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WEEK 3 TICKETS TO CLASS
Explain the components of environmental health. How does environmental health impact risk
to health and wellness in a community?
Components of environmental health
Built environment – where people created living and working spaces by modifying their
surroundings.
Work-related exposure – harm that can be introduced through occupation or
occupation location.
Outdoor air quality – the air that the patient surrounds themselves with and the
weather conditions.
Healthy home – where the patients live (structure, location, safety)
Water quality – access to water, water contents (chemicals/minerals/pathogens), water
pollution
Food safety – sources of food (plants/animals), cost of food, availability
Waste management – how is waste being managed, ways to reduce commercial and
residential waste.
Environment health can impact a person's health if one of the factors become "bad," it can
affect the person or community's quality of life as they have to breathe air full of harmful
chemical, the house they live in does not have a good foundation, the food they eat is rotten,
drinking water full of germs/parasites, or toxins, etc.
As a community nurse, how does the risk to health influence health promotion?
Health promotion comes on many levels, as different people have different risks of specific
health problems. A person who believes they are relatively "healthy" might not pay attention to
primary prevention screening, go to annual doctor checkups, or listen to medical advice from
the nurses/doctors compared to those with comorbidity that affects their health condition.
Differentiate risk assessment from risk management roles for the community health nurse.
Risk assessment – look at exposure(s) in an environment and find risk(s) that can affect the
people in the community. The four parts of an assessment are identification, risk description,
assessment, and risk estimation. (Pullis & Nies, 2019)
Risk management – looking at existing problems/community culture, finding potential risks, and
developing a plan(s) that help the community improve on the problems.
Discuss the future of healthcare delivery in the United States regarding community health.
Currently, most healthcare data storage and delivery are done through computers and
computer software. However, there are still some discrepancies between the healthcare
delivery system as some computer systems are well communicated with each other, don't
transfer information, have the nurse input information twice, etc. In the future, when most
software allows a more streamlined process of transferring information, it can benefit the
community nurse as they can gather information about the patient from a different doctor(s)
offices, hospital visits, and outpatient care centers, which can help them see the patient
medical history in a more accurate manner, without having to rely on the patient trying to
remember about their medical history.
Outline trends in health care cost and economics related to the health of communities.
As healthcare costs are increasing over time and the economy is going through a recession right
now, the health of communities is significantly impacted. Supply and cost of procedures are
going up in prices as their supply chain issue, from the import of medical supplies and
equipment to not having particular medication in stock due to increasing patient demand.
Having fewer supplies and more demand can cause an imbalance in patient care as the hospital
will prioritize patients with private insurance, higher insurance reimbursement, and the ability
to pay their bills compared to those with government-assisted insurance. Due to that reason,
we might see a decline in the health of communities from the need for more money and
resources to be used to promote wellness.
6. Provide examples of the social, cultural, political, and economic impacts of environmental
health problems.
Social – where a person lives, works, and spends their time off can affect the environmental
health system and constitute the social and physical environments in which individuals live and
work.
Cultural–specific cultures have different practices that can impact how they view others around
them, having certain stereotypes or treating animals and land according to their religious
practice.
Political – the government can play an essential role in having laws and regulations on
proving/fixing infrastructure, health promotion, protection from communicable diseases, and
reducing environmental health hazards.
Economic – increased cost of living, materials, food, transportation fee, etc. can impact their
food sources as now they have to resort to eating can food as it is cheaper than fresh produce,
the condition of their home as they can't afford to fix their house.
7. What are Social Determinants of Health? Provide examples and discuss why this topic is at the
current forefront of healthcare in America.
Social Determinants of Health are issues that can impact a person or community's access to
getting the care they need for their health. The five social determinants of health are economic
stability, education access/quality, social/community context, neighborhood environment, and
healthcare access/quality (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.). These five determinants are at the top of the list for
America's most concerning issue as about 14 percent of the population live in rural where there
is little access to healthcare services, low level of education, far distance commute between
places, and low income.
8. Define Modifiable and Non-modifiable Risk Factors and provide at least four examples.
Modifiable risk factors – health risks that a person (he or she) has control over to change their
habits to improve the quality of their health.
Examples: smoking, activity levels, food choices, eating habits, alcohol consumption
Non-modifiable risk factors – health risks that a person (he or she) has little to no control over
their health quality, but they can slow down the progression.
Examples: genetic makeup, patient's age, patient's gender, family history of the disease
Reference:
American Heart Association. (2023, January 24). Understand your risks to prevent a heart attack.
www.heart.org. From https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/understand-your-risks-toprevent-a-heart-attack
Nies, M. A., McEwen, M., Pullis, B. C., & Nies, M. A. (2019). Health Promotion and Risk Reduction.
In Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the health of Populations (7th ed., pp. 138–178).
essay, Elsevier.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Social Determinants of Health. Social
Determinants of Health - Healthy People 2030. From https://health.gov/healthypeople/priorityareas/social-determinants-health
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