Innovations for Environmental Health Nursing Education

Background and Issues: Scientifically sound, readily accessible, comprehensive environmental health information is essential for nurses and other health care professionals in order to help individuals, families and communities reduce their exposures to environmental health risks. The American Nurses Association (ANA) published the Principles of Environmental Health for Nursing Practice with Implementation Strategies( 2007) and the Public Health Nursing Section (PHN) of the American Public Health Association (APHA) has published the Environmental Health Principles for Public Health Nursing (2005) that provide guidance to address nursing practice principles for environmental health. Description: In order to offer information and strategies for nurses to incorporate the principles into practice, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is developing an electronic resource that contains authored and peer reviewed information to address a wide range of essential content, connects with existing internet resources that meet scientific rigor and showcases innovative teaching strategies. Through this electronic learning environment, nurses and other health professionals will be able to access resources that expand their environmental health role role in education, research, advocacy and practice settings to improve population health. Lessons Learned: The unique features of this resource are the interactive nature of the site, the sustainable format, and the breath and depth of the expertise behind its development. Recommendations: The presentation will highlight the unique features of the resource and engage others to co-create and advance the work begun during the past two years.