The Role of the Community Health Nurse in Environmental Health

Chemical contamination in the environment is affecting public health in increasing numbers of communities across the country. Although historically and theoretically well within the realm of nursing, methods for assessing and diagnosing threats to community environmental health are not being included in community health nurses' training. A community's environmental health is assessed by retrieving information from federal, state, and local sources. Developing the diagnosis involves four steps: identifying a community aggregate at highest risk of exposure, determining the potential or actual health response, citing related host and environmental factors, and correlating any existing epidemiologic data that may substantiate the nursing diagnosis. To illustrate these concepts, a systematic environmental health assessment was conducted for Douglas, Arizona. The results indicated elevated lead levels in residential soils and led to the community diagnosis, potential for injury: children in Douglas are at risk of developing adverse neurobehavioral health effects, and pregnant women in Douglas are at risk of developing adverse reproductive health effects related to several environmental and host factors, as evidenced by average blood lead level, in children exceeding the Centers for Disease Control recommended level of 10 micrograms/dl.