Chapter 6: Environmental Health Nursing Flashcards
After the oil spill of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, which occurred following a hurricane in that same area four years previously, public health officials became particularly concerned about the economic health of the area. What caused this economic concern?
a. illness due to the quality of the air
b. illness due to the quality of the water
c. the habitats of the fishing industry being destroyed
d. the closing of the recreational industry
c. the habitats of the fishing industry being destroyed
The health effects of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the workers and residents, the food supply, and the fishing industry demonstrates the relationship between environmental health and personal health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the factors that are addressed in environmental health are:
a. water, air and waste
b. economics and governmental status
c. areas that we live, work, and play
d. physical, chemical, and biological
d. physical, chemical, and biological
A public health nurse (PHN) uses the epidemiological triangle to understand
a. the environment that brings an agent and host together
b. the role environment plays in the health of individuals, families, and communities
c. the role of water, air, and waste in environmental health
d. both 1 and 2
d. both 1 and 2
A PHN is evaluating a community’s pollution, accessible transportation, and outside activities and the maintenance of its neighborhood buildings. The nurse is evaluating the:
a. environmental stability
b. built environment
c. ecological approach
d. environmental health
b. built environment
The PHN realizes that the mere presence of an agent, even if it is known to have toxic properties, does not necessarily mean there is a risk to health. However, the three routes of entry for chemical exposure include all of the following, except:
a. ingestion
b. inhalation
c. dermal absorption
d. IV
d. IV
A hospital admits a patient who is having breathing problems after mixing household cleaning products. The nurse recognizes that this patient is suffering from exposure to which type of environmental hazard?
a. biological
b. mixed
c. physical
d. chemical
b. mixed
A family survived a dangerous weather event, but now they are suffering through another part of environmental risk: stress, pain, and anxiety. The nurse recognizes that this is the:
a. physcial agent
b. mixed exposure
c. psychosocial factor
d. biologic agent
c. psychosocial factor
A PHN is learning about exposure risk assessments, which are used by policy makers and other regulators to evaluate the health effects from an environmental exposure. In these assessments, the final step in the process involves making a judgment about the risk of the health problems to those who are exposed. The nurse learns that this is referred to as a:
a. dose-response assessment
b. risk characterization
c. hazard identification
d. exposure assessment
b. risk characterization
Older adults have higher body burdens of chemicals that have been absorbed over their lifetimes, and these chemicals collect in the adipose tissue or bone, and can later result in poor health outcomes, such as cancer or organ damage. The PHN recognizes that this substance collection is called:
a. half-life
b. bioaccumulation
c. latency period
d. environmental exposure
b. bioaccumulation
A PHN notices that the Air Quality Index measures 120 for an area. The PHN knows that this means that:
a. the air quality is good
b. the air quality is unhealthy
c. the air quality is hazardous
d. the air quality is moderate affecting the most sensitive individuals
d. the air quality is moderate affecting the most sensitive individuals
A nursing instructor is holding a lecture on environmental health and explains that gene environment interaction:
a.Can directly cause diabetes, pulmonary disease, and breast cancer
b. Can change the expression of a genetic trait and alter physical aspects
c. Can have either a protective influence or increase risk for many diseases
d. Does not demonstrate any noticeable effect from the environment
c. Can have either a protective influence or increase risk for many diseases
A PHN is helping to manage a chemical spill crisis in a nearby community. In order to find out the community’s chemical response plan, the nurse consults which of the following?
a. The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA)
b. the centers for disease control and prevention
c. healthy people 2020
d. the world health organization
a. The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA)
A PHN knows that the ambient air standard, which is the highest level of a pollutant in a specific place over a specific period of time that is not hazardous for humans, is most influenced by:
a. wind
b. weather
c. population
d. the surrounding built environment
d. the surrounding built environment
Many outdoor air contaminants originate from various sources. The PHN recognizes that sources such as gas stations, dry cleaners, commercial building heating and cooling systems, and waste disposal facilities are referred to as:
a. criteria air pollutants
b. area sources
c. mobile sources
d. point sources
b. area sources
Particulate matter varies in size, and the size determines the site of the deposition in the respiratory system. The nursing student is taught that this means that:
a. The larger the particulate, the more hazardous
b. The smaller the particulate, the more hazardous
c. The size of the particulate is not important
d. The lungs and dust masks can take care of the particulates
b. the smaller the particulate, the more hazardous
