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Chapter 14: Environmental Health

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Chapter 14: Environmental Health

10 problems · 0 figures

14-1 §14.RQ source ↗

What is the primary goal of integrating environmental health into nursing practice?
  1. a.
    Improving health care infrastructure
  2. b.
    Enhancing patient satisfaction
  3. c.
    Promoting environmental justice
  4. d.
    Reducing health care costs

Answer

C. Promoting environmental justice
Environmental justice refers to the fair and equitable treatment and meaningful engagement of every individual, irrespective of race, color, national origin, or socioeconomic status, in the development, execution, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies. Nurses play a crucial role in promoting and advocating for environmental justice.

14-2 §14.RQ source ↗

Which action will the public health team take during the Exposure Assessment stage of the EPA’s four-step risk assessment following a train derailment resulting in a toxic chemical spill?
  1. a.
    Identifying potential negative outcomes due to exposure to the toxic chemicals
  2. b.
    Identifying how the amount of exposure relates to the severity of negative health outcomes
  3. c.
    Quantifying the extent, frequency, and length of contact of the community with the toxic chemicals
  4. d.
    Determining how the toxic chemicals are absorbed, metabolized, and eliminated from the body

Answer

C. Quantifying the extent, frequency, and length of contact of the community with the toxic chemicals
The EPA uses a four-step risk assessment to evaluate potential pollution and hazards, evaluate the likelihood of exposure-related health threats, and develop standards. The third step of the risk assessment, Exposure Assessment, quantifies the extent, frequency, and length of human contact with an environmental agent or predicts the potential impact of future contact.

14-3 §14.RQ source ↗

Which statement describes the actions of a nurse who follows Nightingale’s Environmental Theory?
  1. a.
    Identifying strategies to reduce climate change
  2. b.
    Encouraging the use of public transportation
  3. c.
    Promoting environmental justice for all people
  4. d.
    Using the client’s environment to assist in recovery

Answer

D. Using the client’s environment to assist in recovery
Nightingale’s Environmental Theory viewed nursing as the process of using the client’s environment to assist them in their recovery.

14-4 §14.RQ source ↗

Which action by the nurse is an example of engaging in environmental justice?
  1. a.
    Using the environment to assist in client recovery
  2. b.
    Encouraging communities to engage in composting
  3. c.
    Eliminating lead-based paint in public housing
  4. d.
    Educating the community on proper disposal of hazardous materials

Answer

C. Eliminating lead-based paint in public housing
The goals of environmental justice are to offer equal protection from hazards and to ensure equal involvement of communities in making decisions about policies and regulations that impact them. Removing lead-based paint from public housing is an example of providing equal protection regardless of socioeconomic status.

14-5 §14.RQ source ↗

Which data is the nurse examining when assessing the presence of certain chemicals in the blood and urine samples from a community?
  1. a.
    Toxicology data
  2. b.
    Biomonitoring data
  3. c.
    Exposure assessments
  4. d.
    Environmental burden

Answer

B. Biomonitoring data
Biomonitoring assesses the presence and concentration of specific substances, such as chemicals and pollutants, in living organisms through samples of blood, urine, saliva, hair, and nails.

14-6 §14.RQ source ↗

The nurse is performing an environmental assessment in an apartment building where many people have reported burning eyes, skin rash, stuffy nose, and sore throat. Which type of hazard does the nurse anticipate is present in the apartment building?
  1. a.
    Radon
  2. b.
    Mice
  3. c.
    Mold
  4. d.
    Lead

Answer

C. Mold
Mold, a biological in-home health hazard, can produce burning eyes, skin rash, stuffy nose, and sore throat as well as coughing and wheezing.

14-7 §14.RQ source ↗

Which strategy should the nurse include in a community education program about improving environmental health?
  1. a.
    Composting organic matter
  2. b.
    Disposing of electronics with household trash
  3. c.
    Using rainwater harvesting for drinking water
  4. d.
    Keeping windows tightly shut

Answer

A. Composting organic matter
The text emphasizes that pollution prevention strategies should be implemented to reduce exposure levels to environmental contaminants.

14-8 §14.RQ source ↗

A community nurse is educating the community about mitigation strategies to address climate change. Which strategy would the nurse teach to the community?
  1. a.
    Implementing early warning systems for extreme temperatures
  2. b.
    Improving public transportation
  3. c.
    Changing building codes to withstand hurricanes
  4. d.
    Distributing masks for high-pollution days

Answer

B. Improving public transportation
Efforts to address the impact of climate change can be divided into two categories: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation, or the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants to slow the rate of change, aims to prevent the planet from warming beyond critical thresholds. Improving and increasing the use of public transportation is an example of mitigation to reduce gas emissions.

14-9 §14.RQ source ↗

Which environmental health activity would the nurse perform while engaged in the core public health function of assurance?
  1. a.
    Educating the community about the need to boil contaminated drinking water
  2. b.
    Collecting data about health issues related to contaminated drinking water
  3. c.
    Developing polices to regulate the discharge of pollutants into the waterways
  4. d.
    Assessing measures to reduce exposure to contaminated water

Answer

A. Educating the community about the need to boil contaminated drinking water
Public health nurses perform the core functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance to serve as a framework for addressing environmental health issues and promoting healthier communities. While performing the core function of assurance, the nurse monitors and evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of environmental policies and programs and ensures that actions are taken when hazards are identified, such as educating the public about the need to boil contaminated drinking water.

14-10 §14.RQ source ↗

Which intervention by the nurse is an example of a tertiary prevention strategy to improve environmental health?
  1. a.
    Conducting risk assessments for environmental contaminants
  2. b.
    Developing emergency response plans for environmental hazards
  3. c.
    Performing regular community environmental health assessments
  4. d.
    Implementing pollution prevention strategies

Answer

B. Developing emergency response plans for environmental hazards
The goal of tertiary prevention is to reduce the severity of the impact of an environmental health risk, such as developing an emergency response plan to manage environmental hazards.

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Problems and answers are adapted from Population Health for Nurses by Jessica Ochs, Sherry L. Roper and Susan M. Schwartz, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/population-health/pages/1-introduction. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.