Health & the Environment
The Philippines has an unusually high rate of death from environmental risk factors, accounting for about 22% of the environmental-related diseases worldwide. Factors include:
- pollution (air, water, & soil)
- chemical exposure
- climate change
- ultraviolet radiation
(WHO, 2016)
A triple burden of disease
The Philippines has what is called a "triple burden of disease", meaning it has high prevalence rates of the following:
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Communicable diseases
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Non-communicable diseases
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Natural disasters (some of the highest rates in the world)
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(World Health Organization, 2016).
The devastation from the super typhoon Rai in December 2021.
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(Gutierrez & Acayan, 2021)
Health Promotion
The Philippine Department of Health is coordinating environmental health programs, such as the National Environmental Health Action Plan. This effort emphasizes “water safety, sanitation safety, food safety, chemical safety, air quality management, health impact assessment, occupational health, and climate change”.
(World Health Organization, 2016).
Evidence Based Practice: Implementation Science for WASH
It has long been known that clean water makes a world of impact to health. For years, efforts by organizations like WHO and UNICEF have attempted to deliver this to the populations who lack it, developing the acronym WASH for the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector of health. Yet according to a study by Haque and Freeman, the prevalence of diarrhea and undernutrition remain essentially unchanged in areas where this has been implemented (2021). Haque and Freeman embarked on an evidence-based study to determine how to make WASH last in these environments. According to them, the answer is potentially in implementation science, which evaluates the evidence already gathered around the subject (in this case, water sanitation), and helps apply it through routine practice.
Evidence in many countries shows that the use of implementation science allows for lasting health outcomes, such as near elimination of the use of “lakes, rivers, and unprotected surface water sources for drinking”, as well as using these water sources as toilets (Haque & Freeman, 2021). These changes were established through local water connections, filters, and education programs to the community. Implementation science is the practical, seemingly obvious solution to carrying out what we already know—that clean water saves lives.
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(Haque & Freeman, 2021)