Journal of Rural and Remote Environmental Health 2(2): 36-37 (2003) Environmental health: Global initiatives and new analytic approaches

Environmental health and protection plays a vital role in ensuring a “healthy ecological and human environment ” (Kotchian 1997). In this way, it is demonstrably closely linked with public health. Environmental health is also generally regarded as a key core competency area in public health education (ANAPHI 2001), and also noted as a key component of courses in related fields, such as occupational health (Leggat 2001). None-the-less, much of environmental health is perceived to be regulatory and somewhat separate from public health (Kotchian 1997). Because of this increasing regulatory role, environmental health needs to become more analytic in its quest to quantify exposures and estimate the risks to particular populations from environmental hazards to particular populations. New analytic approaches, information technology and modeling, toxicological studies, and risk assessment assist the environmental health professional is meeting this need (Gochfeld and Goldstei