About Corinne McSpedon, senior editor

AJN senior editor

Earth Day 2018: Making the Connection Between Environmental and Human Health

Trafalgar Square during the Great London Smog of 1952. Photo © TopFoto / The Image Works.

This Sunday is Earth Day, an annual event started by a bipartisan group of citizens and congressional representatives in 1970 to highlight the need for a healthier environment and the importance of legislative protections.

Along the mighty Hudson—beautiful, but still contaminated

Growing up just north of New York City, along one of the most beautiful but contaminated sections of the Hudson River, I’ve seen up close the effects of industrial pollution before environmental protections were put in place. In addition to producing electrical wire, cables, munitions, and other products, the factories that lined my town’s waterfront for much of the 20th century were also responsible for extensively contaminating the surrounding area with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and petroleum hydrocarbons.

For many decades, the environmental damage caused by such industry was accepted as the price of progress. Raw sewage and oil slicks in the waters of the Hudson were not unusual sights, and relatives tell stories of a popular spot along the river, from which swimmers in the 1960s would emerge covered in the dye produced—and dumped—by a nearby riverfront […]

2018-04-21T08:49:06-04:00April 21st, 2018|environmental health, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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The 1918 Influenza Epidemic’s Long Reach in Time

“It would be impossible to relate all the sad and terrible scenes . . . all night long . . . witnessing death scenes, seeing weeping relatives and trying to take care of emergencies . . . “

A mother’s death remembered.

Litter carriers at Red Cross Emergency Ambulance Station in Washington, D.C., during influenza pandemic of 1918.

When my grandfather was six years old, his mother went to sleep one night and never woke up. She was one of the nearly 700,000 Americans who died during the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. The rest of her young family—my grandfather and his twin brother, their seven-year-old sister, and my great-grandfather—survived. The shock of losing his mother so suddenly was still evident when my grandfather talked about her 70 years later. She was 29 years old and healthy, and then she was gone.

High mortality, even among healthy young adults.

My family was not alone as it mourned. The CDC estimates that one-third of the world’s population was infected by what’s become known as the “Spanish flu.” (The origin of this name is unclear: some sources suggest it’s due to a misunderstanding about […]

2018-03-07T09:08:45-05:00March 7th, 2018|infectious diseases, Nursing, Public health|1 Comment
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A Nurse, a Purple Heart Medal, and the Pearl Harbor Attack

USS Arizona burning after Pearl Harbor attack

Tomorrow is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, when we honor the more than 2,400 Americans who were killed in the attack on December 7, 1941, that led the United States to enter World War II. Many nurses were there that day, caring for the wounded and showing civilians how to be of assistance—just as they have been during wartime dating back to the American Revolution. They have served in the U.S. military since Congress authorized the Army Nurse Corps and Navy Nurse Corps in the first decade of the 1900s, and before that provided battlefield care as civilians.

A nurse honored for service during the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Some of these nurses are spotlighted by exhibits and web pages of the National Women’s History Museum, an online museum that aims to “show the full scope of women’s contributions to history” and thus highlights the histories of female-majority professions such as nursing. “The Bravery of Army Nurse Annie G. Fox at Pearl Harbor” tells the story of the first U.S. servicewoman to receive the Purple Heart medal. First Lieutenant Fox was the head nurse at Station Hospital at Hickam Field, on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, when the […]

2017-12-06T10:48:59-05:00December 6th, 2017|Nursing, nursing history|0 Comments
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‘An Urgent Public Health Challenge’ – APHA Meeting Emphasizes Climate Change

APHA climate change/health infographic. Click to enlarge.

The theme of this year’s American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting in Atlanta is “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Climate Changes Health.” The meeting is estimated to have drawn 12,000 attendees. Below are highlights so far.

Threats and opportunities.

Monday night, Howard Frumkin, DrPH, MPH, MD, of the University of Washington, called climate change “one of the most pressing public health issues we face.” In discussing the recently released Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change 2017 Report: U.S. Briefing, a joint publication of the Lancet and APHA that highlights the threats and opportunities climate change poses to Americans, Frumkin identified some key findings:

  • Exposure to dangerous heat and severe weather events is increasing.
  • Exposure to disease and allergies is changing (one example: allergy seasons are often prolonged).
  • The carbon intensity of U.S. energy use is decreasing, but this process must be accelerated to reduce climate-related health risks.

Nurse voices in environmental health.

During a session called “Public Health Nursing Research—Climate, Health, and Vulnerable Populations,” Linda A. McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, of Emory University, highlighted the vital role nurses play both in producing research findings about environmental hazards and human health and in translating these into practice.

“Nurses can go to the science and take it back to the community. That’s what we’re so good at.”

But when it comes to speaking out about environmental issues […]

2017-11-08T10:31:59-05:00November 8th, 2017|environmental health, Nursing|0 Comments
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The Health Impacts of Hurricane Harvey—What Nurses Need to Know

Geocolor imagery of Hurricane Harvey on verge of making landfall. Image created by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

As Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical storm, continues to affect a large area of southern Texas and other parts of the South, the full impact on human health has yet to be determined. But it’s clear the flooding has caused a historical crisis in Houston and surrounding areas—and that nurses and other health professionals will be in great demand in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Short- and Long-Term Health Concerns

The short- and long-term health consequences people are facing as they escape rising water levels are detailed in the Washington Post. Although drowning is the most immediate and dangerous threat during a flood, those seeking safety are also endangered by sharp objects and even wild animals caught up in floodwaters. Mold and its impact on human health will be a concern in the coming weeks and months, as water-damaged buildings are reoccupied.

In the meantime, health authorities are worried about the spread of infectious diseases. As sewage contaminates the floodwaters and people […]

2017-08-30T10:32:03-04:00August 30th, 2017|climate change, environmental health, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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