Deck 6: Environmental Health

Question 1

Older adults have higher body burdens of chemicals that have been absorbed over their lifetimes, and these chemicals collect in the adipose tissue or bone, and can later result in poor health outcomes, such as cancer or organ damage. The PHN recognizes that this substance collection is called:

A)Half-life.
B)Bioaccumulation.
C)Latency period.
D)Environmental exposure.

Answer 1

Bioaccumulation.

Question 2

A PHN is helping to manage a chemical spill crisis in a nearby community. In order to find out the community's chemical response plan, the nurse consults which of the following?

A)The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA)
B)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
C)Healthy People 2020
D)The World Health Organization (WHO)

Answer 2

The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA)

Question 3

A nursing instructor is giving a lecture on environmental sustainability. The instructor explains that this is a critical issue to the global environment and an important emerging public health issue. Some of the issues addressed within environmental sustainability include which of the following? Select all that apply.

A)Preventing environmental exposure
B)Maintaining the funding for research and development for alternative energy
C)The rates in which renewable resources are harvested
D)The rates of depletion of nonrenewable resources
E)The creation of pollution that can continue for an indefinite period of time

Answer 3

The rates in which renewable resources are harvested
The rates of depletion of nonrenewable resources
The creation of pollution that can continue for an indefinite period of time

Question 4

A family survived a dangerous weather event, but now they are suffering through another part of environmental risk: stress, pain, and anxiety. The nurse recognizes that these are the:

A)Physical agents.
B)Mixed exposures.
C)Psychosocial factors.
D)Biological agents.

Question 5

A nursing instructor is holding a lecture on environmental health and explaining that gene environment interaction:

A)Can directly cause diabetes, pulmonary disease, and breast cancer.
B)Can change the expression of a genetic trait and alter physical aspects.
C)Can have either a protective influence or increase risk for many diseases.
D)Does not demonstrate any noticeable effect from the environment.

Question 6

The PHN understands that the toxicity of chemicals in children is more severe than that in older populations because of which of the following reasons? Select all that apply.

A)Children play in outdoor soil, which can be contaminated.
B)Children may ingest substances from unlabeled, repurposed food containers.
C)Children have faster rates of absorption of toxic substances.
D)In urban settings children may not have adequate places to play.
E)Children have less developed immune systems.
F)None of above

Question 7

A hospital admits a patient who is having breathing problems after mixing household cleaning products. The nurse recognizes that this patient is suffering from exposure to which type of environmental hazard?

A)Biological
B)Mixed
C)Physical
D)Chemical

Question 8

A PHN is learning about exposure risk assessments, which are used by policy makers and other regulators to evaluate the health effects from an environmental exposure. In these assessments, the final step in the process involves making a judgment about the risk of the health problems to those who are exposed. The nurse learns that this is referred to as a(n):

A)Dose-response assessment.
B)Risk characterization.
C)Hazard identification.
D)Exposure assessment.

Question 9

A PHN knows that the ambient air standard, which is the highest level of a pollutant in a specific place over a specific period of time that is not hazardous for humans, is most influenced by:

A)Wind patterns.
B)Weather conditions.
C)Population in the area.
D)The surrounding built environment.

Question 10

To aid a lower income family who is struggling with a pest problem in their home, a PHN recommends a program known as integrated pest management, which offers methods to deter pests. Some of these methods include which of the following? Select all that apply.

A)Caulking and sealing cracks and holes in the home
B)Eating in one place
C)Getting rid of clutter
D)Storing food in sealed containers
E)Making sure the family is vaccinated

Question 11

A PHN notices that the Air Quality Index measures 120 for an area. The PHN knows that this means:

A)The air quality is good.
B)The air quality is unhealthy.
C)The air quality is hazardous for everyone in the community.
D)The air quality is moderate affecting the most sensitive individuals.

Question 12

According to the WHO, it is estimated that a large number of people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water. In a lecture on water quality, a PHN learns that the main barriers to the provision of clean drinking water include all of the following except:

A)Financial capacity.
B)Too many facilities for the sanitary disposal of excrement.
C)Sustainability of the water supply.
D)Sanitation and hygiene behaviors.

Question 13

The public health nursing student learns that the need for environmental justice extends to disadvantaged populations, who, as a result of low income, age, health status, race, or other social indices of susceptibility, are at greatest risk of exposure to environmental hazards because of which of the following problems? Select all that apply.

A)Substandard housing
B)Lack of access to health care
C)Lack of nutritious food
D)Lack of safe places to play
E)Employment in risky jobs
F)None of above

Question 14

Particulate matter varies in size, and the size determines the site of the deposition in the respiratory system. The nursing student is taught that this means:

A)The larger the particulate, the more hazardous.
B)The smaller the particulate, the more hazardous.
C)The size of the particulate is not important.
D)The lungs and dust masks can take care of the particulates.

Question 15

The health effects of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the workers and residents, the food supply, and the fishing industry demonstrates the relationship between environmental health and personal health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the definition of environmental health, the factors external to a person, and related factors that impact behaviors that are addressed in environmental health include all but which of the following?

A)Physical
B)Chemical
C)Biological
D)Governmental

Question 16

A PHN is evaluating a community's access to grocery stores, accessible transportation, outside activities, and the maintenance of its neighborhood buildings. The nurse is evaluating the:

A)Environmental stability.
B)Built environment.
C)Ecological approach.
D)Environmental health.

Question 17

The PHN realizes that the mere presence of an agent, even if it is known to have toxic properties, does not necessarily mean there is a risk to health. However, the three routes of entry for chemical exposure include all of the following, except:

A)Ingestion.
B)Inhalation.
C)Dermal absorption.
D)Intravenous (IV).

Question 18

Many outdoor air contaminants originate from various sources. The PHN recognizes that sources such as gas stations, dry cleaners, commercial building heating and cooling systems, and waste disposal facilities are referred to as:

A)Criteria air pollutants.
B)Area sources.
C)Mobile sources.
D)Point sources.

Question 19

A public health nurse (PHN) uses the epidemiological triangle to understand:

A)The environment that brings an agent and host together
B)The role environment plays in the health of individuals, families, and communities
C)The role of water, air, and waste in environmental health
D)Both A and B