TM2370:03
Environmental Health in Indigenous Communities
Townsville
50 lectures, 5 tutorials, 10 hours practicals, 5 hours workshops. Intensive block mode.
Available to students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Indigenous Health.
Staff: Dr D Canyon.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers are in a unique position to influence changes at the community level that will contribute to reducing the incidence and impact of environmental health risks in indigenous communities. To do this they need to be informed about the environmental risk factors which currently exist and to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to undertake leadership roles in this area. They require skills and knowledge in the areas of treatment and disposal of liquid and household wastes; maintenance of safe drinking water supplies, food storage requirements, impacts of overpopulation and animal control.
Learning Objectives:
- analyse and discuss the concept/term ‘environmental health’;
- identify environmental health risks that exist in indigenous communities and their impact on the morbidity and mortality rates;
- identify how to safely manage liquid and household wastes;
- identify safe food handling techniques and requirements;
- identify mechanisms for maintaining safe and clean water supplies;
- identify monitoring mechanisms to identify environmental health risks;
- ability to relate to the legislation governing environmental health standards;
- identify mechanisms for promoting environmental standards as they relate to housing and accommodation in indigenous communities;
- conduct an environmental assessment in a community setting to identify appropriate and inappropriate practices;
- identify appropriate reporting mechanisms for notifying environmental health risks;
- design an environmental health program which would be suitable for implementation in an indigenous community setting.
Assessment by participation (10%); reports (20%); workshop (30%); examinations (40%).