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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Laura Anderko, RN PhD, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Cunningham Hall 699, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, 414 229-2313, landerko@uwm.edu
Environmental pollution is affecting public health in increasing numbers of communities throughout the world. The preparation of the nursing workforce to address environmentally related diseases is critical as more and more research findings point to the link between the environment and disease. However, methods for assessing, diagnosing, and intervening on threats to community environmental health are typically not included in community health nursing courses or nursing education programs. Although several federal agencies (e.g., ATSDR, HRSA, NIEHS) are funding a variety of initiatives to incorporate environmental health concepts into the curriculum, little has been written describing ways to introduce this content. The Institute of Medicine in 1995 outlined several competencies for nurses related to environmental health including: basic environmental knowledge and concepts; assessment and referral; advocacy, ethics and risk communications; and legislation and regulation. This presentation will highlight an elective course that was developed for undergraduate students, which addressed each of these competencies. Course activities included lecture and discussion, videotapes, computer-assisted instruction and environmental health case studies on CD-ROM. A wide variety of resources available to the nurse educator to supplement course content will also be shared with participants. Qualitative findings comparing pre-test and post-test results revealed a broader knowledge of environmentally-related diseases and risk factors, as well as the role of the community health nurse as an advocate for improving environmental conditions. In addition, course evaluation findings revealed that the majority of students felt that environmental health concepts should be included throughout the undergraduate-nursing curriculum.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to
Keywords: Environmental Health, Public Health Nursing
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.