Review Questions
1.
c.
Environmental justice refers to the fair and equitable treatment and meaningful engagement of every individual, irrespective of race, color, national origin, or socioeconomic status, in the development, execution, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies. Nurses play a crucial role in promoting and advocating for environmental justice.
2.
c.
The EPA uses a four-step risk assessment to evaluate potential pollution and hazards, evaluate the likelihood of exposure-related health threats, and develop standards. The third step of the risk assessment, Exposure Assessment, quantifies the extent, frequency, and length of human contact with an environmental agent or predicts the potential impact of future contact.
3.
d.
Nightingale’s Environmental Theory viewed nursing as the process of using the client’s environment to assist them in their recovery.
4.
c.
The goals of environmental justice are to offer equal protection from hazards and to ensure equal involvement of communities in making decisions about policies and regulations that impact them. Removing lead-based paint from public housing is an example of providing equal protection regardless of socioeconomic status.
5.
b.
Biomonitoring assesses the presence and concentration of specific substances, such as chemicals and pollutants, in living organisms through samples of blood, urine, saliva, hair, and nails.
6.
c.
Mold, a biological in-home health hazard, can produce burning eyes, skin rash, stuffy nose, and sore throat as well as coughing and wheezing.
7.
a.
The text emphasizes that pollution prevention strategies should be implemented to reduce exposure levels to environmental contaminants.
8.
b.
Efforts to address the impact of climate change can be divided into two categories: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation, or the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants to slow the rate of change, aims to prevent the planet from warming beyond critical thresholds. Improving and increasing the use of public transportation is an example of mitigation to reduce gas emissions.
9.
a.
Public health nurses perform the core functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance to serve as a framework for addressing environmental health issues and promoting healthier communities. While performing the core function of assurance, the nurse monitors and evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of environmental policies and programs and ensures that actions are taken when hazards are identified, such as educating the public about the need to boil contaminated drinking water.
10.
b.
The goal of tertiary prevention is to reduce the severity of the impact of an environmental health risk, such as developing an emergency response plan to manage environmental hazards.