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Midterm 1
Giselle Rojas
HSCI 6230
6 March 2022
Professor Van Dyke
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1. A) During the COVID-19 pandemic, certain population groups are most at-risk for

developing negative health effects if they are exposed to COVID-19. One risk for public

health is the older adult community being exposed to COVID-19. Using risk assessment,

the hazard ID would be the elderly population being exposed to COVID-19. A dose-

response assessment would find that the probability of an older adult passing away after

from COVID-19 complications would be a 10 out of 10. The exposure assessment would

find that older adults who leave the home for necessities would put them at about

medium risk for exposure, so a score of 4 out of 10 can be given. The risk

characterization would determine that the magnitude of risk would be a 50 out of 100, so

they would label older adults as a high-risk population.

B) A second risk to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic are people not

following vaccination guidelines or being against COVID-19 vaccinations. A risk

assessment can be done for the unvaccinated population in Riverside County. The hazard

ID would be the unvaccinated population living in Riverside County. A dose response

assessment would find that this population would be at a higher risk from getting sick

after testing positive for COVID-19, so this number would be an 8 out of 10. The

exposure assessment would find that they are at a higher risk because of their

unvaccinated status, so the exposure assessment can be labeled a 5 out of 10. Overall, the

risk characterization would put the unvaccinated population at a 32 out of 100.

C) A third risk during the COVID-19 pandemic is the high likelihood of public health

professionals getting sick from their high exposure to COVID-19. The hazard ID is the

public health workforce during the pandemic. A dose response assessment would find

that if a public health worker got COVID-19, they would be at an average risk to
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experience the negative health effects of COVID-19. A 5 out of 10 can be given. The

exposure assessment would find them to be highly likely to catch COVID, so a 10 out of

10 can be given. The exposure assessment would be 50 out of 100, thus putting public

health professionals at greater risk.

D) A fourth risk is the mental health of COVID-19 pandemic workers stemming from the

psychological effects of working during the pandemic. The hazard ID would be COVID-

19 pandemic workers experiencing burn out and negative mental health effects caused by

working in a stressful environment as front-line workers. The dose response assessment

would be an 8 out of 10 because the workers are at a high likelihood of becoming

stressed in their environment. The exposure assessment would be a 10 out of 10 because

they are frontline workers working directly within stressful situations. An overall risk

characterization would find that 80 out of 100 workers are at high risk for developing

negative mental health effects from working on the front lines during the pandemic.

E) Lastly, another risk would be the probability of experiencing a mental health crisis

from the effects of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hazard ID would be

populations that were under isolation during the pandemic. A dose response assessment

would be a 6 out of 10 because isolation is a sociological hazard. The exposure

assessment would be a 10 out of 10 because this population was isolated during the

pandemic. Therefore, the risk characterization would be 60 out of 100. This means that

there is a high risk of negative mental health effects stemming from undergoing isolation

during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir providing the cleanest drinking water in the world is very

important for the San Francisco community. Having clean drinking water would mean
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that San Francisco residents are not being exposed to dangerous water pollutants.

Without the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, exposure to water pathogens would lead to negative

health risks for the San Francisco community. This would be highly dangerous for the

immunocompromised population because any exposure to a pathogen like E. coli could

lead to death. Thus, creating a huge public health risk for the San Francisco community.

3. John Leal’s public health gamble transformed modern life in America. He took a risk in

adding chlorine to drinking water because he believed it would kill bacteria in the water.

His risk is important because it ended up being successful and he developed a way to

provide clean drinking water in the United States. This led to many good health effects

after his discovery. For example, infant mortality rates and the number of deaths from

typhoid were reduced.

4. As a food safety worker for a senior assisted living facility, my important areas of focus

would be food regulation and record keeping. Food regulation would be important to

ensure that all food is being kept at safe temperatures and in their designated areas. Also,

it would be important to ensure that all staff working with food are properly trained and

have the correct certification that demonstrates their ability to work with food. This can

also be audited by monitoring staff and their conduct. Making sure they follow the

correct cooking procedures ensures that all safety processes are met. In a senior facility, it

would be important to ensure that record keeping, and documentation are accurate

because of the different dietary needs of the residents.

5. One important environmental legislation in public health is the Clean Water Act of 1977.

The goal of the legislation was to clean up the nation’s waterways. It also looked to

minimize the dumping of pollutants into waterways and set regulations for people
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looking to discharge pollutants into waterways (Van Dyke, 2022). The regulation leads to

establishing a cleaner environment for the public. This allows the public to swim and fish

in clean water. Another important environmental legislation is the Occupational Health

and Safety Act. This law is important to public health because it establishes workplace

safety and protects the health of employees. This ensures that workers are not put at risk

and that they are working in safe conditions.

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References

Van Dyke, W. (2022). Environmental Legislation [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from

Blackboard HSCI 6230.