Introduction
Late in 2019, news of contagious diseases in the Chinese city of Wuhan spread across the globe. “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” is the official name of this illness. The disease is also known as “COVID-19” and “coronavirus” in public. On January 20, 2020, a laboratory-confirmed the first case in the country, and on January 22, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control received a case report (Sheehan & Fox, 2020). Since then, there have been 4,542,579 cases reported in the country, and 152,870 fatalities have been linked to the illness or its symptoms (Sheehan & Fox, 2020). These figures are rising every day. In March, federal and state regulations were implemented to protect the public from the pandemic, including the closure of some government facilities, public gathering places like concerts, exhibitions, and carnivals, and the requirement that masks be worn in public. The role of this article is to discuss the impact of COVID-19 as it is an agent of air pollution and the policies surrounding it.
Environmental and Policy Issues
In the modern world, there are numerous laws and environmental concerns that have an impact on healthcare. One of the crucial issues that policymakers and implementers must address is the air pollution policy. Many significant air pollution regulations affect public health. This essay aims to present a policy overview of air pollution as a significant hindrance to the environment and public health. The report will outline the air pollution policy problem, submit a problem statement, look at ways to reduce air pollution, and assess how it will affect healthcare delivery systems.
Description of the Policy Health Concern
Numerous air contaminants are exposed to by millions of Americans who live in different urban areas, leading to both acute and chronic ailments. Most American families, who are low-income and reside in crowded places, are subject to various detrimental impacts of air pollution. The inhabitants of these densely populated areas in several big cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are frequently adjacent to companies that produce a lot of harmful airborne pollutants that finally fill the air they inhale. Breathing clean air should be considered a fundamental human right, according to the American Public Health Association (APHA) (APHA, 2022), and strict action must be taken by the appropriate authorities to protect American citizens who live in cities from the effects of air pollutants that are a public health concern.
Although the quality of the air that Americans breathe has improved in some areas of the country, most of the general public continues to live in cities where the air does not satisfy the World Health Organization’s (WHO) standards for a healthy environment (APHA, 2022). To lessen the detrimental effects of pollution on public health, American communities must adhere to the prescribed air quality index. Ebi and Hess (2020) claim that air pollution has been directly connected to several respiratory disorders and indirectly through its role in climate change, ultimately leading to a wide range of issues.
Problem Statement
The United States has achieved significant progress in the fight against air pollution by lowering air contaminants that degrade air quality. However, localized susceptibility to dangerous air pollution is still rife in large urban centers. This raises significant environmental and public health issues. Minority groups, disproportionately low-income households, are more sensitive to the negative consequences of air pollution in their urban homes, including the elderly, pregnant women, and young children. To address the public health issues related to air pollution, such as the growth in childhood asthma cases, there is a need to exercise total control following the Clean Air Act of 1970 at both the state and federal levels.
Furthermore, a study conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published in 2015 found a higher risk of cancer among people who live in urban areas (Rothstein, 2020). Additionally, it should be noted that ozone depletion has been linked to air pollution, raising concerns for both the environment and public health. Moreover, global warming, a massive problem with the climate that has been made worse by the continued increase in emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon (IV) oxide, has also increased the frequency of heat waves and flooding (Tabari et al., 2020). Thus, public health and environmental issues have been brought about by climate change.
Methods for Reducing the Detrimental Effects of Air Pollution on Public Health
In reducing human activities that cause air pollution, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is essential. To lessen the negative environmental and public health consequences, the government must implement several policies through the EPA. As an illustration, the government must put strategies to enhance air quality, including increasing funding to the EPA to aid in policy implementation and developing technologies that monitor the air quality index. This would aid data analysis regarding the current conditions and changes in the air quality index over time.
The federal government must give increased financing for EPA research and developments top priority through the US Congress. The EPA’s efforts to enhance the air quality index were impeded by a decrease in budgetary allocations between 2010 and 2016 (APHA, 2022). The EPA needs funding to pursue research and developments that can significantly boost the technologies used in healthcare programs (Sheehan & Fox, 2020). These include the programs meant for air purification and being able to determine their success rates to continue running important initiatives following the Clean Air Act.
Community-scale air toxics is a crucial air quality effort that has to be examined and researched adequately in the quest for a comprehensive understanding of air pollution at the molecular level. According to several evidence-based studies, little is known regarding local-scale exposure to airborne toxin components (APHA, 2022). In rural areas near industries, air quality monitors must determine how air pollutants impact the community (Tabari et al., 2020). The number of hazardous emissions, particularly mobile source air toxic emissions (MSAT) from motor vehicles, must be monitored at the community level.
Climate change and air pollution are closely related to one another. The melting of glaciers in the polar areas is caused by the greenhouse effect, which is caused by airborne pollutants like carbon (IV) oxide, ammonia, and aerosols, among many others (Mary Beth Zeni, 2021). Significant temperatures, which frequently result in sunburns and skin cancer, or extreme flooding may be the outcome, both of which pose threats to the general public’s health. In addition, the government must safeguard marginalized people residing in densely populated areas from disease outbreaks and other health issues associated with the unfavorable impacts of air pollution on climate (Mary Beth Zeni, 2021). Therefore, the government must implement policies to expand the Affordable Care Act to guarantee that more vulnerable populations living in pollution-prone areas receive insurance coverage for medical care (ACA).
Impact on the System for Delivering Healthcare
Numerous instances exist where air pollution has harmed healthcare delivery systems. Asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and abnormal births are just a few health issues that air pollution has made more common among American citizens (APHA, 2022). Families with low incomes have been disproportionately impacted since they frequently lack access to healthcare due to a lack of health insurance (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). The US has been forced to increase its spending on personal initiatives to reduce air pollution by investing in personal protective equipment like masks to prevent exposure to ambient air pollutants and their place of employment (Rothstein, 2020). This is because of several healthcare issues brought on by air pollution.
Conclusion
The healthcare system in the United States and worldwide is challenged by air pollution in terms of both the environment and public health. The WHO has set a minimum air quality index for healthy living, which is used to assess the safety of the air we breathe. Air pollution is a problem for public health since it contributes to several respiratory illnesses. Through the release of greenhouse gases, air pollution has been connected to global warming as an environmental issue. While policies are in place to lessen the harmful impacts of air pollution, other approaches need to be investigated. For instance, the US Congress must raise the EPA budget to continue the number of air pollution control programs it had previously started but had to cease owing to a lack of financing. Government spending on health will rise, placing pressure on other industries. The financial burden of numerous illnesses driven by air pollution has also driven families to dig further into their pockets. Additionally, healthcare facilities have.
References
APHA. (2022). APHA criticizes Supreme Court ruling’s “disturbing impact” in fight against COVID. Www.apha.org. Web.
Mary Beth Zeni. (2021). Principles of epidemiology for advanced nursing practice: A population health perspective. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133–141. Sagepub. Web.
Rothstein, M. A. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic: Public health and American values. SSRN Electronic Journal. Web.
Sheehan, M. C., & Fox, M. A. (2020). Early warnings: The lessons of COVID-19 for public health climate preparedness. International Journal of Health Services, 50(3), 264–270. Web.
Tabari, P., Amini, M., Moghadami, M., & Moosavi, M. (2020). International public health responses to COVID-19 outbreak: A rapid review. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 45(3), 157–169. Web.
