Problem and Model
The problem of water scarcity has been actively discussed by the public for the last several decades. However, due to the issues that the global climate change has provoked, water scarcity and drought have become a serious problem for some of the states in the US. Changes that currently happen to the Earth’s temperature can cause further and more severe droughts, as well as dryness of soils and “inadequate supplies of surface waters” (National Center for Environmental Health, 2010). Freshwater available for use and drinking is a minimal percentage of the Earth’s water and, therefore, a rare resource that should not be wasted. Reuse and recycling of water can contribute to collection and distribution of freshwater (National Center for Environmental Health, 2010).
Ecological model in environmental public health is an approach that stresses issues both on population and individual levels. This model aims to focus on public issues, but at the same time, it also regards various health determinants of individuals in a community. Ecological model is used to understand health determinants of communities and societies and to design specific multilevel interventions (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2015). Ecological model also points out that different factors at different levels might influence health behaviors.
Multiple Levels of Influence
Multiple levels of influence that the ecological model specifies are “intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy levels” (Glanz et al., 2015, p. 48). Intrapersonal and interpersonal levels can contribute to the problem in different forms, e.g. a house owner or two neighbors might decide to collect and use rainwater for non-potable aims. Organizational level contributes to the problem by launching specific programs that focus on water scarcity, i.e. Fresh Water Day, Water Scarcity Day, etc. These programs can be developed by schools and organizations, increasing awareness of the problem among students and employees.
To address the problem at the community level, residents of a community can create a coalition that will develop a program on water scarcity; this program can foster teenagers’ and young adults’ participation in reuse and recycling of water (Barry & Honoré, 2009). The public policy level can contribute by providing residents with information about public policies that exist in the state and the community and can bring additional help or opportunities to resolve the problem.
Interaction of Levels
While first suggestions can be made at the intrapersonal or interpersonal level, they are often discussed or even implemented at organizational and community levels that are determined by residents. The public policy level can consist of individuals who are capable of presenting other, more influential opportunities on the problem of water scarcity and who interact with individuals from other levels.
Environmental Health Interventions
Water filtration is an important intervention both in rural and urban areas as it can be crucial for citizens’ health. At the intrapersonal level, an individual can use water filters and softeners. At the interpersonal level, individuals can advise each other what filtration systems are safer to use. At the organization level, an organization can buy and provide employees with advanced water filtration system that is too costly for households. At the community level, representatives of a community can organize meetings where water filtration will be discussed. At the public policy level, health departments can organize workshops about additional filtration and consequences that unfiltered water might bring (Rothwell et al., 2010).
Noise exposure is another problem that is often overseen. To decrease the exposure to noise at the intrapersonal level, an individual can sit in a complete silence (if possible) for at least one hour a day. At the interpersonal level, residents can ask loud neighbors to turn off the music at a specific time. At the organizational level, an organization can prohibit loud talking and listen to loud music during the working process. At the community level, community representatives can establish specific rules that concern the hours when listening to loud music or other noisy activities are prohibited (Battersby, 2012). At the public policy level, residents of a community can get familiar with specific public policies that address the problem of noise exposure through the local health department; these policies might help them decrease noise exposure in the community.
Social Cognitive Theory and Environmental Health
The key concepts of social cognitive theory can be applied to environmental health, whereas outcome expectations, as well as self-monitoring and observational learning, might be crucial for improving the environmental health of a community. Moreover, the environment can have a direct impact on one’s behavior, and social cognitive theory addresses the interaction of an individual with the environment they live in (Battersby, 2012). Self-monitoring and observational learning can help residents of a community improve environment-linked practices and activities such as water filtration, water collection, and water recycling; while older residents will monitor their activities and their efficiency, younger residents will understand the importance of these interventions by observational learning.
Conclusion
The ecological model is a powerful tool that can both address and helps resolve specific environmental public health problems at different levels. Combined with other theories, e.g. social cognitive theory, the model can provide effective interventions in rural and urban areas. It is important to answer the following question: at what level does an intervention become especially efficient?
References
Barry, A., & Honoré, H. (2009). Everyday theory: A practical application of the ecological perspective. American Journal of Health Education, 40(6), 368-372.
Battersby, S. (2012). Clay’s handbook of environmental health. London, UK: Routledge.
Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (2015). Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
National Center for Environmental Health. (2010). When every drop counts. Web.
Rothwell, H., Shepherd, M., Murphy, S., Burgess, S., Townsend, N., & Pimm, C. (2010). Implementing a social-ecological model of health in Wales. Health Education, 110(6), 471–489.