America's nurses, an estimated 2 million strong, are often at the frontlines in confronting environmental health hazards. Yet most nurses have not received adequate training to manage these hazards.

Nursing, Health, and the Environment explores the effects that environmental hazards (including those in the workplace) have on the health of patients and communities and proposes specific strategies for preparing nurses to address them.

The committee documents the magnitude of environmental hazards and discusses the importance of the relationship between nursing, health, and the environment from three broad perspectives

• Practice--The authors address environmental health issues in the nursing process, potential controversies over nurses taking a more activist stance on environmental health issues, and more.
• Education--The volume presents the status of environmental health content in nursing curricula and credentialing, and specific strategies for incorporating more environmental health into nursing preparation.
• Research--The book includes a survey of the available knowledge base and options for expanding nursing research as it relates to environmental health hazards.

Contents

• Committee on Enhancing Environmental Health Content in Nursing Practice
• Preface
• Acronyms
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • Defining Environmental Health
  • Environmental Health as a Core Function of Nursing Practice
  • Moving to a Population-Based Perspective
  • The Nursing Workforce
  • Origin, Purpose, and Organization of the Report
• 2. Overview of Environmental Health Hazards
  • Classifying Hazards
  • Air, Soil, and Water
  • The Workplace Environment
  • The Global Environment
  • Vulnerable Populations
  • Environmental Health Priorities
  • Conclusion
• 3. Nursing Practice
  • Nursing Practice and Responsibilities in Environmental Health
  • Factors that Influence Nursing Practice
  • Case Study
  • Nursing Competencies in Environmental Health
  • Conclusion
  • Recommendations
• 4. Nursing Education and Professional Development
  • Factors Affecting Nursing Curricula
  • Nursing Education Pathways
  • Model Program Development
  • Methods for Enhancing Dissemination of Environmental Health Content in Nursing Education at All Levels
  • Role of Federal, State, and Local Health Agencies
  • Methods for Evaluating Effectiveness of Curriculum
  • Recommendations
• 5. Nursing Research
  • Nursing Research Perspective
  • Multidisciplinary Research Base for Nursing Practice
  • Review of Nursing Research in Environmental Health
  • Meeting the Need for Nursing Research in Environmental Health
  • Recommendations
• References
• Appendixes
  • A Position Statement from the International Council of Nurses: The Nurse's Role in Safeguarding the Human Environment
  • B Environmental Hazards for the Nurse as a Worker
  • C Environmental Health Curricula
  • D Environmental Health Resources: Agencies, Organizations, Services, General References, and Tables of Environmental Health Hazards
  • E Focus Group Summary and List of Participants
  • F Nursing Advocacy at the Policy Level: Strategies and Resources
  • G Taking an Exposure History
  • H Acknowledgments
  • I Committee and Staff Biographies

This project was supported by funds from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency (contract number U61/ATU398777-01).

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The Institute of Medicine was chartered in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to enlist distinguished members of the appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. In this, the Institute acts under both the Academy's 1863 congressional charter responsibility to be an adviser to the federal government and its own initiative in identifying issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is President of the Institute of Medicine.