Chapter 4 Environmental Influences on Population Health

Chapter 4   Environmental Influences on Population Health

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

1) While making a home visit the population health nurse learns that the youngest child brought home a stray dog to be taken care of by the family members. What health risks does this child’s action pose to the family? (Select all that apply.)

1. Bites.
2. Diseases from fleas.
3. Exposure to noroviruses.
4. Potential rabies exposure.
5. Risk for Clostridium perfringens.

Answer:  1, 2, 4

Explanation:  1. Pets serve as a source of disease for humans. Bites are a source of potential injury especially from overly possessive dogs. Diseases such as the plague can be transmitted from fleas. Rabies can also be transmitted from a pet. Exposure to noroviruses and the risk for Clostridium perfringens are transmitted through contaminated food.

2. Pets serve as a source of disease for humans. Bites are a source of potential injury especially from overly possessive dogs. Diseases such as the plague can be transmitted from fleas. Rabies can also be transmitted from a pet. Exposure to noroviruses and the risk for Clostridium perfringens are transmitted through contaminated food.
3. Pets serve as a source of disease for humans. Bites are a source of potential injury especially from overly possessive dogs. Diseases such as the plague can be transmitted from fleas. Rabies can also be transmitted from a pet. Exposure to noroviruses and the risk for Clostridium perfringens are transmitted through contaminated food.

Nursing/Int.Conc:  Nursing Process: Assessment

Client Need:  Health Promotion and Maintenance

Cognitive Level:  Analysis

Learning Outcome:  4-1

2) An oil storage tank has leaked and the surrounding residential area has been saturated with the leaked oil. Which health precaution should the homeowner take?

1. Use a strong detergent to clean the yards.
2. Avoid planting vegetables in the contaminated soil.
3. Inform the local media regarding the contaminant spill.
4. Install smoke detectors in the home as a fire precaution.

Answer:  2

Explanation:  2. Planting vegetables in the soil should be avoided until the soil can be certified as safe. Growing and consuming food grown in contaminated soil can lead to illness from the contaminants. While detergents can be used to clean the yard, these detergents need to be appropriate to avoid further soil contamination. Installing smoke detectors as a fire precaution is unnecessary because the oil-saturated soil will not burn. Informing the local media is not going to protect health.

Nursing/Int.Conc:  Nursing Process: Implementation

Client Need:  Safe and Effective Care Environment

Cognitive Level:  Application

Learning Outcome:  4-2

3) A coal-fired energy plant is built next to a residential area. Since the plant opened the population health nurse notes an increase in respiratory diseases in individuals who live close to the plant. What should the nurse use to explain this phenomenon?

1. Urban sprawl.
2. Poor land use mix.
3. The built environment.
4. The community ecological footprint.

Answer:  2

Explanation:  2. Land use mix refers to an environment that has a mix of residential, commercial, and noncommercial uses. In this community the land use mix is haphazard, resulting in a fuel plant that is located next to a residential area. A coal-fired fuel plant will have emissions that can lead to respiratory conditions. The built environment includes buildings and spaces but is not the appropriate answer. Urban sprawl refers to communities that are built beyond set geographic limits. The ecological footprint refers to the area of biologically productive space required for a person.

Nursing/Int.Conc:  Nursing Process: Implementation

Client Need:  Health Promotion and Maintenance

Cognitive Level:  Application

Learning Outcome:  4-2

4) A once prosperous and thriving neighborhood has become run-down and its residents have a lower socioeconomic status. There is greater unemployment in this neighborhood and the police have seen a rise in crime in unemployed young adults. The population health nurse determines this as being an effect of a declining:

1. Built environment.
2. Social environment.
3. Natural environment.
4. Ecological environment.

Answer:  2

Explanation:  2. A once thriving neighborhood that is now run-down, with a higher amount of lower socioeconomic residents and higher unemployment will see an effect on health through the decreasing of the neighborhood quality. A variety of factors will impact health, from a rise in crime to other factors that include potentially more environmental toxins, crowding, etc., than more affluent areas. Natural environment refers to the flora and fauna of an area. Built environment refers to buildings and spaces created by people. Ecologic environment is the interaction of the natural, built, and social environments.

Nursing/Int.Conc:  Nursing Process: Evaluation

Client Need:  Health Promotion and Maintenance

Cognitive Level:  Application

Learning Outcome:  4-2