The climatotherapy associated with favourable environmental conditions is an important factor for improvement human health. In this paper, we had presented results from selected studies carried out in Srobar´s institute for tuberculosis and respiratory dieseases Dolný Smokovec in the High Tatras. Srobar´s institute was for many years specialised health care institution providing complete in patients and outpatients terapeutical and preventive care for children of 0 - 18 years of age. Cooperation all together with Pediatric clinic St Andrea hospital of Universita La Sapienza in Roma performed in 2002 all together with Rabka Zdroj Institute and Motol hospital Prague,showed interesting results. We had found–out that children suffered respiratory allergy and asthma had lower level of values of MEF25 (middle forced respiratory flow on the level of 25% of peak respiratory flow) at the first day of hospitalization in opposite to the values after one-week treatment. On the other hand, the level of FeNO concentration (forced expired nitrogen monoxide) was significantly lower after one-week treatment. Children ´s without chronic allergy and asthma, values of MEF 25 and FeNO were unchanged.

Perceived air quality is an important measure for evaluating the health impact and quality of life in studies that have been carried out in the area of public health for years. The aim of this paper is to review and sum up the multidisciplinary knowledge regarding this topic, as well as to outline some main insights presented in the field of risk perception research. The literature on the perception of air pollution risks is structured around the five topics, proposed by the authors. Particular attention is focused on research that explores such issues as: factors influencing the air quality perception, the association between the subjective assessment of air pollutants and their objectively measured levels, the influence that perception of air quality has on human attitudes and activities.
The paper concludes by evaluating the relevance of the reviewed knowledge for the future research and the field of public health practice.

Publikacja powstała w ramach badań statutowych: K/ZDS/003633.

Analysis of environmental factors influence on the quality of life of patients with asthma

Health related quality of life assessment is an topic in public health, especially in socially meaningful chronic diseases. Chronic diseases such as asthma reduce the patient’s quality of life significant. The influence of environmental factors on health has been interested researchers for many years also in the public health area. Nowadays, we know that the clinical symptoms of the disease is a result of genotype-environment interaction. Despite our reach data of environmental threats, studying their influence on health or chronic diseases course seems insufficient. Thus, the analysis of relations and environmental factors influence on the quality of life assessment of patients with asthma may supplement the knowledge of environment influence on a human being. Previous research show that changing dust in the air and pollution causes increase or decrease of allergic symptoms, whereas the relations of life quality assessment of patients with asthma with the environment influence is not unequivocal.

Artykuł napisano w ramach projektu sfinansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki DEC-2011/03/BNZ7/00644.

The article focuses on the international concepts, ideas and theories concerning the fundamental functions/services in the sphere of public health. Particularly it concerns the environmental problems, the influence of this functions on the public health priorities identification. The main goals of the work are the international approaches identification and description of the observed frequency of the environmental actions inclusion on the lists of public health functions. The nature and specifics of the analyzed issue as well as the Polish approach are presented in the context of the National Health Program for 2007–2015. The main theme of the paper relates to the basic questions: how and in which way the internationally identified and listed public health functions influence the priorities established in Poland and if the environmental actions are being included?

Public health thinking requires an overhaul, a return to and modernization around ecological principles. Ecological Public Health thinking, outlined by Tim Lang and Geof Rayner, fits the twenty-first century’s challenges. It integrates what the authors call the four dimensions of existence: the material, biological, social and cultural aspects of life. Public health becomes the task of transforming the relationship between people, their circumstances and the biological world of nature and bodies. These transitions are Demographic, Epidemiological, Urban, Energy, Economic, Nutrition, Biological, Cultural and Democracy itself. By analyzing the theory and practice of public health last two or three centuries, the authors showed an evolution in thinking about public health. The term ‘ecological public health’ characterizes times in which everything is important, when it comes to health and well-being. The challenge for policy makers is one of navigating this complexity to deliver better health and greater equality in health.

The Canadian health care system is a publicly financed system administered by ten provincial and three territorial governments. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the universal health care system in Canada, including its history, the health status of Canadians, health care funding and spending, and health research and data collection. Health care spending in Canada amounts to 11.6% of the country’s gross domestic product and is estimated to have been $200.5 billion Canadian dollars in 2011. Hospitals account for the largest source of health care spending (29%), followed by drugs (16%) and physician spending (14%). Of the total health care spending, 70% is paid for by the public system. Due to the Canadian population being covered by the universal health care system, health data are being collected and can be used to monitor the health care system and inform evidence-based medicine.