The Issue of Asthma in the Case of Lewisham as the Urban Context - Research Paper Example

THE URBAN LIFE PROFILE Introduction Urban heath refers to the study of health of the urban populations while considering two aspects in urban health inquiry concerning the description of urban population as a whole or as subgroups. In addition, there is need for the assessment of understanding of the determinants of population health in cities. One of the primary importances of urban health is the growing significant of cities across the globe since more and more persons are now living in cities. Secondly, there is improved understanding of context in public health matters with the intention of shaping the population health. The objective of urban health is to offer a new thinking while refocusing on the public health on upstream or horizontal rather than the vertical and downstream approaches (Chatterjee, 2014). The purpose of this research is to examine the issue of asthma in the case of Lewisham as the urban context. This is through presentation and illustration of an account of the data and information in accordance with the data collection under the influence of observation. The study will focus on utilization of the data collected during visitation of the urban area with reference to 10th December 2014, 15th January 2015, and 2nd February 2015. Demographic Analysis In the course of addressing this research objective, the study will focus on the urban health conditions of Lewisham, which is an inner city district in South East London, England. The area is one of the 35 major centres in the greater London. The purpose of the Lewisham London Borough Council’s is to incorporate an effective development plan with the intention of improving the centre into becoming a metropolitan centre while rivalling other inner cities such as Bromley, Croydon, and Kingston upon Thames (Cave, Cooke, and Benson, 2004). Lewisham is one of the largest commercial areas within the context of South East London. The city tends to have numerous buildings and structures, which operate as administrative centres, business outlets, shopping centres, educational institutions, and healthcare platforms. In addition, the area focuses on exploitation of quality and extensive transportation systems, which relates to tubes, rail, DLR, and buses to enable the urban dwellers to handle their needs and expectations. From this perspective, the settlement within the city is densely populated. It is critical to note that the types of houses, structures, buses, busy roads, and poor social amenities have been ideal in the generation of the urban health issue (Rodgers, 2013). One of the reasons for the selection of Lewisham in the development of this report is its accessibility and qualification of being a city. In addition, it is easier to move from one location to another within the city while recording substantial data concerning the urban health issue. Rationale There continues to be urgent calls for the council to tackle air quality in Lewisham after the city frequently ranked as one of the worst three London boroughs of air pollution-related deaths in accordance to the new statistics. Some of the main causes of deaths linked with air pollution in London include asthma, heart attack, lung cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and dementia with reference to the data from the Office for National Statistics (National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2007). According to the findings of the study commissioned by campaign group clean air in London, Lewisham appeared fourteen times as one of the worst three boroughs in relation to the top ten causes of death for the assessment between 2010 and 2012 (Rodgers, 2013). From this perspective, air pollution is one of the major causes of asthma, which makes it ideal for the assessment in this research study as one of the critical urban health issues. These attributes are vital in the understanding and interpretation of the issue of asthma in the case of Lewisham. One of the deadly health issues in the United Kingdom is asthma. For instance, more than one million children suffer from asthma in the case of the United Kingdom. This data incorporates cases of asthma in Lewisham. The United Kingdom has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma symptoms among children across the globe (McMichael, Montgomery, & Costello, 2012). This makes it ideal for the research process to study and examine prevention strategies with reference to the case of Lewisham. Health Issue in Lewisham According to the observations in the course of three visitations to Lewisham City, there were critical issues, which would be essential in generation of adequate platform for the prevalence of asthma. In the first instance, the city is densely populated. The population of the region is about 286,000, which is relatively young. The region has quality transportation system as evident in the above illustrations with reference to buses, tubes, DLR, and other modes of relocation. The transportation systems and mechanisms are critical in the generation of inappropriate air conditions within the city. From this perspective, air pollution is one of the major issues creating the platform for the increase in the incidents or cases of asthma among the society members. Individuals within the city tend to face or experience the outcome of the transportation systems while addressing their business needs and activities. In addition, students and health practitioners subject their activities to the transportation systems, thus the issue of air pollution (Bu, 2013). The city is always busy with the intention of executing industrial, administrative, commercial, health, and educational duties or responsibilities. During an observation of approximately two hours, I was able to count more than 700 vehicles moving slowly across the city because of the heavy traffic jams. Another potential contributor of the urban health issue with reference to the case of Lewisham is the poor social amenities or drainage systems (Sundaram, McGowan-Smyth, Tharayil, & Samuels, 2013). The city is densely populated, which makes the population to cause substantial strain on the existing social amenities, thus generation of poor health and environmental conditions. These attributes or conditions are critical in the increase in the prevalence of asthma among the city dwellers. The council authority of the city also designates diverse locations for the smoking activities within the region or area for the smokers. However, non-smokers tend to have access to these areas or second-hand smoke while executing their duties and obligations within the cities (McMichael, Montgomery, & Costello, 2012). These conditions are critical in increasing the issues or incidents of asthma within the urban context. I was also able to observe and record critical data concerning the relevant determinant factors with the ability to influence the urban health issue with reference to asthma in the case of Lewisham. The city tends to have substantial food outlets or fast-food restaurants focusing on satisfying the needs and preferences of the employees seeking to address their demands. In addition, there are retail and wholesale supermarkets, indicating that the city is one of the busiest areas in the United Kingdom from a commercial perspective. The urban area has diverse community health services, which are critical in the provision of specialist clinics for lung cancer, TB, asthma, chronic obstructive airways, and cystic fibrosis or transition. These factors or facilities are vital in understanding the incident of asthma. It is critical to note that the development plan and structures of the city are ideal in the creation of the platform for the urban health issue (Patton, 2013). Some of the underlying factors in relation to understanding the issue include government planning, social and economic system, political factors such as funding and employment, and surrounding areas. These factors have massive roles to play while accessing the urban health issue with reference to asthma in the case of Lewisham, which is one of the busiest cities in the United Kingdom. Analysis and Interpretation of the Data According to the existing healthcare data in the United Kingdom, asthma is one of the critical issues affecting the population in the rural and urban areas. One of the areas experiencing the issue is Lewisham City. The major contributor of the approach is the level of air pollution substantiating the influence of other environmental or social conditions (Rodgers, 2013). For instance, the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere creates inappropriate environmental conditions, which are critical in the generation of asthmatic conditions. In addition, poor social amenities contribute to the issues of asthma as evident in the case of Lewisham. This is because of diverse reasons. In the first instance, increase in the population contributes to substantial strain on the existing social amenities leading to inappropriate health and environmental conditions, thus the essence of air pollution. Moreover, inappropriate or ineffective government plans and strategies lead to adverse conditions affecting realization of the health conditions of the citizens within the urban areas. From this perspective, it is critical for the relevant authorities to focus on the achievement of quality development plans with the intention of catering for transportation systems while concentrating on the limitation of the air pollution (National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2007). The approach to reduce the incidents of asthma should focus on the improvement of the health conditions and environmental spheres. This is through demonstration of quality planning in the development of the housing structures and healthcare platforms to enable individuals in the city to access healthcare services and products with ease. There is also need for the urban area to embark on educational programs with the intention of enhancing the awareness of the individuals on the causes and mechanisms of preventing asthma. The approach should concentrate on the improvement of health conditions of the city dwellers. Conclusion Urban health refers to the study of health population in the urban areas such as the case of Lewisham. The objective of the report was to focus on the assessment of asthma while concentrating on Lewisham as the city of interest. According to the findings of the study, air pollution is the main contributor of asthma. This is because of the increased number of transportation mechanisms and modes with the intention of handling the demands and expectations of the city dwellers. The study also focused on the assessment of the determinants such as health facilities, business centres, social and economic factors, as well as political issues in understanding the issue of asthma in Lewisham. List of References Cave B, Cooke A and Benson K, 2004, “Urban Renaissance Lewisham - health and social impact assessment.” London: NHS Lewisham PCT. Available Online at: www.apho.org.uk/resource/view.aspx?RID=44245 National Association of County and City Health Officials, 2007, “The Big Cities Health Inventory - The Health of Urban USA.” Washington DC: NACCHO. Available Online at: http://csde.washington.edu/news/notices/BigCityHealthDataNov2007.pdf Robertson MJ and Cousineau MR, 1986, “Health Status and Access to Health Services among the Urban Homeless.” In AJPH May 1986, Vol 76, No 5. Available Online at: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.76.5.561 Bu, L. 2013. The Impact of the Congestion Charging Scheme on Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutants Emissions in London (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University). Available at http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac%3A175232 (Accessed: 3 February 2015) Sundaram, M., McGowan-Smyth, S., Tharayil, B., & Samuels, M. 2013. G157 Oxygen Prescribing For Inpatients in the UK. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 98(Suppl 1), A72-A73. 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