Application: Applying Theories to Global Occupational and Environmental Health
Thus far in this course, many different theories have been used to address widely varied health problems. Climate change is one example of a global environmental issue that can affect human health in a surprising variety of ways: aiding in the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria, creating conditions that lead to potentially fatal malnutrition and diarrhea in large populations, and increasing the likelihood of heat waves and floods. Think about the myriad ways behavior change theories have been used to try to ameliorate the damage done to Earth's environment. If you have switched to reusable shopping bags, stopped buying bottled water, or started using energy-saving light bulbs, there is a behavior change theory that could be applied to the process by which you changed your practice.
For this Assignment, you choose a theory presented in the course and apply it to a global environmental or occupational health problem.
The Assignment (6-7 pages):
• Provide an overview of the problem and region you selected.
• Summarize pertinent data about the problem and the affected population (e.g., incidence and prevalence rates, fatality rates, demographics of population[s] at highest risk, risk factors).
• Select and briefly summarize a theory to apply to this problem.
• Provide a rationale for your choice of this theory for this problem.
• Apply constructs of the theory to the problem then explain how you would use these constructs to select an intervention.
• Explain the strengths and limitations of the theory as it relates to the problem you selected.