Week 10: chapter 27

Question 1

what is the most common disease that can be attributed to modifiable environmental factors?
-HIV
-diarrhea
-upper respiratory infections
-myocardial infarction

Answer 1

diarrhea

Question 2

What percentage of deaths can be attributed to environmental causes?
-46%
-23%
-38%
-12%

Answer 2

23%

Question 3

Which canadian document was the first to link the environment to health?
-Ottawa Charter
-the report of the walkerton inquiry
- a new perspective on the health of Canadians
-Building on values: the future of health care in Canada

Answer 3

a new perspective on the health of Canadians

Question 4

using the DPSEEA framework, what is a driving force that can influence the state of the environment?
- poverty
-water quality and supply
-air pollution
-public policy

Answer 4

poverty

Question 5

At what level in the DPSEEA Framework are community health nurses involved?
a. Exposure and effects
b. State of the environment
c. Pressures
d. Driving forces

Answer 5

a. exposure and effects

Question 6

Environmental hazards that impact health can exist in the home, workplace, and neighbourhood. What is an example of a hazard in the neighbourhood that can impact health?
a. Working in a car assembly plant
b. Winter driving
c. Use of Lysol spray in the bathroom
d. Substandard housing

Answer 6

b. winter driving

Question 7

What is an example of pressure in the DPSEEA framework?
a. Poverty
b. Overcrowding
c. Air pollution
d. Greenhouse gases

Answer 7

d. greenhouse gases

Question 8

Mr. Chagnon works in a coal mine. What type of environmental factor will most likely influence his health?
a. Ergonomic
b. Chemical
c. Biological
d. Physical

Answer 8

b. chemical

Question 9

Mr. Salle works in a plant producing solvent. How might he be exposed to environmental hazards?
a. Absorption
b. Penetration
c. Ingestion
d. Inhalation

Answer 9

a. absorption

Question 10

What is an example of the first line of defence to control exposure to environmental hazards?
a. Changing jobs
b. Respirators
c. Limiting repetitive motion
d. Ventilation systems

Answer 10

d. ventilation systems

Question 11

What is used to show the relationship between the amount of exposure to an agent and the elicited response in the population?
a. Susceptibility
b. Dose-related histogram
c. DPSEEA framework
d. Epidemiology

Answer 11

b. dose-related histogram

Question 12

What is the purpose of an environmental health assessment?
a. Determine the level of exposure
b. Determine a possible link between an environmental exposure and health
c. Discover the relationship between the dose of the environmental agent and the
response
d. Identify toxins in the environment

Answer 12

b. determine a possible link between an environmental exposure and health

Question 13

The federal government reports on what environmental indicator?
a. Ultraviolet (UV) index
b. Population density
c. Ozone levels
d. Fluoride levels in water

Answer 13

c. ozone levels

Question 14

A tire dump is burning upwind from a small community. An environmental risk assessment is done. What information will this provide?
a. Who in the community is at greatest risk
b. The financial cost of the exposure
c. Current information for the community
d. The level of exposure that will impact health

Answer 14

d. the level of exposure that will impact health

Question 15

What is an example of federal environmental legislation?
a. Food and Drug Act
b. Environmental Protection Act
c. Occupational Health and Safety Act
d. Clean Air Act

Answer 15

a. food and drug act

Question 16

where would an occupational health nurse work?
a. Hockey arena
b. Community centre
c. Sawmill
d. Elementary school

Answer 16

c. sawmill

Question 17

What organization has a national voice influencing health and safety regulations across Canada?
a. Worksafe
b. Labour Ministry
c. Canadian Nurses Association
d. Occupational Health Nursing Association

Answer 17

d. occupational health nursing association

Question 18

A nurse who is assessing hazard control would consider which to be an administrative control?
a. Wearing gloves when working with biological hazards
b. Rotating workers for two-hour periods through a high heat area
c. Replacing the dangerous cleaning solution with a safe product
d. Enclosing workers in a noise-free control room

Answer 18

b. Rotating workers for two-hour periods through a high heat area

Question 19

What is an occupational health nurse?
a. A nurse with an occupational health nursing certificate through the
Canadian Nurses Association
b. A nurse certified through the American Association of Occupational Health
Nurses
c. A nurse with additional training in health and safety
d. A nurse registered with the Canadian Occupational Nurses Association

Answer 19

c. a nurse with additional training in health and safety

Question 20

Mr. Chevez and Mr. Ferris work in a fertilizer plant. What type of environmental factor may have an influence on their health?
a. Occupational
b. Physical
c. Inhalation
d. Chemical

Answer 20

d. chemical

Question 21

Mr. Chevez and Mr. Ferris work in a fertilizer plant. Despite similar exposure, Mr. Chevez develops a respiratory condition. What would account for Mr. Ferris remaining healthy?
a. Mr. Ferris is resistant
b. Mr. Chevez had a pre-existing health condition
c. Mr. Ferris had less exposure
d. Mr. Chevez is hypo-susceptible

Answer 21

a. mr. ferris is resistant

Question 22

Mr. Chevez and Mr. Ferris work in a fertilizer plant. What type of nurse would work with the employees of the fertilizer plant?
a. Public health nurse
b. Occupational health nurse
c. Hazard control nurse
d. Community health nurse

Answer 22

b. occupational health nurse

Question 23

Mr. Chevez and Mr. Ferris work in a fertilizer plant. The nurse institutes hazard controls at the plant. What would be the first line of defence?
a. Developing a policy to limit exposure
b. Changing jobs within the plant
c. Improving ventilation
d. Using personal respirators

Answer 23

c. improving ventilation

Question 24

What term is best used to describe conditions that occur from exposures that are unique to the workplace and unlikely to occur in concentrated form in daily life?
a. Occupational diseases
b. Environmental health
c. Environmental factors
d. Workplace exposures

Answer 24

a. occupational diseases

Question 25

Jane is completing an environmental health assessment. She is collecting information about Mrs. Jones’s social activities. What type of information is Jane collecting? a. Residential information b. Occupational information c. Environmental information d. Recreation information

Answer 25

d. recreation information

Question 26

Describe components of the DPSEEA framework. Give an example of each component using an earthquake in a third-world country.

Answer 26

Driving forces (D): Driving forces are factors that create pressures, which can influence the state of the environment, e.g., poverty, population density. Pressures (P): The environment can be altered by pressures, e.g., food shortages, disposal of wastes, decomposing bodies and animals. State of the environment (S): The state of the environment can be altered in response to pressures (i.e., resource availability, air pollution), e.g., water pollution, contaminated food. Exposure and Effects (EE): Exposures occur through inhalation, ingestion, and absorption of hazards. These exposures will result in an effect on health in individuals, e.g., drinking contaminated water (diarrhea, cholera), food shortages (violence, hunger). Actions (A): Actions are undertaken to affect the environmental factor, including policy changes, pollution monitoring, environmental improvements, and education/awareness programs, e.g., safety re: water treatment, hygiene; policy re: food and water distribution.

Question 27

A nurse needs to do a personal exposure history on a 35-year-old woman who has severe diarrhea. What are the components of the personal exposure history? Describe what the nurse would assess under each component.

Answer 27

-Occupational Information (present and past jobs, work exposures, protective measures, duration of the exposure) -Residential Information (water sources, history of floods, indoor air quality) Recreational Information (social exposures, community exposures)

Question 28

Describe three types of health and safety hazards that a nurse could expect to encounter in her practice. Give two examples of specific hazards related to each type.

Answer 28

- physical, e.g., noise, vibration, radiation, heat/cold - biological, e.g., bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, birds, animals, humans - psychosocial, e.g., workload, harassment, arrangements, shiftwork, conflict

Question 29

List and define the four common routes of entry for individual environmental factors.

Answer 29

- Inhalation: inhaling agents directly into the respiratory tract and lungs - Absorption: refers to entrance through the skin, regardless of whether the skin is intact or damaged. Some substances may be absorbed by way of openings or through hair follicles, while others may dissolve in fats and oils of the skin. Some compounds can produce systemic poisoning through direct contact with the skin - Injection: can involve accidental or intentional injection of agents from either a high- velocity source or a point source - Ingestion: includes knowingly or unknowingly eating or drinking a harmful agent and subsequently having a toxic compound absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream