What area does environmental health focus on in health promotion?

Environmental health primarily focuses on protecting communities from environmental hazards, which is essential in health promotion. This field addresses how various environmental factors, such as air and water quality, chemical exposure, and safe housing, can impact health outcomes. By reducing exposure to these hazards, environmental health aims to improve the overall health and well-being of populations.

Highlighting the significance of this focus, environmental health practitioners work on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks posed by environmental factors, ensuring that communities can thrive in safe environments. This protection not only prevents disease and injury but also contributes to broader health promotion strategies that enhance quality of life.

In contrast, the other options largely center around individual or systemic health improvements without directly engaging with the environmental factors that fundamentally influence health. For instance, enhancing economic policies and increasing healthcare access address broader systemic issues that may indirectly affect health but do not focus specifically on environmental hazards. Improving personal health habits pertains to individual behaviors and decisions rather than the community-level interventions driven by environmental health strategies.