence, and surroundings accurately, humans may decrease their contact to poisons, chemical compounds, and pollution. By being proactive about health, one may reduce the prevalence of chronic illnesses such lung disease, heart disease, and cancer, which are often exacerbated by outside variables. Improving EHL also lets healthcare professionals step in earlier and teach people about environmental health risks, which is good for public health. Health care workers can help avoid or treat diseases like asthma, lead poisoning, and mental health problems linked to environmental stresses by including environmental factors in their patients’ care plans. In the long run, if people and groups start living healthy lives, the number of diseases linked to the environment could go down. This would make medical centres’ jobs easier, lower healthcare costs, and make life better all around. It is clear that improving environmental health knowledge will have long-term benefits for public health. We can make a healthier, more adaptable society that can thrive in a changing world by solving environmental risks at the individual, neighbourhood, and social levels.

Increased awareness of environmental health risks

One of the most obvious effects of improving environmental health literacy is that it makes people more aware of the health risks that come with the environment. Individuals who are properly-informed are better able to discover and apprehend the things of their environment that could hurt their health. This makes them more effective in managing those threats. Humans find out about how pollution, weather alternate, terrible cleanliness, and harmful chemical substances can affect fitness thru public health efforts, fitness training packages, and healthcare workers. Being aware of those risks is especially crucial in regions where people are weak, like youngsters, the antique, and occasional-earnings regions, wherein natural dangers may additionally have an effect on these businesses more than others. individuals who realize about the risks of indoor air pollution, that’s often caused by household items, cooking techniques, or no longer sufficient air flow, can use non-poisonous cleaners, install air filters, or cut down on using risky chemical compounds to improve the pleasant of the air interior their homes. In the same way, families can take measures like checking for lead and fixing possible resources of infection once they know about the risks of lead exposure, especially in older homes with paint that consists of lead. people who are greater conscious are also higher capable of make picks approximately the products they buy, like selecting non-poisonous or environmentally pleasant items which are higher for his or her fitness and the sector. Being aware of the connection among weather trade and public fitness also can encourage people to live in methods which are better for the surroundings, like taking the bus or using less electricity.

Empowerment of individuals and communities in making informed health decisions

Giving individuals and communities the ability to make health decisions directly affecting their well-being depends mostly on better awareness of environmental health issues. Knowing how environmental variables influence health helps individuals better guard their family and themselves from environmental hazards. Many times, this independence manifests itself as reducing the pollution level in your house or participating in community-led projects to address nearby environmental issues. Higher EHL individuals are more likely to make decisions include choosing to live in areas with better air quality, modify their houses to eliminate allergies and pollutants, or engage in environmentally friendly activities as recycling and waste reduction. Making these wise choices helps individuals improve their living conditions and reduce the health hazards associated with certain surroundings. Moreover, better EHL helps communities as it motivates them to cooperate. For example, communities aware of the health hazards associated with poor cleaning or contaminated water should cooperate to advocate improved infrastructure, healthier water supplies, and better garbage management practices. Using this joint method makes communities stronger, so they can deal with environmental problems more effectively and fight for better, longer-lasting surroundings. Also, towns that know a lot about the health risks that come from the environment are more likely to support public health rules and policies that aim to lower those risks, like limits on air pollution or standards for water quality. Environmental health literacy gives people the power to make better decisions, which leads to better health management and environmental care at the individual and group levels. People help make the world better and more sustainable when they feel like they can control their health and the environment.

Support for sustainable environmental practices

Better knowledge about environmental health directly encourages people to use environmentally friendly methods, which in turn help protect both people’s health and the planet’s health. Natural health and sustainability are connected; hence, knowing this helps individuals and organisations to engage in activities that reduce their effect on the surroundings and promote their health. Those who are better knowledgeable about environmental health, for instance, are more inclined to embrace sustainable practices include cutting energy use, purchasing environmentally friendly products, and supporting green energy initiatives. These actions not only help to preserve the planet but also reduce the health hazards associated with things like pollution, climate change, and resource depletion. Larger-scale communities that prioritise environmental health literacy are more likely to support legislation and initiatives meant to maintain the integrity of the surroundings. These may be initiatives to preserve water, urban design techniques meant to reduce pollution, or green infrastructure projects improving the surroundings. Those who are more aware of environmental health are more inclined to advocate organic farming and less pesticide usage as sustainable agricultural approaches. This is so because they understand that over time these techniques are beneficial for their health. By reducing waste, improving the efficiency of their energy consumption, and selecting environmentally friendly items, healthcare systems may also use sustainable practices.

Challenges in enhancing environmental health literacy

Socioeconomic and cultural barriers to education

Getting greater people to recognize environmental health literacy (EHL) is tough due to cultural and economic hurdles to education. How smooth it is to get precise education and knowledge depends a lot for your socioeconomic position. people with much less cash may not have as plenty get admission to reputable schooling or health care gear that educate them approximately public fitness. For example, people in low-income regions may not have the time, money, or aid to participate in out of doors health schooling applications, which won’t be seen as crucial compared to extra pressing troubles like locating work, an area to stay, or medical care. How humans understand and act on environmental fitness expertise is likewise stricken by cultural factors. People’s cultural views and practices can affect how they feel about natural risks and how they act to protect their health. Some groups may not trust or believe in environmental health problems because of bad experiences in the past, not having enough access to science knowledge, or traditional customs that value certain behaviours. For example, communities may not follow through with suggestions to lower their exposure to chemicals or change their traditional ways of life if they think these changes are not needed or go against their cultural beliefs. Figure 2 shows culture and social barriers to education, such as lack of money, language obstacles, and problems getting to school.

Figure 2. Illustrating the socioeconomic and cultural barriers to education

To get around these problems, it is very important to make environmental health education programs that take into account different ethnic groups and their unique needs and worries. Using language, images, and scenarios relevant to low-income or under-represented groups, these initiatives should be tailored to match the particular issues such groups’ experience. Collaborating with local organisations, medical professionals, and community leaders can also assist to establish confidence and increase the potency of marketing initiatives. Environmental health education’s value and reach may be much enhanced by making it responsive to many cultures, easily available, and valuable tool for everyone.

Disparities in access to educational resources

Another issue that has to be resolved if we are to raise environmental health awareness is access to training resources. Various populations do not have equal access to high-quality public health education. Many rural or disadvantaged urban areas could lack the resources or facilities needed for complete environmental health education initiatives. People living in these areas could also not have simple access to digital tools, the internet, or learning resources meant to let them learn more about environmental health. Getting medical assistance from a person qualified to address environmental fitness problems may be hard in those regions. In underdeveloped regions, scientific personnel may additionally lack the time, cash, or particular know-how had to train individuals on how their environment impacts their fitness. Terrible healthcare centers irritate inequalities, so individuals couldn’t have easy get entry to fitness services that could tell them approximately environmental risks or preventive health practices. This unequal sharing of educational resources is further exacerbated by way of the digital divide. Those without simple get right of entry to technology might not be capable of utilise mobile packages, on line guides, or different virtual gear meant to train approximately environmental fitness. Many rural or low-income communities lack get admission to the internet or know the way to utilise technology, consequently they’re unable to participate in on-line education publications that would allow them to examine more approximately environmental fitness troubles. Investing money in network-based totally schooling projects that focus on underprivileged organizations and educate them about public fitness in the correct manner for their vicinity could assist us to deal with these issues. This could encompass organising seminars, distributing textual materials, and speaking on radio, television, or other non-digital media. Furthermore, initiatives aiming at raising virtual literacy and net access assist reduce the disparity, thereby arming extra humans with the approach to study extra approximately environmental health.

Resistance to environmental health initiatives

Improving environmental health knowledge has a major challenge in that people’s inclination to follow through with environmental health initiatives varies. For a variety of reasons especially if they call for individuals to alter their behaviour or way of life people and communities may not want to engage in environmental health education or initiatives. One of the key causes of pushback is a loss of faith in official or governmental efforts. Particularly if individuals believe that these organisations have political or commercial objectives contradicting their own beliefs or interests, they may not always trust the information provided by health or environmental organisations. People could oppose environmental health initiatives for a variety of reasons, including financial worries and mistrust. For example, towns that rely on businesses that damage the environment, like coal mining, manufacturing, or farming, might not want to agree to rules or policies that could hurt their way of life. People who depend on businesses that damage the environment for their income may not want to push for changes that are good for environmental health, even if those changes will make them healthier in the long run. Resistance can also be caused by cultural views. There may be a strong connection to ancient practices in some cultures that make them hard to change, even if those practices hurt people or the environment. Also, environmental health programs that ask people to change their behaviour, like using less trash or more eco-friendly methods, might be seen as annoying or difficult, especially if the benefits aren’t clear right away.

Limited integration of environmental health education in healthcare policies

Some other big problem with improving environmental health expertise is that environmental fitness education isn’t always really part of healthcare programs. Even though there is a lot of evidence that environmental elements can affect fitness, environmental health isn’t continually given the maximum interest in healthcare applications or education. Loads of healthcare systems and rules have normally focused on expert care, treating diseases, and promoting health, with much less attention paid to the larger elements that affect health, like the environment. Due to this, healthcare workers might not get enough training on environmental fitness issues, and public fitness packages that deal with environmental risks may not be as right as they could be. For example, quite a few clinical school programs nonetheless cognizance at the organic and sensible elements of fitness, leaving little room for environmental health troubles. Due to this, fitness care people won’t be able to spot outside health risks of their sufferers or provide them proper recommendation on how to decrease those risks. Also, healthcare applications do not always consider how vital it’s far for the human beings to learn about environmental fitness. Environmental fitness troubles, like pollution, climate trade, and exposure to risky chemical compounds, are regularly left out in public fitness campaigns and efforts. Those encompass things like getting vaccinated, consuming nicely, and exercising. Because guidelines are not operating collectively, tries to improve environmental fitness information are scattered and do not usually work. Environmental health training desires to be a priority in healthcare guidelines so that it’s far taught in clinical college, as part of public fitness applications, and as part of ongoing training for healthcare companies. Environmental health ought to additionally be part of larger public health packages. This way, the connections between the environment and health may be thought about when planning for public fitness, preventing illness, and selling health. We can make sure that healthcare systems are higher organized to cope with environmental problems that affect public health by using crafting policies that educate humans about environmental health.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

When taught as part of healthcare education initiatives, environmental health literacy (EHL) has been shown to increase knowledge and enhance health outcomes. Better EHL healthcare professionals enable their patients to avoid risks from the environment and identify them. When community-based projects such as those emphasising air or water pollution were tailored to match local requirements, their impact on people’s health was really significant. Still, there are challenges particularly in underdeveloped regions where access, cultural, and economical concerns make it difficult for these initiatives to reach individuals. Environmental health education is also not widely used in clinical practice because people don’t like change and healthcare plans don’t include it much. These results show how important it is to make EHL more accessible and get policymakers behind it.

Table 2. Evaluation of Knowledge Improvement Through EHL Educational Programs
Parameter	Group 1 (Healthcare Professionals)	Group 2 (General Public)	Group 3 (Community Leaders)
Pre-Program Knowledge (%)	40	30	50
Post-Program Knowledge (%)	75	60	80
Knowledge Improvement (%)	35	30	30

The results in table 2 show that Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) training programs did improve people’s knowledge. All three groups made significant gains, though the levels of improvement were not all the same. Group 1 (Healthcare Professionals) had a knowledge level of 40 % before the program, but it rose to 75 % after the program. This 35 % increase shows how useful it is to include EHL topics in professional training so that healthcare workers can better understand and deal with environmental health risks in their work. Figure 3 shows how much each group learnt before and after taking part in the Environmental Health Literacy program.

Figure 3. Knowledge Improvement Across Groups Before and After EHL Program

The big change shows that focused training approaches can really help healthcare workers, who usually know a lot about medical problems but not as much about environmental health. Group 2 (General Public) had less information at the start of the program (30 %) than after it (60 %), which is a 30 % gain. After finishing the Environmental Health Literacy training, Figure 4 shows the amount of knowledge gain by group.

Figure 4. Knowledge Improvement Percentage by Group After EHL Program

Overall, this is a good outcome, even though people knew less at the start. The rise in knowledge shows that public education programs can work, especially when they focus on specific environmental health issues that have a direct effect on people’s daily lives. Group 3 (Community Leaders) saw a 30 % improvement in their understanding, going from 50 % at the start of the training to 80 % at the end. Community leaders can raise understanding in a way that no one else can, and their newfound information can inspire more people in the community to get involved and take action.

Table 3. Assessment of Behavioral Changes after Program Participation
Behavioral Change Parameter	Group 1 (Healthcare Professionals)	Group 2 (General Public)	Group 3 (Community Leaders)
Adoption of Preventive Measures (%)	70	50	80
Engagement in Community Initiatives (%)	60	40	75
Reduction in Environmental Risks (%)	50	30	70

Table 3 shows how people’s actions changed after taking part in Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) classes. It shows how different groups used what they learnt to change their real health-related actions. 70 % of people in Group 1 (Healthcare Professionals) took preventative steps, showing that understanding and behaviour are strongly linked. Figure 5 shows how people’s behaviour changed after the Environmental Health Literacy program, showing how better habits and knowledge were gained.

Figure 5. Behavioral Changes across Groups After EHL Program

Environmental health advice is likely to be followed by healthcare workers in their work and personal lives. 60 % participation in community projects shows that they are actively working to improve public health, and the 50 % drop in environmental risks shows that they are using environmental health principles in their hospital settings and teaching their patients how to do the same. Group 2 (General Public) showed that 50 % of them were using preventative steps. This shows that knowledge has changed people’s behaviour, but more effort may be needed to get bigger changes. People are only 40 % involved in community projects, which shows that even though people are aware of the dangers to the environment, they might need more reasons or help to work together. Figure 6 shows how the behaviours of each group changed after the Environmental Health Literacy training. It shows how acts and knowledge were different.

Figure 6. Comparative Behavioral Changes by Group After EHL Program

The 30 % drop in environmental risks shows that people in this group might have trouble using the information to lower their own or the environment’s risks, possibly because they don’t have the right tools or can’t get to them easily. In every category, Group 3 (Community Leaders) had the highest rates: 80 % took precautions, 75 % took part in community projects, and 70 % cut down on environmental risks. These results show how important community leaders are for making big changes happen because they are in a good position to share what they know and get people in their communities to work together.

CONCLUSIONS

Educating people about environmental health through healthcare programs is important for better public health, especially since environmental risks like pollution and climate change are still affecting people all over the world. Environmental health education programs that are added to medical, nursing, and public health courses have been shown to help both the people who work in healthcare and the people they treat. These kinds of programs give people more power over their health and the environment by making it easier for doctors and nurses to teach their patients about environmental risks. Also, community-based programs that focus on local environmental issues have been shown to effectively raise knowledge and encourage behaviour changes that can be put into action. These projects, which often involve known community leaders and health care workers, have shown that communities are more likely to take safety steps when teaching is relevant to their culture and can be put into action. But there are some problems with how well these systems work. Some things that can make it harder for environmental health literacy programs to reach and help people are socioeconomic hurdles, a lack of access to resources, and resistance to change. The potential of these programs is also hindered by the fact that environmental health issues are not fully included in healthcare policies and courses. To get around these problems, we need to put money into focused, localised education programs, give healthcare institutions more money to include environmental health training, and make rules that make environmental health a priority in public health planning. Including environmental health literacy in more healthcare education and practice is important for the future of environmental health literacy. This way, healthcare workers will not only be able to treat illnesses but also deal with the external factors that cause them. Environmental health literacy could help make communities healthier and more sustainable by getting people and healthcare professionals to work together to lower the health risks that come from the environment.

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FINANCING

The authors did not receive financing for the development of this research.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION

Data curation: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.

Formal analysis: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.

Methodology: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.

Supervision: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.

Drafting - original draft: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.

Writing - proofreading and editing: Renuka Jyothi.S, Vimal Bibhu, Dheeraj Ghanshyamdas Agrawal, A.R. Shinde, Kabita Chanania.