Berita Kedokteran Masyarakat
Vol 34, No 11 (2018): Proceedings of the 4th UGM Public Health Symposium

Will climate change become the worst nightmare in public health?

Malida Magista (Universitas Gadjah Mada)



Article Info

Publish Date
12 Dec 2018

Abstract

Is it too early for Indonesia to worry about the threats of climate change to the health quality of its people? It is a common knowledge that climate change is the culprit of melting icebergs, dying polar bears, and worsened summer. However, almost no one has any concern about how climate change will increase the prevalence of mental illness, heart attacks, or even stunting. Nowadays, the earth climate has changed so much. The surface temperature and the sea level have increased steadily. the extreme weathers and disasters have occurred more intense and frequent. Then, how do these occurrences affect Indonesians’ health and wellbeing? Two diagrams were drawn to observe the connections of climate change-mental illness and climate change-the incidence of heart attacks. Mental illness and the incidence of heart attack were chosen as representatives of public health challenges in Indonesia. The variables of these diagrams were obtained from evidence-based research and reports. It is assumed that the extracted variables are heavily related to the socioeconomic and health conditions of Indonesians. Based on those diagrams, we cannot deny that climate change causes both direct and indirect damage to Indonesians’ health. Unfortunately, limited data and information about climate change and public health in Indonesia prohibit us to build a stronger argument about this problem. In the future, it is highly recommended that every public health professionals start to consider the effect of climate change into their interventions. A transdisciplinary approach between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Social is urgently needed to start a comprehensive and progressive approach for Indonesians health and wellness.  

Copyrights © 2018






Journal Info

Abbrev

bkm

Publisher

Subject

Nursing Public Health

Description

Berita Kedokteran Masyarakat (BKM Public Health and Community Medicine) is a peer-reviewed and open access journal that deals with the fields of public health and public medicine. The topics of the article will be grouped according to the main message of the author. This focus covers areas and scope ...