Children face special risks from air pollution because their
airways are small and still developing, and because they breathe more rapidly
and inhale more air relative to their size than do adults. In addition, the
body’s defenses that help adults fight off infections are still developing in
children. Growing up breathing high levels of air pollution can affect how
children’s lungs develop, putting them at greater risk of lung disease as they
age.
Exposure to air pollution can affect everyone’s health. Air
pollutants can enter our bloodstream and contribute to coughing or itchy eyes
and cause or worsen many breathing and lung diseases, leading to
hospitalizations, cancer, or even premature death.
Air pollution causes both immediate and long-term health
effects in children that can be irreversible. Air pollution is linked to
respiratory conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. It can
exacerbate underlying health conditions and harm children’s physical and
cognitive development.
4-6 pages of text plus references
Scholarly Position Paper—Environmental Health (submit via
SafeAssign)
The Code of Ethics for Nurses (American Nurses Association,
2015) Principle 9.4 calls for
nurses to “advocate for policies, programs, and
practices within the healthcare environment that
maintain, sustain, and repair the natural world” (p.
37). During a recent testimony for the
Minnesota Climate Caucus, it was reported that nurses are
ethically bound to recognize that
“Social justice extends beyond human health and
well-being to the health and well-being of the
natural world” (p.37). Further, The Executive Summary
of the 2019 Lancet Countdown report
warns: The life of every child born today will be profoundly
affected by climate change, with
populations around the world increasingly facing extremes of
weather, food and water insecurity,
changing patterns of infectious disease, and a less certain
future. Without accelerated
intervention, this new era will come to define the health of
people at every stage of their lives.
Review lectures, read Stanhope & Lancaster Chapters 6
and 14, and review the following
resources:
• http://www.lancetcountdown.org/2019-report/
• Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility
• Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
• Planetary Health Alliance
• Medical Consortium on Climate and Health
Like a debate, a position paper presents one side of an
arguable opinion about a topic or issue.
The goal of a position paper is to convince the audience
that your opinion is valid and defensible.
Ideas that you are considering need to be carefully examined
in choosing a topic, developing
your argument, and organizing your paper. Select a topic
related to how the environment affects
the health of a population. Review and present the relevant
literature. Your job is to take one
side of the argument and persuade your audience that you
have well-founded knowledge of the
presented topic. It is important to support your argument
with evidence to ensure the validity of
your claims and to refute the counterclaims to show that you
are well informed about both sides.
Be certain to consider all sides and present the issue
clearly. This paper is 35% of your grade for
the course.
• Introduction to the topic 10 pts
• Summary of the relevant literature 15 pts
• Development and presentation of the argument 20 pts
• Refutation of counterclaims 15 pts
• Nursing role in the promotion of the health of the
affected population 15 pts
• Summary of issue’s relevance to nursing and health 15 pts
• Writing style, APA citation 10 pts
Introduction
to the topic-
State the topic of concern (i.e. air pollution); a Summary Development Refutation Nursing Summary Writing |