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The health implications of food and agriculture production are not generally part of the nursing curriculum and yet nurses understand that vulnerable populations, such as farmworkers, may need special attention in terms of health education, disease prevention, and access to mental health and healthcare services. Nurses also learn about the social determinants of health and increasingly are applying this knowledge to health and wellness in their communities. This article will consider the health impacts of the social determinants and both environmental and occupational exposures experienced by farmworkers and the associated implications for the nursing profession. As health professionals one can help to give voice to this often-voiceless population. Working with farmworkers in partnership is key and working with the Migrant Clinicians Network and other advocacy organizations on state and federal policies that will improve working and living conditions for farmworkers and their families is crucial., (© Copyright 2020 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)

Background and Purpose: In March 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed course on a proposal to ban the agricultural use of the organophosphate (OP) insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF). The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence leading to this controversial decision and provide clinically applicable health promotion guidance for nurse practitioners on CPF exposure and risk reduction measures., Methods: Environmental Protection Agency documents on CPF regulation and corresponding research referenced within the EPA reports are reviewed. Evidence-based health promotion strategies obtained through PubMed, CINAHL, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health sources are summarized., Conclusions: Available data suggest a potential association between CPF exposure and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Particularly vulnerable populations are pregnant women, children younger than two years, and agricultural workers. There may be genetic variability in susceptibility to environmental toxins., Implications for Practice: Because of the extensive use of the OP CPF in agriculture and other community-based settings throughout the United States, nurse practitioners should be knowledgeable of the evidence regarding CPF exposure and be prepared to provide health promotion guidance to patients in clinical practice. Nurse practitioners should also consider their role in advocacy for healthy environments and the protection of vulnerable populations as it relates to agricultural insecticide exposure.

In 2010, the American Nurses Association (ANA) added an environmental health standard to the ANA Scope and Standards of Practice requiring that nurses implement environmental health strategies in nursing practice. To prepare nurse educators to integrate environmental health at all educational levels, nursing faculty members from the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments developed environmental health competencies and curricular recommendations that address this need. Internet URLs are included for environmental health curricula for each level of nursing education.

Problem: Although environmental health has been central to nursing practice since the work of Florence Nightingale, the inclusion of environmental health concepts into nursing education has, for the most part, been confined to public health and occupational health nursing. The 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, clearly stated that environmental health was an important aspect of nursing practice, but nurses were not adequately educated to address such in their practice., Methods: This article highlights the initiatives by nurse educators, faculty development programs, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations to educate and engage nurses in environmental health since 1995, with a focus on the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. The historical summary was developed using professional literature, documents, personal interviews, and survey data., Findings: Nurses responded to the mandates of the 1995 Institute of Medicine report, Nursing, Health, and the Environment, in formal educational programs, through continuing education for nurses, workshops, symposia, and regional faculty development trainings. Since the formation of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, collaborative efforts led to the development of competencies, nursing outreach to organizations such as the American Nursing Association, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to advance practice standards, academic curriculum, and the development of an electronic textbook., Conclusion: The environmental health nursing agenda moved forward since the publication of the 1995 IOM report; however, the development of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments accelerated the educational accomplishments through organizational collaboration., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

While it is commonly understood that the quality of the air we breath and the water we drink can impact our health, it is often more difficult to recognize that our choices of the health care products, along with the way we dispose of them, and the chemicals we spray on our foods or use to clean and disinfect may actually compromise the environment and consequently our health. This article will guide nurses and other health care professionals as they transform our hospitals into environmentally healthy and safe places by helping them adhere to environmentally preferable purchasing policies, follow environmentally conscious waste management strategies, decrease use of chemical pollutants, promote use of healthy foods, and provide leadership in environmental stewardship.

The nursing community has become increasingly active in the environmental health policy arena by exerting its influence at the local, state, and national environmental health policy levels; on media-specific issues; and in the work-related venues where they have influence. Nurses are valued and trusted by policy makers, and should be active in policy efforts to increase access to public health information such as potentially hazardous chemicals in the air, water, food, soil, and land. Given the global nature of environmental contamination, it is critical that nursing's international organization becomes active in environmental health policies. Promotion of healthy environments should be translated to organizational position papers and practice recommendations within nursing and nursing specialty organizations.

The health care industry is a major contributor to environmental pollution. Through the processes of waste disposal, including incineration, the health care industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental dioxin and mercury. Mercury contamination of our waterways has created the conditions by which a significant number of fish are sufficiently mercury-laden so as to pose a human health threat. Additionally, there are products and processes within the hospital that create health risks for the patients and health care staff. There are a number of positive actions that nurses can take to address the health threats posed by these exposures. These actions include: purchasing environmentally preferable products, implementing pollution prevention actions within the health care setting, and learning more about environmental health.

1. Our current occupational and environmental health work force is not adequately prepared to implement the regulatory requirements prescribed to maintain and improve public health. 2. In the majority of United States workplaces, the person responsible for occupational and environmental health is not formally trained. 3. Occupational and environmental health issues must be integrated into basic education programs for a wide variety of professionals such as business and engineering schools, as well as nursing and medical schools 4. Occupational and environmental health professionals must join with other public health advocates to develop and implement a strategy whereby the "value" of healthy communities and workplaces is understood and embraced at a societal level.

This article summarizes discussions held during the workshop on the issue of the content of worker notification messages and related topics. The workshop itself involved a number of sessions where participants formed small groups. This article represents a distillation of the summary reports by the rapporteurs from each group. It is not intended as a complete review of this issue. Rather, it presents some of the concerns that arose during freewheeling discussions, with the idea that the points raised may help others to think about some of the issues involved.

The importance of workers' right-to-know about current hazards in the workplace and the importance of notification about risks associated with past exposures would seem self-evident. Some of the methods for achieving the goal of an informed work force can be found in the existing right-to-know laws and notification programs. This article reviews right-to-know legislation and describes the current state of implementation of these regulations and some of the barriers that impair workers from receiving information and from being able to act to protect themselves.