Recorded presentation

Jeanne M. Leffers, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, 508-999-8581, jleffers@umassd.edu

Hallmarks of public health nursing practice include our commitment to public service, health education, community empowerment, community partnership and community based research. This presentation demonstrates the integration of public health core functions for environmental health using collaborative work between community health nursing faculty and a nearby city burdened by environmental toxins. New Bedford, Massachusetts, designated an environmental justice community, is on the EPA priorities list with two Superfund sites and more than 40 Brownfield sites. Discussion of: 1) community case studies in an environmental health class, 2) a public service project to develop a youth coalition for environmental health issues and 3) a qualitative study of environmental health risk perceptions of underserved members of the community will illustrate how academic and community collaboration can advance education, service and scholarship for environmental health in nursing. Graduate and undergraduate students in the environmental health class became actively engaged in the current health assessments and debates in the community. An undergraduate nursing student worked collaboratively with both community members and university students to develop activities for youth in the community and the faculty member used research findings to advance community efforts to improve environmental health initiatives.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session the participant will be able to

• Identify strategies for academic and community partnership for environmental health.
• Apply core public health nursing functions to environmental initiatives in the community.
• Articulate 3 outcomes of nursing education in environmental health.
• Describe an example of a collaborative public service project.
• Discuss examples of environmental risk perceptions of an underserved study population.

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.

Recorded presentation