The document discusses the environment and its impact on community health. It defines environment as everything external to the human body, including the physical, biological, and social surroundings. The physical environment comprises air, water, housing, food, waste, and places of work. The biological environment includes animals, plants, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and rodents. The social environment consists of cultural values, customs, beliefs, attitudes, morals, religion, education, standard of living, and economics. Environmental factors like unsafe water, contaminated food, air pollution, noise, toxicants, and poor sanitation can negatively impact community health. Community health nurses should educate communities about environmental hazards and how to avoid or minimize their effects.

1. Environment
RUKHANA.M. HAROON
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this presentation the students will be able to:
 Definition of Environment.
 Discuss the components of environment.
 Identify factors and their impacts on community health.
DEFINITION
 The term environment is defined to include all that is external to the human body.
OR
 Environment: The natural surroundings of an organism, both living and non-living is its environment.
 Types of Environment
 Internal Environment
 External Environment
Internal Environment
 Is comprised of various tissues, organs and organ systems, within human body.
 Internal environment directly related to internal health.
 In internal health, each component of the body is functioning smoothly, efficiently and harmoniously.
 Fault in functioning of the one or more part result in disharmony or Disease.
External Environment
 “It is defined as all that which is external to the individual human host and is comprised by host things to
which one is exposed after conception”
Components Of Environment
 Physical Environment
 Biological Environment
 Social Environment

2. Physical environment:
Is space around man containing gases (air), liquid (water), and Solid (food, refuse, soil and various objects at the
place of work or living)
Biological environment:
Means the universe of all living things that surrounds man, except human beings. It comprise of both animal and
plants.
Social environment:
Comprises of all human being around the host (the man) their activities and interactions. This may be the
considered under social and economic factors.
Classification OF Components
Physical:
 Air
 Water
 Housing
 Food & Nut
 Waste & its disposal
 Place of work
Biological:
 Animals
 Plants
 Bacteria
 Viruses
 Fungi
 Rodents
Social
 Cultural values
 Customs
 Habits

3.  Beliefs
 Attitudes
 Morals
 Religion
 Education
 Standard of living
 Economics
Environmental Sanitation.
Sanitation
 The word Sanitation means science of safeguard.
 Science practice of bring about healthful environment condition through proper methods of drainage and
sewerage disposal, pure water supply, and hygienic housing.
Environmental Sanitation
 The WHO Expert committee defined environmental sanitation as “The control of all those factors in man’s
physical environment which may exercise a deleterious effect on his physical development, health and
survival.”
Environmental Sanitation is important because:
 It provides health.
 Prevents disease transmission.
 It eliminates breeding places of insects and rodents that carry the germs.
 It improves the quality of life.
Environmental Sanitation Includes:
 Water supply Sanitation.
 Solid waste management.
 Food Sanitation.
 Insect and Vermin Control.
 Excreta and Sewerage disposal.

4.  Housing and public places Sanitation.
 Environmental Protection.
Environmental Factors affecting Community Health:
The factors that affect community health include:
 Unsafe Water:
Safe drinking water is necessary for health as it is a great asset to health. Using unsafe water results leads to
health problems.
 Contaminated Food:
Apart from safe drinking water, Safe and hygienic food is also a key to health. Contaminated food results in
problems.
 Air pollution:
 The presence of contaminants and particulate matters in air cause a number of respiratory diseases.
 Noise.
Toxicants (dioxin, POP Persistent Organic Pollutants)
 Radiations.
 Extreme weather.
 Poor sanitation.
 Unsafe human excreta disposal.
Role of community health nurse in environmental health.
 Community Health Nurses should be aware of environmental hazards.
 They should be able to detect environmental hazards in the exposed community.
 They should have reusing, recycling and conservation concept to teach community.
 CHN educates community how to avoid or minimize environmental hazards.
 CHN is, therefore, play a dynamic and exciting role in community.
Refrences
 BT Basavanthappa,2nd
adition, community health nursing.