Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Environmental Health Issues--Magnitude of the Problem and Prevention
• Population-based Initiatives to Reduce the Burden of Environmental Health Issues
• Occupational Health Issues--Magnitude of the Problem and Prevention
• Population-based Initiatives to Reduce the Burden of Occupational Health Issues
• Unintended Injuries and Violence—Magnitude of the Problem and Prevention
• Population-based Initiatives to Reduce the Burden of Unintended Injuries and Violence

NRSG 780 - Health Promotion and Population Health

Module 12: Environmental Health, Occupational Health, Unintended Injuries and Violence

Population-based Initiatives to Reduce the Burden of Environmental Health Issues

National

The CDC National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) plans, directs, and coordinates a program to protect the population from environmental hazards. It places special emphasis on safeguarding the health of vulnerable populations--children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. NCHE’s initiatives include the following:

• National Asthma Control Program that works with state health departments and NGOs to help people with asthma control their disease and live healthier, more productive lives.
• Built Environment & Health Initiative / Healthy Community Design Initiative that helps states and communities integrate health considerations into transportation and community planning to improve public health
• Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program that protects children from lead exposure.
• Climate and Health Program that works to prevent and adapt to the health effects of extreme weather and other climate related issues.
• Environmental Health Laboratory that improves the detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases resulting from exposure to environmental chemicals and selected other diseases that require advanced laboratory measurement for diagnosis.
• Core Environmental Health Services Program that works with state, local, tribal, and territorial environmental health practitioners to ensure that food, drinking water, and wastewater systems are safe.
• Environmental Public Health Tracking Program that tracks and reports environmental hazards and health problems that may be related.
• Radiation Studies Program that identifies and studies harmful exposures and provides important health communication and education regarding exposures.
• Safe Water Program that focuses on reducing waterborne exposures and diseases.

For more information of the NCHE please review the website at:  https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/

Statewide

The Maryland Department of Health’s Environmental Health Bureau focuses on:

• Surveillance of environmental, occupational and injury conditions and exposures
• Regulation and control of hazards in food, home environments and the community
• Response to new and emerging hazards and environmental threats such as global climate change

Click here for more information on environmental health in Maryland.

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments: An international effort started by the University of Maryland School of Nursing

The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) is an international network of nurses who are acting on the premise that the environment and health are inextricably connected. ANHE is working to integrate environmental health intro nursing education, green health care workplaces, incorporate environmental exposure questions into patient histories, provide anticipatory guidance to pregnant women and parents about environmental risks to children, implement research that addresses environmental health questions and advocate for environmental health in the workplace and governmental institutions.

Watch this video to get a sense of the work of ANHE.

The University of Maryland School of Nursing offers an on-line certificate in Environmental Health. For more information click here.