What is Environmental Health?

The SPM results will be announced shortly in just a few days. Many students are probably wondering if they can ever continue their studies and achieve their desired goals in life. When I completed my SPM, I felt totally lost. During my time, choices were scarce and getting educational loans were limited to the maximum. I was seriously interested in Law but my personality did not suit for such a course. So, I perfectly understand the feelings of thousands of SPM leavers at this very moment. What we must realize at this stage is that it is definitely a very crucial time. Basically students are at the crossroads of life. A single mistake can cause drastic side effects. Therefore, it is time to evaluate and discover your true self and goals.

In order to guide students make clear decisions, this is just a brief overview of information gathered for an interesting course currently available with full financial assistance via PTPTN –Diploma in Environmental Health.

A definition of 'Environmental Health' 

'Environmental Health' as a term is not easy to define. If one were to refer to the 'health of the environment' it might even be possible to do so without reference to a particular species i.e. Homo sapiens. Even if one wanted to define the term with special reference to human health - as it is used in this website, this still leaves plenty of room for debate. Two definitions are presented below, the first relating to the effects of the environment on health (this aspect is discussed in much more detail in a separate page) while the second relates to environmental health services. These are followed by a historical account of how the definitions came about. 

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Definition 1. 

Environmental health comprises those aspects of human health, including quality of life, that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social and psychosocial factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling and preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially affect adversely the health of present and future generations.

Definition 2. 

Environmental health services are those services which implement environmental health policies through monitoring and control activities. They also carry out that role by promoting the improvement of environmental parameters and by encouraging the use of environmentally friendly and healthy technologies and behaviours. They also have a leading role in developing and suggesting new policy areas.

Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are highly qualified professionals who don't actually carry out any of the tasks listed above. They do work which, as well as being varied and challenging, makes a real difference to people's everyday lives. Doctors and nurses treat illnesses when they occur; EHOs carry out preventative and protective work to stop people getting ill in the first place. Their role may not be as visible, but it's just as important to our national wellbeing.

EHOs work to ensure that the food we eat is safe and of good quality, to improve housing conditions, to safeguard standards of workplace health and safety, and to create a better environment. The training covers all these aspects, and once qualified you can either work as a generalist or specialize in the area that interests you most.

It's a career that provides excellent opportunities, both for school leavers and for adults wanting to retrain or to take forward experience gained in related occupations. A degree in environmental health opens the door to a wide range of job prospects.

Most EHOs work in the public sector, usually for local authorities, where demand for qualified practitioners now exceeds supply. Your work could involve monitoring the hygiene of food premises, ensuring that multi-occupancy housing meets a proper standard, preparing evidence for a court case about a workplace accident, dealing with noise nuisance from a disco, or tackling air pollution problems. 

Nowadays, an increasing number of EHOs are employed by the private sector, in consultancies or by organisations including food retailers, holiday firms, shipping companies and airlines. 

Environmental health is a job where no two days are the same, where you don't spend your whole time chained to an office desk, where you are dealing with all kinds of people and where you have the satisfaction of doing work that matters.

There is a huge demand for EHOs in Malaysia and due to that, PTPTN has sanctioned a full loan for qualifying students to complete this course. On an environmental health degree course you will study science, technology, statistics, social science and public administration at a general level. Food, occupational health, pollution and housing issues are covered in more depth. Laboratory work, case studies, visits, group work and tutorials make the academic studies varied and interesting.

If you want to do this course, please contact Caitanya at caitanya79@gmail.com or call 0162666190 for further information. Registrations are open now and loan applications are handled by the college authority. Loans are guaranteed as long as the students meet the basic requirements.