Climate changes reproductive and children's health: a review of risks, exposures, and impacts.

Our climate has significantly changed, exceeding what the world has experienced over the last 650,000 years, and has been cited as the most significant health threat of the twenty-first century. Climate change is impacting health in unprecedented ways. While everyone is vulnerable to the health impacts associated with climate change, children are disproportionately affected because of their physical and cognitive immaturity. Climate change impacts that include rising temperatures, extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increasing carbon dioxide levels are associated with a wide range of health issues in children such as asthma, allergies, vector-borne diseases, malnutrition, low birth weight, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Pediatric health providers play a critical role in advancing the science and translating findings to improve public understanding about the link between climate changes and children's health, and establishing strategies to address these issues. This review will provide an overview of research exploring the impact of climate change on children's health impacts, as well as provide recommendations for pediatric research moving forward.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: An Emerging Contaminant of Concern.

Concerns about the health impacts from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to grow as the science continues to emerge associating this chemical family with a wide range of health impacts. PFAS exposure may affect growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children, and also impact reproductive health, cardiovascular health, and the immune system. PFAS exposure is widespread, with communities surrounding military bases at potentially greater risk of exposure from the use of fire fighting foam that may have entered the drinking water. As trusted health professionals, nurses have been in the frontlines communicating risks regarding PFAS to impacted communities. This chapter describes a large number of PFAS studies in blood and harmful health effects in people. The chapter discusses primary sources of exposure and risk reduction. It explains health advisory levels, minimal risk levels. The chapter provides medical testing and medical management.

Web-based environmental health education: fish facts.

Nurses and other health professionals are often asked about the benefits and risks of fish consumption. The combination of conflicting media messages about these risks and benefits and limited knowledge has led to confusion about how to properly advise people about safe fish consumption. "Fish Facts for Health Professionals" was the result of a collaborative effort of environmental, public health, medical, nursing, and media experts to create a web-based educational series to address the need for reliable information on fish consumption. Using interviews and real case studies, the 3- to 5-minute media modules provided a strong visual element while remaining conversational. The modules were viewed worldwide, and 121 participants successfully completed the requirements for professional continuing education credit.

Climate and Environmental Change: A Generation at Risk.

ABSTRACT: Climate and environmental changes have been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century, with the potential to cause immediate harm in early life with important lifelong effects, and important consequences for future generations. Pregnant women and children are increasingly being recognized as vulnerable populations in the context of climate change. The effects can be direct or indirect through heat stress, extreme weather events, and air pollution, potentially affecting both the immediate and long-term health of pregnant women and newborns through a broad range of mechanisms. Climate and environmental changes have wide-ranging effects on a woman's reproductive life including sexual maturation and fertility, pregnancy outcomes, lactation, breastfeeding, and menopause. A comprehensive overview of these impacts is presented as well as opportunities for interventions for nurses practicing in perinatal, neonatal, midwifery, and pediatric specialties.

Selective estrogen modulators for the primary prevention of breast cancer.

Selective estrogen modulators can be used in the primary prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Soy isoflavones for the prevention of menopausal symptoms and bone loss--a safe and effective alternative to estrogen?

Daily administration of soy isoflavones for 2 years did not prevent bone loss or menopausal symptoms.

Workplace obesity prevention.

Employers can effectively reduce obesity, lower their health care costs, reduce absenteeism, and increase employee productivity through workplace obesity prevention programs.

Lockout and tagout procedures to prevent occupational injury and fatality.

Hazardous energy control programs that include lockout and tagout procedures as well as worker training can prevent serious injury and death during machine maintenance.

Bisphenol A--a precautionary approach.

CDC research found detectable levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in samples from 93% of individuals 6 years and older.

Control banding for risk management of source chemical agents and other occupational hazards.

In the absence of occupational exposure limits, control banding may be a useful strategy for assessing and controlling occupational hazards as part of a comprehensive safety and health program.

Preventing bedbug infestation.

Bedbugs are increasingly encountered in hotels, motels, office buildings, movie theaters, and modes of transport--anywhere the turnover of occupants is constant.

Gestational diabetes-what comes next?

Women with gestational diabetes mellitus should have an oral glucose tolerance test 6 to 12 weeks after delivery.

Overtime work--related to increased risk of incident coronary heart disease?

The Whitehall II Study finds overtime work is related to increased risk of incident coronary heart disease independent of conventional risk factors.

Sharps injuries and other blood and body fluid exposures among home health care nurses and aides.

OBJECTIVES: We quantified risks of sharp medical device (sharps) injuries and other blood and body fluid exposures among home health care nurses and aides, identified risk factors, assessed the use of sharps with safety features, and evaluated underreporting in workplace-based surveillance. METHODS: We conducted a questionnaire survey and workplace-based surveillance, collaborating with 9 home health care agencies and 2 labor unions from 2006 to 2007. RESULTS: Approximately 35% of nurses and 6.4% of aides had experienced at least 1 sharps injury during their home health care career; corresponding figures for other blood and body fluid exposures were 15.1% and 6.7%, respectively. Annual sharps injuries incidence rates were 5.1 per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) nurses and 1.0 per 100 FTE aides. Medical procedures contributing to sharps injuries were injecting medications, administering fingersticks and heelsticks, and drawing blood. Other contributing factors were sharps disposal, contact with waste, and patient handling. Sharps with safety features frequently were not used. Underreporting of sharps injuries to the workplace-based surveillance system was estimated to be about 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Sharps injuries and other blood and body fluid exposures are serious hazards for home health care nurses and aides. Improvements in hazard intervention are needed.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (omega-3 PuFA) therapy shows promise in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Gestational weight gain to promote optimal outcomes.

How much weight women gain during pregnancy, and their weight at conception, can affect their health and that of their babies.

Challenges in hearing conservation--the hearing-impaired worker.

Hearing-impaired workers face special challenges in the workplace, including communicating and identifying and using appropriate hearing protection.

Climate Change and Schools: Implications for Children's Health and Safety.

The predicted impacts of climate change are fast becoming a reality and are already adversely affecting human health and health systems. Events such as flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are challenging communities to re-evaluate whether their schools provide a safe, healthy environment. Among the populations most vulnerable to the impacts of our changing climate are our children. Nurses are key to supporting mitigation and adaptation efforts to promote more resilient school environments, using approaches based on values of the common good and social justice.

Sharps injuries and bloodborne pathogen exposures in home health care.

Home health care is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Approximately 20,000 provider agencies deliver home health care services to 7.6 million individuals with acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability, or terminal illness. The home health care setting poses many challenges that likely increase the risk of sharps injuries. Home health nurses face unique challenges in preventing and reporting sharps injuries in the home. This article examines the nature of and risk factors for sharps injuries in the home health care setting, the scope of the problem, the legislative and regulatory framework relevant to sharps injuries, and the role of occupational health nurses in promoting a culture of safety to prevent sharps injuries and bloodborne pathogen exposures.