201321 Rethinking Systems Approach for Waterborne Disease Prevention

Wednesday, November 11, 2009: 11:15 AM

Mansoor A. Baloch, PhD , Environmental Health Services Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
To understand the environmental antecedents of waterborne disease outbreaks and to implement an integrated prevention strategy in the wake of new challenges posed by climate change, current land use practices, and emerging/re-emerging diseases, it is necessary to consider and examine the watershed system. The watershed system is based upon the movement of water in response to topography and the hydrological cycle. The health of the watershed system may help to identify the environmental antecedents of waterborne disease outbreaks. Understanding the link between watershed health and environmental public health helps us to comprehend the interconnectedness of pollution, resource degradation, and disease through the identification of sources, pathways and risk factors. Watershed systems approach highlights the necessity of source protection and the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders such as farmers, industries, and local communities as well as local, state, and federal agencies. This subsequently leads to the creation of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams in the effort to prevent waterborne disease.

Learning Objectives:
List major current and future challenges to environmental public health in the wake of climate change, emerging/re-emerging diseases and land use practices. Demonstrate the need for redefining the systems approach for the prevention and investigation of waterborne disease outbreaks. Define the boundaries of a system for waterborne disease outbreak prevention and investigation. Identify watershed systems as basic spatial units for the management and mitigation of climate change impacts on public health. Describe the role of watershed processes that directly or indirectly affect the quality of water and increase the risks for/of waterborne disease outbreaks. Evaluate a healthy watershed strategy as an effective tool for the prevention of waterborne disease outbreaks. Assess the watershed systems approach for effectiveness or efficacy in outbreak prevention, establishing stakeholder partnerships, and eliciting community participation.

Keywords: Water Quality, Sustainability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Academic Research, Peer Reviewed Publications, Professional Experience
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.