Various environmental issues negatively affect people’s lives. Health issues affect not only a person’s functionality but the healthcare sector, too. For instance, the healthcare sector has been utilizing many resources in handling different health issues, causing a rise in the cost of healthcare access. This essay discusses lead contamination as an environmental health issue, the people affected, the level at which it occurs, data resources on the topic, how current policies address the issue, observed changes, stakeholders necessary for policy change, and its effect on the healthcare delivery system. Understanding lead contamination, including the implications, is beneficial since it will make it easy for people to take better precautions and for the healthcare sector to handle the issue’s impact effectively.
Description of the Health Issue
Lead is a metal that, if ingested, leads to different health implications. A large population handle and come across the lead many times daily. For instance, some paints are made with information. This increases the risk of experiencing severe implications of the problem. There are various ways a person can be exposed to lead, such as by using batteries made with lead, water, and food and through the air. Consuming paint chips and contaminated objects is one of the main ways children are exposed to lead (APHA, 2022). Lead exposure affects the development or growth rate of children. No amount of lead is safe for children. For example, lead exposure among pregnant women increases the risk of miscarriage. Lead exposure also leads to increased costs of healthcare access. Lead exposure increases health complications leading to a high price of healthcare access.
Population Affected and Occurrence Level
Lead contamination is dangerous and affects all populations. Based on some factors, some populations experience more severe implications of lead contamination than others. One population heavily affected by lead is children (APHA, 2022). Children do not have a strong immune system to fight the implications of lead. Lead contamination causes increased mortality among children as compared to adults. Another severely affected population is the elderly. Since the bodies of the elderly are weak, they may develop health complications like kidney failure and heart disease due to high lead contamination. People working and living near mining areas are another population at increased risk of experiencing lead poisoning. Breathing air contaminated with lead is easier when working at a mining center. Lead contamination can lead to lung cancer. Contamination is among the causes of different health issues (Green, 2018). Pregnant women are another group at high risk of suffering severe implications of lead contamination. When a pregnant woman ingests lead, there is a very high risk of losing the baby. Likewise, lead contamination can affect the development of the fetus, causing the birth of an abnormal child. Lead contamination happens at a national level.
Evidence About the Issue
Lead poisoning is among the leading cause of death globally. Approximately one million people die from lead contamination yearly (WHO, 2022). A very high number of children are also exposed to lead daily, which negatively affects their development. Lead contamination leads to health complications like anemia, immunotoxicity, and hypertension. Globally, around 800 million children have a lead level above 5ug/dl. 21.7 million disability cases experienced every year are related to lead exposure. According to WHO (2022), lead contamination accounts for about 2.6% of cardiovascular diseases. Less developed nations and the poor are more affected by lead contamination than developed nations. The poor may need more resources to get lead testing. Blood lead testing helps enhance better decision-making.
How the Current Policies address the Issue
One available policy that addresses the issue is the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The guidelines help healthcare professionals effectively handle the population already affected or those at high risk of lead exposure. For instance, the guidelines help effectively interpret blood lead levels (WHO, 2022). Understanding the health status of a patient enhances quality healthcare delivery. Delivery of supplements is another way that the issue is currently handled. Supplements help enhance a person’s health making it possible to fight diseases and complications (Zhang et al., 2020). Some developed nations offer lead testing. Leading testing helps show the amount of lead in the blood. This helps determine the possibility of experiencing severe implications of lead contamination, such as kidney failure.
Proposed Changes, Steps to Initiate Policy Change, and Necessary Stakeholders
One change I would propose to the existing policy is making supplements accessible. Ensuring that anyone can access the supplements will have a significant impact on the less developed population. The availability of supplements will help reduce the mortality rate (Zhang et al., 2020). The other change would be free access to lead blood screening. Making lead blood screening affordable will make it easy for people to get screened.
One step in initiating a policy change is understanding the policy’s impact (Hudson et al., 2019). The other step involves getting the necessary stakeholders, gathering resources, and initiating the policy. When the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S EPA) initiates a policy change, it involves stakeholders like the government and the organization’s leader. The leaders would educate the staff on the policy, while the government would support the policy where necessary, such as with funds.
Impact on the Healthcare Delivery System
One effect of lead contamination is increased death rates, especially among children (APHA, 2022). High mortality affects the development of a nation. The other impact of the issue is that it is challenging the healthcare sector to put more effort into finding effective interventions. The use of resources making it challenging to attend to a large population is another implication of lead contamination in the healthcare sector. Using resources on one issue will prevent the sector from attending to other issues.
In conclusion, lead contamination can be prevented by implementing effective measures. Preventing lead contamination will help create a better generation free from development problems. The healthcare sector should take up the challenge of developing more effective interventions. Making healthcare services affordable will increase the number of people getting blood lead screening.
References
American Public Health Association (APHA). (2022). Lead contamination.https://www.apha.org/Topics-and-Issues/Environmental-Health/lead-contamination
Green, S. (2018). The environment, policy, and health effectiveness. In Grand Canyon University (Eds.) Community and public health: The future of healthcare (1st ed). https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs427vn/community-and-public-health-the-future-of-health-care/v1.1/#/chapter/4
Hudson, B., Hunter, D., & Peckham, S. (2019). Policy failure and the policy-implementation gap: can policy support programs help?. Policy Design and Practice, 2(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2018.1540378
World Health Organization (WHO). (2022). Lead poisoning. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health#
Zhang, F. F., Barr, S. I., McNulty, H., Li, D., & Blumberg, J. B. (2020). Health effects of vitamin and mineral supplements. BMJ, 369. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2511
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