Last data update: Sep 16, 2024. (Total: 47680 publications since 2009)
Records 1-8 (of 8 Records) |
Query Trace: Gelting RJ [original query] |
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"Back to the future": Time for a renaissance of public health engineering
Gelting RJ , Chapra SC , Nevin PE , Harvey DE , Gute DM . Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 16 (3) Public health has always been, and remains, an interdisciplinary field, and engineering was closely aligned with public health for many years. Indeed, the branch of engineering that has been known at various times as sanitary engineering, public health engineering, or environmental engineering was integral to the emergence of public health as a distinct discipline. However, in the United States (U.S.) during the 20th century, the academic preparation and practice of this branch of engineering became largely separated from public health. Various factors contributed to this separation, including an evolution in leadership roles within public health; increasing specialization within public health; and the emerging environmental movement, which led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with its emphasis on the natural environment. In this paper, we consider these factors in turn. We also present a case study example of public health engineering in current practice in the U.S. that has had large-scale positive health impacts through improving water and sanitation services in Native American and Alaska Native communities. We also consider briefly how to educate engineers to work in public health in the modern world, and the benefits and challenges associated with that process. We close by discussing the global implications of public health engineering and the need to re-integrate engineering into public health practice and strengthen the connection between the two fields. |
A systems analysis of irrigation water quality in an environmental assessment of an E. coli O157: H7 outbreak in the United States linked to iceberg lettuce
Gelting RJ , Baloch MA , Zarate-Bermudez M , Hajmeer MN , Yee JC , Brown T , Yee BJ . Agric Water Manag 2015 150 (3) 111-118 A foodborne Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in December 2006 included 77 illnesses reported in Iowa and Minnesota. Epidemiologic investigations by health departments in those states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified shredded iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) as the vehicle of transmission. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Minnesota and California public health agencies traced the lettuce to several growing regions in California based on information from a lettuce processor in Minnesota.Samples from an environmental investigation initiated by the California Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT) revealed a genetic match between the outbreak strain and environmental samples from a single farm, leading to an in-depth systems-based analysis of the irrigation water system on that farm. This paper presents findings from that systems-based analysis, which assessed conditions on the farm potentially contributing to contamination of the lettuce. The farm had three sources of irrigation water: groundwater from onsite wells, surface water delivered by a water management agency and effluent from wastewater lagoons on nearby dairy farms. Wastewater effluent was blended with the other sources and used only to irrigate animal feed crops. However, water management on the farm, including control of wastewater blending, appeared to create potential for cross-contamination. Pressure gradients and lack of backflow measures in the irrigation system might have created conditions for cross-contamination of water used to irrigate lettuce. The irrigation network on the farm had evolved over time to meet various needs, without an overall analysis of how that evolution potentially created vulnerabilities to contamination of irrigation water. The type of systems analysis described here is one method for helping to ensure that such vulnerabilities are identified and addressed. A preventive, risk-based management approach, such as the Water Safety Plan process for drinking water, may also be useful in managing irrigation water quality. |
Sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in Central America
Sabogal RI , Medlin E , Aquino G , Gelting RJ . J Water Sanit Hyg Dev 2014 4 (1) 89-99 The American Red Cross and U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated on a sustainability evaluation of post-hurricane water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Central America. In 2006 and 2009, we revisited six study areas in rural El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to assess sustainability of WASH interventions finalized in 2002, after 1998's Hurricane Mitch. We used surveys to collect data, calculate indicators and identify factors that influence sustainability. Regional sustainability indicator results showed there was a statistically significant decline in access to water. The presence of sanitation facilities had not changed since the beginning of the project; however, maintenance and use of latrines declined but continued to meet the goal of 75% use after 7 years. The hygiene indicator, hand washing, initially declined and then increased. Declines in water access were due to operational problems related to storm events and population changes. Sanitation facilities were still present and sometimes used even though they reached or surpassed their original design life. Changes in hygiene practices appeared related to ongoing hygiene promotion from outside organizations. These results provide useful input for making WASH programs more sustainable and informing future, more in-depth research into factors influencing sustainability. |
Development of Haiti's rural water, sanitation and hygiene workforce
Hubbard B , Lockhart G , Gelting RJ , Bertrand F . J Water Sanit Hyg Dev 2014 4 (1) 159-163 In 2009 the Haitian Directorate of Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) identified an inadequately trained and under-staffed rural workforce as one of their main institutional challenges. Plans to address this challenge were impacted by the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010 and the cholera outbreak of October 2010, both of which further complicated Haiti's already poor water and sanitation conditions. Recognizing the importance of DINEPA's institutional priorities, donor and technical assistance groups provided needed support to improve the country's conditions and build the rural water and sanitation workforce. This report describes how DINEPA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated to design and implement a training program for 264 potable water and sanitation technicians for rural areas. The paper also describes the initial field activities of the newly trained technicians and the immediate impact of their work in the rural water, sanitation and hygiene sector. |
Development of indicators for measuring outcomes of water safety plans
Lockhart G , Oswald WE , Hubbard B , Medlin E , Gelting RJ . J Water Sanit Hyg Dev 2014 4 (1) 171-181 Water safety plans (WSPs) are endorsed by the World Health Organization as the most effective method of protecting a water supply. With the increase in WSPs worldwide, several valuable resources have been developed to assist practitioners in the implementation of WSPs, yet there is still a need for a practical and standardized method of evaluating WSP effectiveness. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a conceptual framework for the evaluation of WSPs, presenting four key outcomes of the WSP process: institutional, operational, financial and policy change. In this paper, we seek to operationalize this conceptual framework by providing a set of simple and practical indicators for assessing WSP outcomes. Using CDC's WSP framework as a foundation and incorporating various existing performance monitoring indicators for water utilities, we developed a set of approximately 25 indicators of institutional, operational, financial and policy change within the WSP context. These outcome indicators hold great potential for the continued implementation and expansion of WSPs worldwide. Having a defined framework for evaluating a WSP's effectiveness, along with a set of measurable indicators by which to carry out that evaluation, will help implementers assess key WSP outcomes internally, as well as benchmark their progress against other WSPs in their region and globally. |
The food-water nexus: irrigation water quality, risks to food safety, and the need for a systems-based preventive approach
Gelting RJ , Baloch MA . J Environ Health 2012 75 (3) 40-41 This year’s World Water Day focused on | the food-water nexus with the theme | “Water and Food Security: The World is | Thirsty Because We are Hungry.” While much | of the emphasis under this theme focused on | the quantities of water used for food production, the quality of water is also important to | that function. Water quality can also have significant effects on health. In this context, the | quality of irrigation water can have profound | impacts on the microbiological integrity of | food. Irrigation water has been implicated as a | possible source of pathogens in produce linked | to major disease outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe. Many sources of irrigation water are subject to inputs of pathogenic loads from point | and nonpoint sources stemming from multiple | land uses in watersheds (Pachepsky, Shelton, | Mclain, Patel, & Mandrell, 2011). Research on | the potential effects of irrigation water quality on food safety therefore requires a systemsbased environmental assessment on the watershed scale that accounts for various factors that | may influence irrigation water quality. |
Water Safety Plan demonstration projects in Latin America and the Caribbean: lessons from the field
Rinehold A , Corrales L , Medlin E , Gelting RJ . Water Supply 2011 11 (3) 297-308 A Water Safety Plan (WSP) is a preventive, risk management approach to ensure drinking water safety. This emerging methodology is being increasingly applied in both industrialized and lower income countries worldwide. In 2006, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other local, national, and international partners in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) initiated a series of WSP demonstration projects. The objectives were to raise WSP awareness, build capacity, and promote adoption of the WSP approach while identifying those factors that aid or hinder water safety planning efforts in resource-challenged settings. This paper presents eleven lessons learned from these WSP demonstration projects, including the importance of assembling a well-supported interagency team, long-term commitment to WSP implementation, adherence to a water quality monitoring plan, and determining how WSP impacts will be evaluated prior to WSP initiation. To assist in supporting future WSP activity in the region, this paper shares experiences that led to these successes, challenges, and lessons learned. |
Irrigation water issues potentially related to the 2006 multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with spinach
Gelting RJ , Baloch MA , Zarate-Bermudez MA , Selman C . Agric Water Manag 2011 98 (9) 1395-1402 A multistate Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in August and September 2006 was found to be associated with consumption of fresh bagged spinach traced to California. The California Food Emergency Response Team (CALFERT), consisting of personnel from the California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch (FDB) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertook an environmental investigation to determine how and why the spinach became contaminated. At the invitation of FDA and FDB, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also participated in the environmental investigation. This paper presents findings from the portion of the environmental investigation focusing on environmental factors related to irrigation water that may have contributed to contamination of the spinach and hence to the outbreak. Analysis of the available data suggests that depths to groundwater and groundwater-surface water interactions may pose risks to ready-to-eat crops. These risks should be further evaluated and quantified to understand and identify the factors that contributed to this and similar outbreaks. One implication of this analysis is the need to continue to conceptually broaden the scope of produce-related outbreak investigations. Where feasible, investigation strategies should integrate possible contamination sources beyond those actually found on the farms that are identified as sources of produce involved in outbreaks. |
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