Study Of Environmental Health Management In China Based On Structural Equation Model

Background:With the advance of industrialization, the natural ecological environment relied by human existence are destroyed. In the serious and complex environmental situation, the country’s people have paid a heavy price. The environmental health management develops gradually in China with the development of economic society, which has changed obviously in members, rules and mechanisms. But its foundation remains weak and has its own set of issues. The present study of environmental health management has focused on theoretical research at home and abroad, but the quantitative research still rare, which cannot provide strict science basis.Methods:This paper mainly used Delphi method and Structural equation modeling (SEM) to carry out relevant quantitative research on the environmental health management. Around the government, the public, enterprises, NGO and social organization, and environmental health management, establish the basic index system. The final index system was established by using the Delphi method to quantify the abstract conception. Then, this paper was relying on the index system to build theoretical model and put forward the hypothesis. And the carried out questionnaire survey and meta-analysis to get data so that establish SEM of environmental health management system. The SEM was applied to validate the fitness of conceptual framework and observed data. Finally, the feasibility suggestion were proposed to improve the environmental health work.Results:(1) The results of expert consultation:the researchers came from the areas of environmental health and above86.7percent of the consultants had over20years of work experiences. The positive coefficient of consultants was83.3percent. The authority coefficient was0.86, which proved the consultation result was authoritative. The harmonious coefficient was0.32, which explained the consultation result was reliable. The index system reserved17indices according to the concentrative degree and weight coefficient which included the number of indices of government, the public, enterprise, NGO and social group and environmental health management were five, three, three, four and two, respectively.(2) The results of aspect of SEM:this research received172available questionnaires, and the subjects are mainly those who were environmental health practitioners. The corrected item total correlation (CITC) of all indices was higher than0.5, and the Crobach’s Alpha was0.7-0.9, which proved the reliability of the scale was good. As shown in the result of model testing, the basic and overall goodness-of-fit indices were favorable, and it showed the model coordinated with the observed data. The verification showed that there were strong negative relations among the government, public, enterprise as well as NGO and society groups (P<0.01); and the government as well as the NGO and society groups had the forward influence on environmental health management (the path coefficients were0.470and0.231respectively, P<0.05). However, the public and enterprise had positive impact, not up to significant level (the path coefficients were0.136and0.111respectively, P>0.05).Conclusion:(1) The method of establishing index system is scientific, and the indicators can be used as the basic index of quantitative research about environmental health management. However, the index system needs to validate and improve in practice again and again.(2) The SEM is suited for quantitative research of environmental health management, analytically. So, a new way is brought forward for the research.(3) Based on the results, according to the management present situation and international experience, the countermeasures and advices were put forward to improve environmental health management system:1) Insist on the information disclosure and extend the channels of the public participation.2) Perfect the cooperation mechanisms and establish a secretariat of the national environmental health management.3) Strengthen the monitoring research and start a country-level environmental health research center.4) Employing infiltration to consummate the related regulations and standards.5) Reduce barriers of entry and encourage the environmental protection NGO to grow strong.