New approaches to problem framing in environmental health: application to water

The relationship between human health and water in its many forms illustrates rather well, the greatest contemporary challenge for decision makers in environmental health - how to develop coherent and effective policy in a climate of significant and increasing complexity. In the study of water and health we recognise the types of complexity that emerge for scientists and epidemiologists in assessing and communicating environmental health risk but also the difficulty for policy makers in interpreting such advice and integrating it with a wider environmental/public health intelligence to shape an effective and proportionate response. Taking water as a point of reference, this paper discusses the sources of complexity for decision makers in environmental health and describes an approach in Scotland which is seeking to build a more sophisticated approach to environmental health policy for a new and uniquely challenging public health era.