Environmental Health and

Nutrition
NURS 592
International and Intercultural Perspectives in

Class objectives
1. Discuss the environmental effects on global
health and nutrition;
2. Analyze the environmental risks of disease;
3. Discuss the multiple dimensions of
malnutrition (i.e. under-nourishment, micronutrient deficiencies, over-nourishment,
and food waste);
4. Discuss the role of the Registered Nurse in
addressing global nutrition and food
security.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH:
...those aspects of human health,
including quality of life, that are
determined by physical, chemical,
biological, social, and psychosocial
factors in the environment. It also refers
to the theory and practice of assessing,
correcting, controlling, and preventing
those factors in the environment that can
potentially affect adversely the health of
present and future generations

What are the aspects,

factors, theories and
practices referred to in this
globally accepted definition?

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1803

FACT: The impact of

environmental hazards on human
health is harshest among the
poor and the vulnerableWHO, 2010

What exactly is the

BURDEN and RISK of
Disease from
Environmental factors?
(%)
Environmental hazards are
responsible for about a quarter
of the total burden of disease
worldwide, and as much as
30% in regions such as subSaharan Africa. As many as 13
million deaths can be
prevented every year by
making our environments
healthier. - WHO, 2010

Environmental Health and

Nutrition

Distribution of undernourished people

in the world, by region, 1990-1992 and
2010-2012

Under-nutrition

Micro-nutrient deficiencies

Over-nutrition

Food waste

Food waste

Food wastage footprint:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoCVrkca
H6Q

Change, modification,
adaption
Burkina Faso: Waiting for the rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B
SsCISIwoaM&list=PL7251A352DCCB7E
54

Environmental Health and

the Responsibility of
Healthcare Professionals

Despite the
uncertainty
associated with many
environmental health
problems, healthcare
providers are
considered to be the
most credible source
of information
regarding the health
effects of
environmental
exposures... Shah,
(2003)

The effects of the environment on

health are a global issue, ...Health
professionals must traverse political
and geographical boundaries in hopes
of confronting this critical issue.
Monique Stewart, (2012)

Canadians trust
nurses and value their
expertise. CNA believes
that the public expects
nurses to be aware of
and know how to
promote Canadians
health in the context of
environmental health
issues. CNA, (2009)

...nurses
considered themselves unprepared to address
AND
YET:
environmental health issues, were unaware of
environmental legislation and regulations and believed
they
were not competent to recognize the health effects of
environmental contaminants
Pope, Snyder & Mood (1995), as cited in CNA (2007) Environmental health,
introduction for nurses.

Despite the fact that a significant proportion of

MOREOVER:

disease is attributable to environmental factors,

environmental health is often viewed as an
appendage of occupational health nursing rather
than central to nursings vision of health
Butterfield (2002), as cited in CNA (2007) Environmental health,
introduction for nurses.

Health, Environment,
Nursing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3sugUM
VAPk&feature=youtu.be

International Council of Nurses suggest

7 key strategies for nurses to engage
in environmental health issues:
1. Assess the environment and detect hazards when they
exist
2. Provide information to individuals and groups on the health
effects of environmental toxins and more global hazard
3. Report serious environmental threats to appropriate
agencies
4. Develop and implement school-based and workplace
wellness programs
5. Aid in the formulation of public policy and legislation
involving the environment
6. Help prevent excessive exposure to immediate toxins and
larger, global hazards
7. Help facilitate behaviour change in people.

General Environmental Health

Competencies identified by the
Institute of Medicine (IOM):

1. All nurses should understand the relationship between

populations, health, and the environment (i.e.
mechanisms and pathways, prevention and control
strategies, intervention partnerships, role of research)
2. All nurses should be able to complete an environmental
health history, recognize hazards, and make
appropriate referrals
3. All nurses should be able to demonstrate knowledge of
the role of advocacy, ethics, and risk communication in
patient care and community intervention
4. All nurses should understand the policy framework and
major pieces of legislation and regulation related to
environmental health

THE LUMINARY PROJECT

and finally...
Nursing ought to signify the proper
use of fresh air, light, warmth,
cleanliness, quiet, and the proper
selection and administration of diet
all at the least expense of vital power
to the patient
~Florence Nightingale

to conclude...

References
Buchanan, M. (2013). Rebuilding the bridge: Health and the environment are major
nursing concerns. American Journal of Nursing 105(4), 104.
Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), (2007). Retrieved from
http://www.cna-aiic.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/Environmental_Health_2008
_e.pdf
Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), (2009). Retrieved from http://www.cnanurses.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/PS105_Nurses_Env_Health_e.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2012). Undernourishment
around the world in 2012. Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3027e/i3027e02.pdf
The Luminary Project: nurses lighting the way to environmental health (2005).
Retrieved from http://www.theluminaryproject.org/story.php?detail=12
Nightingale, F. (1980). Notes on nursing: What it is and what it is not. New York;
Appleton @ Co.
RIO+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. (2012). The future
we want. Retrieved from http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html
Shah, C., P. (2003). Public Health and preventative medicine in Canada. Toronto:
Elsevier
Stewart, M. (2012). Emerging threats to community health. In Vollman, A. R., Anderson,
E. T., & McFarlane, J. (2012). Canadian community as partner 3rd ed. (pp. 194-204).
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
World Health Organization, (2011). 10 facts about the impact of the environment.
Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/environmental_health/environmental_health_fa
cts/en/index.html

Web resources
Canadian Nurses for Health & the Environment (CNHE/IISE)
http://cnhe-iise.ca/
The Emerald Planet
http://www.emerald-planet.org/
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/198105/icode/
Health Care without Harm: Nurses Workgroup
http://www.noharm.org/
The International Council of Nursing
http://www.icn.ch/
The Luminary Project
http://www.theluminaryproject.org/
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/index.cfm
Nursing and Environmental Health (CNA)
http://www.cna-aiic.ca/en/on-the-issues/better-health/social-determinants-ofhealth/environmental-health
Think-Eat-Save
http://www.thinkeatsave.org/
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/gho/phe/en/
Zero Hunger Challenge (UN)
http://www.un.org/en/zerohunger/#&panel1-4