2.14608 ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

This field project is the last course offered after all the other courses in the Diploma program are completed. As public health practitioners, students need to have an understanding of both environmental and occupational health, so that they are able to identify the risk factors and also able to apply their knowledge of these to prevent and/or manage such risks. PNG is a developing country and still has diseases such as diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory diseases and malaria, that are attributed to poor environmental conditions such as poor sanitation, housing and polluted water supply. There is also a need to be aware of the potential changes in disease patterns, which might result from the environmental changes occurring as a result of mining, industrial development and the population. PNG is also going through a rapid transition phase from primary production to manufacturing industries. This has resulted in massive production of raw and processed materials, which require a lot of chemical and toxic substances to be used in the manufacturing process. Workers are also exposed to biological, physical and chemical hazards and they are not wearing protective garment to prevent them from getting occupational diseases or injuries. The working environment in some industries can be unhygienic, polluted or contaminated and not conducive to work in. The total duration of this field project is three months.