Browsing by Author "Hannelly, Toni"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- How can Environmental Health Practitioners contribute to ensure population safety and health during the COVID-19 pandemic?Publication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Vieira Da Silva, Manuela; Erett, Nicole A.; Gayle, Davis; Lynch, Zena; Dhesi, Surindar; Hannelly, Toni; Mitchell, Graeme; Dyjack, David; Ross, Kirstin E.The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the relevance of public health professionals all over the world, in particular Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs), who played a major role in the containment of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. However, as in past disasters, their involvement was oriented towards urgent tasks, and did not fully utilize EHPs’ competences and skills. Additionally, due to limited resources, during emergencies EHPs may temporarily transition away from their day-to-day role, potentially increasing other public health and safety risk factors without appropriate surveillance or intervention.
- International environmental health skills, knowledge, and qualifications: Enhancing professional practice through agreements between countriesPublication . Ross, Kirstin E.; Dyjack, David T.; Choonara, Adam; Davis, Gayle; Dawson, Henry; Hannelly, Toni; Lynch, Zena; Mitchell, Graeme; Ploompuu, Inga; Rodrigues, Matilde A.; Shaw, LindsayEnvironmental health is practiced primarily at the local level; however, many of the skills held by environmental health practitioners (EHPs) are transferable globally. There is currently a shortage of EHPs in many parts of the world and formally recognizing the transferability of skills and knowledge within the profession might encourage people to consider environmental health as a profession, helping to address the shortage. To facilitate this transferability, our global community of practice has mapped the environmental health practice requirements of the U.S., UK, and Australia to enable comparison of each one to the others and demonstrate the level of similarity in practice requirements. Our ultimate goal is to facilitate memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between the various professional bodies that oversee environmental health practice, which would allow qualif ied EHPs to practice in any of these countries. This flexibility would benefit the profession, professional practice, and individuals. MOUs are a way to recognize the similarities and di†erences between practices in these countries and provide pathways to address di†erences when they exist, such as via short courses and work experience. We present data to illustrate our argument that there is much overlap in the practice of EHPs. We see our research as a first step to engage with professional bodies in other countries and to facilitate MOUs between many countries, both to raise the profile of environmental health globally and to provide an attractive pathway for people to consider environmental health as a profession.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and environmental health: Lessons learnedPublication . Dyjack, David T.; Choonara, Adam; Davis, Gayle; Dawson, Henry; Hannelly, Toni; Lynch, Zena; Mitchell, Graeme; Rodrigues, Matilde A.; Shaw, Lindsay; Ross, Kirstin E.Environmental health is historically an overlooked and underrated discipline. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of environmental health and environmental health professionals (EHPs). EHPs have a unique set of skills and knowledge that were, or could have been, signifi cant in controlling the pandemic. This skill set includes a thorough understanding of legislation and regulations; the ability to conduct human health risk assessment and implement effective risk-control measures; enforcement, communication, and education skills; and a signifi cant understanding of their own local communities. The opportunities for applying the skills of EHPs vary across the world depending on several factors, including legislative and regulatory frameworks in each jurisdiction. Here we present our early evaluation of the unique skills and knowledge base of EHPs and lessons that can be learned from EHP engagement in public health protection. We also argue that local knowledge and engagement need to be recognized as valuable tools in emergency preparedness. In our increasingly globalized world, mechanisms to maintain and value local knowledge are needed, which could be achieved by embedding the “value of local” into policy to ensure that the importance and value of local knowledge are captured. We also advocate for raising awareness of the value of public health, and specifi cally, environmental health.