PUBH630 Determinants of Health

This assessment involves you assuming the role of an Environmental Health Officer working for the City of Melbourne. You will conduct an environmental health risk assessment involving the quantification of hazards associated with overcrowding and poorly constructed inner-city apartments. You will provide the findings of the assessment, their recommendations for intervention, and an appropriate communication plan to alert stakeholders about their findings.

Specifically, you should cover the following:

1. Issue identification: Identify at least 2 likely health hazards associated with overcrowding and poor living conditions in Melbourne’s inner-city apartments (e.g. infection risk, exposure to noise, air pollution, extreme temperatures, fire risk etc.). Describe how the hazards arise, by citing academic literature and/or reputable newspaper/media articles.

2. Hazard and exposure assessment: Assess the likely health impacts of the identified hazards, citing academic literature and/or official statistical resources (ABS, WHO etc) as appropriate. Discuss the mechanisms through which those hazards impact health, and whether particular sub-populations are particularly exposed to the hazards (e.g. low socio-economic groups, youth, older adults, migrants etc.).

3. Risk characterisation: Make an overall assessment of the level of health risk from environmental hazards, considering the likelihood and severity of health impacts at the population level. (For ideas, see p. 28 and pp. 33-35 of the ‘Environmental Health Standing Committee 2012’ reference listed below).

4. Risk management plan: Outline recommendations for intervention by the City of Melbourne and/or other stakeholders (e.g. state recommendations will be communicated to the public and/or stakeholders.

You should give their report a title that reflects its content, and include an introduction which briefly describes the issue of poor living conditions in inner-city apartments, and outlines the main findings. Finish with a conclusion or summary. You are encouraged to include images, figures and tables, where these will support the explanation and analysis.

In your report, you are welcome to cite literature from other countries/cities about high-density housing, but remember to relate this

information to Melbourne, as this is the focus on this assessment task.