Key Role on the Path to Becoming Environmental Health Literate: Public Health Nurse

Abstract

Environmental factors can be the cause of many diseases. Environmental health problems can have serious consequences. Healthy environments can prevent almost a quarter of the global burden of disease. Environmental health literacy refers to the understanding and use of information about potentially harmful environmental exposures and how these exposures affect health. It includes a range of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that influence how individuals and communities use environmental information to make health-related decisions. Increasing environmental health literacy ensures that people can make decisions about the effects of the environment on their health. Increasing a community’s environmental health literacy can increase its capacity to recognize and address environmental hazards, thereby minimizing negative health outcomes as well as addressing environmental injustices. Public health nurses focus on improving community health by intervening in multiple determinants of health and emphasizing prevention. The roles of public health nurses in environmental health literacy have not been clearly defined in the literature. This review aims to raise awareness about environmental health literacy and to draw attention to the key roles of public health nurses in increasing environmental health literacy. Environmental health literacy is discussed in the context of changing and developing roles of public health nurses.

Keywords

• Environmental health
• Environment and public health
• Public health
• Public health nursing

Çevre Sağlığı Okuryazarı Olma Yolunda Anahtar Bir Rol: Halk Sağlığı Hemşiresi

Abstract

Çevresel faktörler pek çok hastalığın sebebi olabilmektedir. Çevre sağlığı sorunları ciddi sonuçlara yol açabilmektedir. Çevresel ortamların sağlıklı olması, küresel hastalık yükünün neredeyse dörtte birini önleyebilmektedir. Çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı, potansiyel olarak zararlı çevresel maruziyetler ve bu maruziyetlerin sağlığı nasıl etkilediği hakkındaki bilgilerin anlaşılması ve kullanılması anlamına gelmektedir. Bu kavram bireylerin ve toplulukların sağlıkla ilgili kararlar alırken çevresel bilgileri nasıl kullandıklarını etkileyen bir dizi bilgi, tutum ve davranışı içerir. Çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığının arttırılması, insanların çevrenin kendi sağlıkları üzerindeki etkileri konusunda kararlar verme becerisine sahip olmalarını sağlamaktadır. Bir toplumun çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığını artırmak, o toplumun çevresel tehlikeleri tanıma ve ele alma kapasitesini artırabilmekte, böylece olumsuz sağlık sonuçlarını en aza indirmenin yanı sıra çevresel adaletsizlikleri de giderebilmektedir. Halk sağlığı hemşireleri sağlığın birden fazla belirleyicisine müdahale ederek ve önlemeyi vurgulayarak toplum sağlığını iyileştirmeye odaklanmaktadır. Literatürde halk sağlığı hemşirelerinin çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığına yönelik rolleri açık bir şekilde belirlenmemiştir. Bu derlemede çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı konusunda farkındalık oluşturmak ve çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığını arttırmada halk sağlığı hemşiresinin anahtar rollerine dikkat çekmek amaçlanmıştır. Halk sağlığı hemşirelerinin değişen ve gelişen rolleri bağlamında çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı ele alınmıştır.

Keywords

• Çevre sağlığı
• Çevre ve halk sağlığı
• Halk sağlığı
• Halk sağlığı hemşireliği
• Sağlık Okuryazarlığı

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