Environmental Health Nursing Project

University of South Carolina - College of Nursing
Columbia, South Carolina
Instructor(s): Anderson, Jane W.
Subject area: Health / Medicine
Department: Family and Community Health Nursing
Level: Undergraduate
Number of participants: Entire class, as groups
Duration of exercise: Semester
Cost/equipment needed: Service sites and research sources
Learning objective: Develop Group Skills, Provide Multidisciplinary Thinking, Provide Real-World Experience
Teaching style: Active Learning, Group Activity, Out-of-class Activity

Please note that the copyright for this course project is retained by the instructor.

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This project is designed to apply principles of environmental health nursing to an actual or potential environmental health hazard in the community. Students will explore the impact of hazard exposure on community health, examine principles of risk perception and risk communication, explore environmental health resources, and experience community involvement.

Each clinical group will be assigned one of the five environmental health categories. Working in pairs, the students will identify an environmental health hazard located within the community of their choice. The clinical instructor must approve the specific health hazard selected. The following should be addressed:

1. Identify Problem

• Student pairs will perform an assessment of this hazard (Where it came from? How did it get there? Who knows about it? What has already been done about it?)

• Present objective data from site visit (pictures)

• What is the exposure pathway (skin, inhalation, injection, etc.)?

• Visit TOXNET (toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/TOXNET) Internet site and print toxicology data related to hazard.

2. Effects

• Determine physiological effects of hazard on chronic and acute health outcomes among individuals, families and communities.

• Determine psychosocial effects (economic, developmental) on individuals, families, and communities.

3. Standards and Regulations

• Identify local, state or federal standards regarding the hazard

• Identify regulating body/bodies involved

4. Community Involvement

• Awareness of citizens in the community of the problems (results of interview with community residents)

• Public officials (county counsel; neighborhood associations) and agency (DHEC) awareness and plans of action concerning hazard

5. Plan

• Identify proactive strategies to potentially resolve the issue.

• Communicate to community leaders or residents plan or suggest policies could be implemented to resolve the issue.

Environmental Health Categories
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Environmental Health Category	Environmental Health Hazards
Air	Greenhouse gas Global warming Depletion of ozone Aerosol spray Herbicides/Pesticides Acid rain Ultraviolet radiation Tobacco smoke Automobile Emission
Water/Food	Contamination by human or animal waste Oil or chemical spills Pesticide or herbicide contamination in ground water and run-off Industrial pollutants Toxic contamination of fish and seafood Bacterial contaminants Pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables Chemical food additives Hormone supplements and antibiotic residue in animal food products
Waste	Use of non-biodegradable products Waste product dumps/inadequate sewage systems Transporting/storage hazardous waste Nuclear facility emissions Radioactive nuclear waste Automobile oil Battery acid Abandoned sites with oil or gas hazards
Housing/Occupation	Toxic substances Common household products (cleaning agents) Machine operating hazards Repetitive motion injuries Carcinogenic work exposures Poor ventilation/heating systems Gas range Building materials Asbestos Lead paint Textile residues (formaldehyde) Adhesives
Psychosocial/Recreational hazards	Urban crowding Violence Firearms/explosives Noise pollution Accidents (helmet laws; fuel emission; fires) Hobbies (ceramics/sculpting) Recreational activities (boating, swimming)

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Poster Presentations

This project is worth 20% of your course grade.
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Pointed Allocated	Content Area	Points Earned	Comments
4	Problem Identification	.	.
3	Effects	.	.
2	Standards and Regulations	.	.
4	Community Involvement	.	.
3	Plan	.	.
4	Presentation (clarity, creativity, professional presentation)	.	.
Total Points	.	.	.

This document was last modified on 06/14/2000 03:08:02 PM

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This resource was acquired by CEEM (Consortium for Environmental Education in Medicine), a program of Second Nature, under the auspices of a NIEHS grant to gather and disseminate environmental health educational resources over the internet in order to help medical and allied health sciences faculty identify, locate and use resources for incorporating environment and health perspectives into their curricula. CEEM has authorized the use of these materials on this website for archival purposes. Please note that the copyright for this material is retained by the instructor and/or contributing institution.