The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74687

Patricia Butterfield, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, University of Washington, xxx, Seattle, WA 98195, 206-543--6960, pattygraw@msn.com

The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) collaborated with EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs to develop the National Pesticide Practice Skills Guidelines for Medical and Nursing. Guidelines addressing clinical practice include: 1) taking an environmental history, 2) knowing individual and community risk factors, including local high risk occupations, 3) understanding toxicologic, epidemiologic, and occupational/environmental health principles, 4) managing signs and symptoms of pesticide exposure, both acute and chronic, 5) reporting pesticide exposure and supporting commensurate surveillance activities, and 6) providing prevention education to patients. Competencies addressing education include: 1) understanding pesticide concepts, 2) assessing and diagnosing persons with pesticide exposure, 3) being able to effectively treat health conditions related to pesticide over-exposure, 4) using risk communication principles to educate patients, and 5) participating in incident reporting and surveillance activities. Recommended content focuses on helping clinicians to: 1) understand differential exposure risks in vulnerable populations (e.g., low income families, communities of color), 2) develop a network of local environmental health resources (e.g., local and state experts, cooperative extension and agromedicine), and 3) have information at hand to correctly treat acute pesticide poisoning. Clinicians face both time and resource challenges in staying knowledgeable about current issues in environmental health. Strategies for overcoming these challenges include integrating environmental health information into state health conferences and broad dissemination of teleconference and continuing education programs. The National Guidelines provide clinicians with clear information about pesticides as well as creating a template by which to address other environmental health concerns seen in clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

Learning objectives:
• List six practice guidelines addressing exposure to pesticides.
• List five educational competencies addressing exposure to pesticides.
• Identify challenges that clinicians face in keeping informed about current practices to address environmental health concerns.
• Discuss strategies to overcoming barriers so that clinicians can become more effective in recognizing pesticide over-exposure and other environmental health concerns.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.