by Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN ;  Brenda M. Afzal, MS, RN
Marian E. Condon, BSN, BA, RN;  Erin K. Belka, BS;  Tonya M. McKee, BA

Expiration Date: December 31, 2008. No CE contact hours (CH) will be given after this date.

Abstract and Objectives

Every school day, parents send their children to school with the hopes that they will be healthy and safe and will receive an education. A variety of environmental risks may be posed in some schools that can make them potentially unsafe and unhealthy, and hinder children's ability to learn. This independent study module (ISM) provides the reader with a brief overview of some of the key environmental health risks associated with schools. Information is presented about the environmental exposures, signs and symptoms of toxicity, and the nurse's role as an agent of change to help encourage and produce healthy and safe schools. Children's special vulnerabilities are described, as well as child-specific information regarding the toxicity associated with exposures. Pesticides, mercury, asbestos, formaldehyde, radon and carbon monoxide poisonings are discussed. Because indoor air quality can be an important variable affecting the learning process, a general section on this issue is presented. Suggestions are provided addressing environmental health and safety problems, including the use of health and safety committees, as well as advocacy education approaches. A resource section provides a brief listing of resources; many of them are websites, which, in turn will link the reader to additional resources. The EPA's website will be found to be particularly helpful, especially the children's section and the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools section, as well as the healthy schools network website. The purpose of this independent study module is to introduce the reader to basic concepts and issues associated with environmental health risks to children in schools. The University of Maryland has created a new web site, envirn.umaryland.edu , that contains links to all of the websites noted in this ISM.

Objectives

1. Describe children's special vulnerabilities.
2. Identify three environmental hazards that may affect children's health in schools.
3. Explain the nurse's advocacy role related to children's environmental health in schools.
4. Specify two resources that can provide information related to children's environmental health.
5. Discuss the goals and characteristics of integrated pest management.
6. List three asthma triggers that may be found in schools.
7. Describe two pollutants that contribute to indoor air pollution, their sources, and associated health effects.
8. Name two variables that may determine a relationship between exposure to a stressor and a health effect.

Next: Read the Independent Study Module