| Course | DPH 830 Global Health |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Environmental and occupational health paper |
| Length | About 1,126 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Doctor of Public Health |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for DPH 830 Module 6
Heat, Air and Work: Climate Change, Pollution and Occupational Risk as Global Health Threats
Student Name
Doctor of Public Health Program, Aspen University
DPH 830: Global Health
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Heat, Air and Work: Climate Change, Pollution and Occupational Risk as Global Health Threats
Some of the largest threats to global health come from the environments where people live and work: the air they breathe, the heat they endure, the water they drink and the hours and hazards of their jobs. Climate change intensifies many of these threats. This paper examines climate change, pollution and occupational health as global health problems, their unequal burden and the responses available to public health.
Climate Change as a Health Issue
A Lancet commission argued that climate change threatens to undermine the last half century of gains in global health, through heat, extreme weather, changing patterns of infectious disease, food insecurity and displacement. It also argued that tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the century, because many actions that cut emissions also improve health (Watts et al., 2015).
Pollution
The Lancet Commission on pollution and health estimated that pollution caused about 9 million premature deaths in 2015, about 16% of all deaths worldwide, with air pollution the largest contributor. About 92% of these deaths were in low- and middle-income nations (Landrigan et al., 2018). Household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels and outdoor air pollution from traffic, industry and power plants both contribute. Lead exposure, chemical contamination of soil and water and unsafe disposal of electronic waste add to the toll.
Occupational Health
Work shapes health through injuries, toxic exposures, physical strain and stress. A joint analysis by WHO and the ILO estimated that exposure to long working hours, 55 or more a week, was responsible for about 745,000 deaths from ischemic heart disease and stroke in 2016, with the burden concentrated among men and in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific (Pega et al., 2021). Injuries, silica dust, pesticides and psychosocial strain add further burden that is often poorly counted.
Exposures, Pathways and Responses
The table summarizes key environmental and occupational exposures.
| Exposure | Health pathway | Most affected | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme heat | Heat illness, cardiovascular and kidney strain | Outdoor workers, older adults, urban poor | Heat action plans; work-rest rules; cooling |
| Air pollution | Respiratory and cardiovascular disease, lung cancer | Households using solid fuels; urban residents | Clean cooking; emission standards |
| Unsafe water | Diarrheal disease | Children in low-income settings | Water treatment; sanitation |
| Long working hours | Heart disease and stroke | Workers in informal and service sectors | Limits on hours; enforcement |
| Chemical exposures | Poisoning, cancers, developmental effects | Agricultural and mining workers | Regulation; protective equipment |
Heat
Rising temperatures increase heat-related illness and death, especially among outdoor workers, older adults and people without cooling. Heat also reduces labor productivity. Heat action plans with early warnings, cooling centers and work-rest schedules protect health, and have been adopted by cities in several countries. Urban design with shade trees and reflective roofs reduces heat exposure over the long term.
Water and Food Security
Climate change alters rainfall, increasing droughts and floods. Floods contaminate water supplies and spread diarrheal disease; droughts reduce harvests and raise food prices, worsening undernutrition. Resilient water and sanitation systems and support for small farmers reduce these risks.
Changing Infectious Disease Patterns
Warmer temperatures and changing rainfall can expand the range of mosquitoes and ticks that carry disease, shifting patterns of dengue, malaria and other infections. Surveillance must track these shifts so that control programs can respond.
Informal Workers
Most workers in low-income countries are in informal jobs without contracts, safety regulation or social protection. They face heat, chemicals and long hours with little recourse. Extending occupational health protections to informal workers is one of the largest gaps in global health.
Co-Benefits
Many climate actions improve health directly. Clean cooking reduces household air pollution; shifting from coal to renewable power reduces outdoor pollution; active transport increases physical activity; and diets with more plant foods reduce both emissions and chronic disease. Highlighting these co-benefits strengthens the case for action (Watts et al., 2015).
Equity
The burden of environmental and occupational harm falls hardest on those who contributed least to it: low-income countries, poor communities and informal workers. Equity requires directing adaptation funding and protections toward them and ensuring that transitions away from polluting industries support affected workers.
Role of Health Professionals
Health professionals can document health effects, advise on heat and pollution plans, advocate for clean air and fair working conditions and reduce the health sector's own emissions. Their credibility with the public makes them effective messengers on climate and health.
Health Education
Health education can teach communities about heat risks, safe water, clean cooking and workers' rights. Education is most effective when paired with policy changes that make healthy choices possible, such as affordable clean fuels and enforceable work-hour limits.
Health System Resilience
Health facilities themselves are exposed to climate risks. Floods damage clinics, heat waves strain hospitals and power cuts disrupt cold chains for vaccines. Climate-resilient health systems plan for surges during extreme events, protect infrastructure and maintain supplies when transport fails.
Health Sector Emissions
The health sector contributes to greenhouse gas emissions through energy use, supply chains, anesthetic gases and transport. Hospitals that switch to renewable energy, reduce waste and choose lower-emission products lower their footprint while demonstrating leadership. Several national health systems have set targets for net zero emissions.
Evidence and Monitoring
Tracking health effects of climate change requires data on heat illness, air quality, water-related disease and occupational injuries. Indicators that link environmental exposures to health outcomes help decision makers see the costs of inaction and the benefits of policy. Many low-income countries lack this monitoring, a gap that international support could fill.
Workers in a Changing Climate
Agricultural, construction and other outdoor workers face rising heat stress, often without shade, water or rest breaks. Occupational standards that set temperature thresholds for work, require rest periods and provide protective measures are expanding but remain rare in low-income countries, where outdoor work is most common.
Displacement and Migration
Sea-level rise, drought and extreme weather force people from their homes. Displaced populations face overcrowding, disrupted health care and increased risks of infectious disease and mental distress. Planning for health services in displacement settings is becoming part of climate adaptation.
Policy Tools
Governments have several tools: emission standards for vehicles and industry, subsidies for clean cooking fuels, building codes that reduce heat exposure, occupational rules on hours and temperature, and taxes on pollution. Health impact assessments of major projects help ensure that economic plans account for their effects on air, water and workers.
Conclusion
Climate change, pollution and occupational hazards cause millions of deaths each year, with the heaviest burden on low-income countries and informal workers. Evidence supports action on heat, clean air, safe water and fair working hours, and many climate actions bring immediate health co-benefits. Public health has both the evidence and the voice to press for these changes.
References
Landrigan, P. J., Fuller, R., Acosta, N. J. R., Adeyi, O., Arnold, R., Basu, N., Baldé, A. B., Bertollini, R., Bose-O'Reilly, S., Boufford, J. I., Breysse, P. N., Chiles, T., Mahidol, C., Coll-Seck, A. M., Cropper, M. L., Fobil, J., Fuster, V., Greenstone, M., Haines, A., ... Zhong, M. (2018). The Lancet Commission on pollution and health. The Lancet, 391(10119), 462-512. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32345-0
Pega, F., Náfrádi, B., Momen, N. C., Ujita, Y., Streicher, K. N., Prüss-Üstün, A. M., Descatha, A., Driscoll, T., Fischer, F. M., Godderis, L., Kiiver, H. M., Li, J., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., Rugulies, R., Sørensen, K., & Woodruff, T. J. (2021). Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000-2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International, 154, Article 106595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106595
Watts, N., Adger, W. N., Agnolucci, P., Blackstock, J., Byass, P., Cai, W., Chaytor, S., Colbourn, T., Collins, M., Cooper, A., Cox, P. M., Depledge, J., Drummond, P., Ekins, P., Galaz, V., Grace, D., Graham, H., Grubb, M., Haines, A., ... Costello, A. (2015). Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. The Lancet, 386(10006), 1861-1914. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60854-6
What the DPH 830 Module 6 instructions ask for
Climate change, environmental health and occupational health are named in Aspen's DPH 830 catalog entry, and as the sixth module's prompt stays inside the course, this example treats them together. Environmental health papers generally ask you to describe exposures and their health effects, assess burden and equity and recommend responses. Quantify burden with dated sources. Explain the pathway from exposure to disease. Use a table to organize exposures and responses. Address workers, especially informal ones. Highlight co-benefits of climate action. Discuss who bears the burden and who should act. Include the health sector's own contribution to emissions and its role in adaptation.
How this DPH 830 Module 6 example is built
Climate change as a health issue opens the example, followed by pollution and occupational health, each with its burden estimate. A four-column table then links five exposures to pathways, affected groups and responses. Heat, water and food security, changing infections, informal workers, co-benefits and equity follow, then the role of health professionals and health education. Health system resilience, health sector emissions, evidence and monitoring, outdoor workers, displacement and policy tools are added. A margin comment explains the balanced framing of threat and opportunity. The table's five exposures each receive fuller treatment in the sections that follow. Later sections move from describing harms to responses, covering resilience, emissions, monitoring and policy tools that ministries and cities can use.
Reading the DPH 830 Module 6 grading rubric
Environmental health papers are marked on accurate burden estimates, clear pathways, attention to equity and practical responses. This paper cites a Lancet commission on health and climate change, the Lancet Commission on pollution and health and a WHO and ILO analysis of long working hours in APA format. The exposures table is comprehensive. Co-benefits strengthen the policy case. Attention to informal workers and health sector emissions shows breadth, which instructors reward. Burden figures are reported with their years and sources, and the paper distinguishes attributable deaths from total deaths. Its policy tools section offers concrete options at national and city level, and it names the groups that carry the heaviest burden.
DPH 830 Module 6 help from the desk
Students often write about climate change in general terms without linking it to specific health pathways. Others overlook occupational health. Name the exposure, pathway and outcome. Use dated estimates. Include workers. Propose responses at several levels. If burden estimates are confusing, a tutor can help you interpret them. End with one policy that would bring both climate and health benefits in your setting. Choose one exposure and one population, such as heat and outdoor workers in a particular city. Find local data if possible and national estimates if not. Describe the pathway from exposure to illness. Propose responses at the workplace, city and national levels. Mention co-benefits wherever they exist, since they make recommendations easier for decision makers to accept.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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DPH 830 Module 6 questions, answered
What does DPH 830 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's DPH 830 covers climate change, environmental health and occupational health, so a paper linking them to global health is typical. Confirm with your classroom prompt.
How many deaths does pollution cause?
A Lancet commission estimated about 9 million premature deaths in 2015, about 16% of all deaths.
What are climate co-benefits?
Health gains from climate actions, such as cleaner air from reduced fossil fuel use.
Where can I find a free DPH 830 Module 6 sample paper?
Scroll up for the climate, environmental and occupational health paper and its table of exposures, pathways and responses.
How are climate and health linked in DPH 830 Module 6?
Through heat, air pollution, water and food insecurity, changing infections and displacement, and through co-benefits of climate action.