[Environmental health: concepts and activities]

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Public Health
• Environmental Management

Background:

• Defining the concept of
• environment
• is crucial for understanding environmental health.
• Environmental health is examined within the broader context of environmental issues, including
• green
• and
• blue
• components.
• Existing definitions of environmental health, including the World Health Organization (WHO) 1993 definition, are reviewed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a conceptual framework for systematizing environmental health institutions.
• To clarify the scope and components of environmental health.
• To develop a common language for describing environmental health activities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis and synthesis of existing definitions and areas of environmental health.
• Development of a matrix model categorizing activities into determining factors, processes, and roles.
• Proposal of operational rules and a symbolic language for describing environmental health activities.

Main Results:

• Identification of three core components within environmental health: determining factors, processes, and roles.
• Construction of a matrix for systematically describing environmental health services' activities.
• Development of an algebraic approach for precise description and aggregation of activities.

Conclusions:

• A structured framework and symbolic language can enhance intercommunication, teaching, and research in environmental health.
• Systematization of environmental health activities through a matrix model improves clarity and precision.
• The proposed framework facilitates the organization and management of institutions dedicated to environmental health.