Integrating Environmental Health into Nurse Practitioner Training—Childhood Pesticide Exposure Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Management

Abstract

The use of pesticides in agriculture, public places, and private homes and gardens is ubiquitous throughout the United States. Children are particularly vulnerable to pesticide exposure because of immature biological and developmental processes. Thus, it is important that primary health care providers identify clients at risk for pesticide exposure and poisoning and know how to respond effectively if clients experience exposure. However, many primary health care providers are not adequately trained or prepared to manage the health-related effects of pesticide exposure. Recent efforts, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have addressed this shortcoming in nursing and medical education. A primary initiative is to find ways to integrate basic environmental health content, specifically regarding pesticide exposure, into nursing and medical curricula. As one strategy to achieve this, a pilot case study was developed by revising and enhancing an existing pediatric case study used in a required course for nurse practitioner students. The aim was to raise students' awareness of risk assessment, prevention, and appropriate care strategies for pesticide exposure. Evaluation of students' experience with the pilot case study suggested it was a meaningful and valued addition to their training, as well as an efficient way to introduce environmental health content into primary health care provider curricula.