Practicing environmental health issues among doctors and patients

							   Concerns for practicing
 environmental health issues
among doctors and patients in
        Bangladesh

    Dr. Sanchoy Kumar Chanda
            Bangladesh
    Objectives:

   to explore doctor’s attitude towards patient
    regarding environmental education
   to examine the awareness level of patients
    about environmental issues, its impact on
    health, sources of information including
    doctors
   to examine patient’s desire for more
    environmental education from doctors
      Method:

   Cross-sectional data had been obtained from a
    face-to-face interview by using a structured
    questionnaire with patients (n=514) and doctors
    (n=34) in five hospitals, ten clinics and ten garment
    factories in Dhaka

   Environmental issues, source of information,
    amount of education received from their doctors
    were answered by patients and doctors were
    questioned about conveying message about
    environmental impacts to the patients
    Results:

   Almost all patients expressed high level of
    concern for environmental issues

   21% of patients mentioned doctors as
    source of environmental information while
    24% of doctors said that they really talk
    about environmental pollution and its
    impact
Results….

   63% patient said that they should know
    more about air and water pollution and food
    related diseases etc. Patients also expressed
    concern about inadequate environmental
    education from their doctors
Results….

   24% of doctors said that they really talk
    about environmental pollution and its impact

   52% of doctors mentioned that they just
    diagnose the clinical problem and provide
    treatment
        Results….

   Reasons for not discussing environmental issues

    -   Time constraint                  82%
    -   Not part of clinical practice    63%
    -   No necessity                     21%
    -   Will know from other sources     20%
Conclusions:


There is huge information gap between doctors
and patients regarding health impact of
environmental pollution and changes where
doctors have major responsibility for minimizing
the gap