DEVELOPING NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS

Abstract

Environmental Health is the cornerstone of public health. Improvements in sanitation, drinking water quality, food safety, disease control, and housing conditions have been central to the massive improvement of quality of life and longevity experienced in the last 100 years. However, our society is increasingly urbanised, more populous, and more complex. Increases in air, water and soil contamination, widespread use of chemical pollutants and global climate change present new environmental health hazards. Better management of environmental health in Australia is required to address these new challenges. To do this we need to increase our knowledge base. Australia does not currently have a well-defined set of indicators for tracking and researching the impact of the environment on our health. The Department of Health and Ageing, on behalf of enHealth Council, is working to develop of a core set of such health indicators as a first step in addressing this gap. In order to develop an agreed set of indicators, the development process has involved significant consultation with interested parties throughout Australia, including Local, State and Federal Governments across a range of sectors, Public and Environmental Health Practitioners, academia and the broader community. In December 2002, a public discussion paper and questionnaire were released to identify environmental health priority issues in the various jurisdictions and sectors. Over 100 submissions were received and a number of priority areas identified. These included water quality, air quality, food safety and waste management. The priorities identified by stakeholders provided a guide to developing a draft set of core indicators that would address the areas of greatest importance for stakeholders. We are currently working with the various jurisdictions and sectors to finalise the indicator set.