Please answer the question below:
Assisting communities to adapt to climate change is a challenge we face.
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Community Nursing – Week 11 – Environmental Health
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1. Pick a community near you and determine what climate change impacts they may face.
2. What vulnerabilities they may have.
Remember to consider especially vulnerable populations within those communities and identify their specific challenges. (Websites such as CDC’s Climate and Health or EPA’s Climate Change Adaption Resource Center might be helpful.)
· Follow the 3 x 3 rule: minimum three paragraphs per DQ, with a minimum of three sentences each paragraph.
· All answers or discussions comments submitted must be in APA format according to Publication Manual American Psychological Association (APA) (7th ed.) ISBN: 978-1-4338-3216-1
· Minimum of two references, not older than 2015.
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Chapter 19: Environmental Health
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Chapter Highlights #1
Human health and the environment
Assessing contaminants in the environment
Exposure pathways
Assessing the environment of a community
Planning interventions to make communities healthier
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Chapter Highlights #2
Evaluating interventions
Environmental epidemiology
Working toward healthy communities
Environmental justice
Global environmental health issues
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Question #1
Is the following statement true or false?
Environmental health is the branch of public health science that focuses on how the environment influences chronic disease.
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Answer to Question #1
False
Rationale: Environmental health is the branch of public health science that focuses on how the environment influences human health, not chronic disease.
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Human Health and the Environment #1
History of environment health
How do certain contaminants affect human health?
How do we assess exposures to contaminants?
How does the environment influence health?
How do we live as a population while maintaining a healthy environment?
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Human Health and the Environment #2
Community environment
Genetic and behavioral factors
Nursing and environmental health
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Assessment
Assessing contaminants in the environment
Exposure pathway
Source of contamination
Environmental media and transport mechanisms
Point of exposure
Route of exposure
Receptor population
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Exposure History
Present work
Past work
Home/residence
Activities/hobbies
Concerns
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Question #2
What is bioavailability?
Study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical,
or biologic agents on people, animals, and the environment
An estimate that determines a person’s level
of exposure to a contaminant
Amount of a contaminant that actually ends up in the systemic circulation
Process of using medical tests such as blood or urine collection to determine if a person has been exposed
to a contaminant and how much exposure he or she has received
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Answer to Question #2
C. Amount of a contaminant that actually ends up in the systemic circulation
Rationale: Bioavailability is the amount of a contaminant that actually ends up in the systemic circulation. Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biologic agents on people, animals, and the environment. An exposure estimate determines a person’s level of exposure to a contaminant. Biomonitoring is the process of using medical tests such as blood or urine collection to determine if a person has been exposed to a contaminant and how much exposure he or she has received.
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Determining the Health Impact of a Completed Exposure Pathway
Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biologic agents on people, animals, and the environment.
An exposure estimate determines a person’s level of exposure to a contaminant.
Bioavailability is the amount of a contaminant that actually ends up in the systemic circulation.
Biomonitoring is the process of using medical tests such as blood or urine collection to determine if a person has been exposed to a contaminant and how much exposure he or she has received.
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Proximity
Proximity to a contaminant or hazard
is not the only factor in determining whether there is a risk to human health.
For a contaminant to pose a risk, there must be a completed exposure pathway.
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Assessing the Environment of a Community
When assessing a community’s environment, it is helpful to think about the whole environment to determine what components are influencing human health.
Environmental justice is important to consider when looking at the impact of the environment on a community.
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Assessment of Individuals: Taking an Exposure History
Identify current or past exposures.
Eliminate exposures.
Try to mitigate or reduce a client’s adverse health effects from exposures.
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Interventions
Most often something designed to interrupt or break the exposure pathway
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Evaluation
Has the exposure pathway been interrupted?
What does the community think about the intervention—are people satisfied?
How has health improved?
How many people did the intervention affect?
Can the intervention demonstrate any cost savings?
Is the intervention sustainable?
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Environmental Epidemiology
Epidemiology is a field of public health science that focuses on the incidence and prevalence of disease or illness in a population
Environmental epidemiology
Field of public health science that focuses on the incidence and prevalence of disease or illness in a population from exposures in their environments
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Major Challenges to Environmental Epidemiology
Limited availability of data on many contaminants and their effect on health
Limited understanding about how exposures to multiple contaminants may sicken people
Latency between exposure and illness can be very long.
Time‐consuming to perform
Resource intensive in terms of personnel and money
Inconclusive in determining if X contaminant caused
Y illness
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Working Toward Healthy Environments
Healthy communities
Healthy homes
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Children’s Health and the Environment
Vulnerability
Body systems are still rapidly developing
Eat, drink, and breathe more in proportion to their body size than do adults
Breathing zone is closer to the ground compared with adults
Bodies may be less able to break down and excrete contaminants
Behaviors can expose them to more contaminants
Spending time outside home where environmental hazards may be present
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Question #3
Is the following statement true or false?
Environmental justice is the belief that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental health consequences regardless of race alone.
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Answer to Question #3
False
Rationale: Environmental justice is the belief that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental health consequences regardless of race, culture, or income.
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Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is the belief that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental health consequences regardless of the following:
Race
Culture
Income
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Global Environmental Health Challenges
Clean water and sanitation
Air quality
Chemical and contaminant exposure
Climate change
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