NR 443 Week 6 Graded Discussion Topic: Environmental Health
Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's MyEnvironment site at
... [Show More] http://www.epa.gov/myenvironment (Links to an external site.), and enter your city and state, ZIP code, or location into the location box.
Choose one of the topic areas.
• My Health
• My Climate
• My Air
• My Water
Then, click on the boxes under the Map Contents menu to add data into the map on specific topics. Explore the site to learn more about your environment and things that might be impacting the health of its citizens.
• Identify something new you learned about your environment and how it could be affecting health by completing this statement, "I didn't know _____."
• How could you, in the role of a community health nurse, address these concerns?
I choose the topic area of air for my location. I didn’t know that Essex County residents were exposed to unhealthy levels of ozone for 3 Days in 2014. Ozone Is found in the ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere which helps protect us from the sun's harmful rays. But ground-level ozone can be bad for your health and the environment. Ground-level ozone is one of the biggest parts of smog. When ozone levels are above the national standard, everyone should try to limit their contact with it by reducing the amount of time spent outside. Air pollution is a leading environmental threat to human health. Particles in the air like dust, dirt, soot, and smoke are one kind of air pollution called particulate matter. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is so small that it cannot be seen in the air. Breathing in PM2.5 may
• lead to breathing problems,
• make asthma symptoms or some heart conditions worse, and
• lead to low birth weight.
The national standard for annual PM2.5 levels is 12.0µg/m3. When PM2.5 levels are above 12, this means that air quality is more likely to affect your health. In 2014, the annual level of PM2.5 in Essex County was 9.9µg/m3. Elevated ozone concentrations are also damaging to crops and other plant life. It interferes with the ability of plants to produce and store food, making them more susceptible to disease, insects, other pollutants and harsh weather. Ground-level ozone damages the foliage of trees and other plants, ruining the landscape of cities, parks, forests, and recreation areas.
Today, all nurses are challenged to address environmental problems by participating in the assessment and control of environmental factors (CCN, 2016). It is our duty to educate patients and civilians on all safety matters. While assessing methods are handled by federal and state agencies, the role of the nurse in assessment is understanding and interpreting statistical data and assessing objective data for example in a windshield survey. As nurses working in the health care profession, we have a responsibility to the people of our communities to raise awareness of the health implications of environmental changes.
References:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). MyEnvironment. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/myenvironment (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.,
Chamberlain College of Nursing. (2016). Week 6 lesson: Factors influencing the health of the community. [Online Lesson]. Downers Grove, IL: DeVry Education Group [Show Less]