NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

My name is. I am a Pulmonary Nurse on a Telemetry Step-Down Unit at a local Acute Care Hospital in Upstate South Carolina. I worked as a Nursing Assistant before going back to school and all through nursing school on the unit, and stayed on as an RN after graduation 4 ½ years ago. I graduated from Greenville Technical College in July of 2021 .

Climate change has significantly contributed to air pollution, accelerating atmospheric conditions, which are conducive for the formation of harmful pollutants. As a result, climate change has affected peoples’ lives negatively, especially through respiratory illnesses. Climate change is also associated with rapid rise in temperature (Ren et al., 2022). Chemical reactions in the atmosphere are associated with rapid rise in temperatures. This condition further triggers ground-level ozone, leading to the formation of smog, which exposes individuals to respiratory diseases, including asthma. Moreover, the severity and frequency of wildfires are on the rise due to climate-driven heat waves. Ecosystems are highly interconnected with change in one element affecting another. For instance, air population caused by atmospheric conditions accelerated by rapid rise in temperature exposes humans to respiratory disorders NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters.

Climate change is a significant contributing factor for the high rates of infectious diseases. It creates a conducive environment that facilitate growth of different pathogens and their vectors. Additionally, climate change accelerates transmission of infectious diseases. For instance, the incubation duration of viruses within mosquitoes is relatively shorter in places with warmer temperatures than those with cool temperatures. As a result, people living in warmer areas are at a relatively high risk of contracting Dengue fever, Malaria, or Zika. Furthermore, floods attributed to climate change expose people living in affected areas to diarrhea and other water-borne diseases. Nurses implement infection control measures to curb the spread of infectious diseases. For example, nurses educate persons at a high risk of contracting the coronavirus about the benefits of using protective masks to lower risk of contracting this virus.

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Climate-related disasters have a significant impact on vulnerable groups, particularly pediatric and elderly Populations: Children’s immune systems are still developing. As a result, they are more prone to climate-related disasters. For instance, diarrhea outbreak following floods affects disproportionately high number of children since floodwaters usually channel pathogens to sources of drinking water (Yazdi et al., 2024). Children are at high risk due to their developing immune systems and are more likely to come into contact with these pathogens as they play. Moreover, the relatively high risk of dehydration makes children more vulnerable.

The community’s system-level disaster response plan is effective. First, the plan consists of early warning systems targeting community members with sensory impairments. Additionally, the plan prioritizes reducing risk of climate change potential adverse outcomes. For instance, persons living in flood-prone areas are relocated from this region ahead of anticipated floods, reducing risk on contractive water-borne diseases. The plan is also designed to offer mobile medical care services following outbreak of climate change-related crises, thereby preventing potential adverse health outcomes.

Nurses’ role in bridging the gap in the healthcare system extends to addressing issues related to climate change. For instance, nurses understand how climate change-related health issue increase community’s disease burden and mortality rates. As a nurse, I am committed to improve health outcomes and quality of life in the local community. Thus, I can advocate for the implementation of effective measures that would curb spread of health issues associated with climate change, thereby lowering the disease burden and death rates in the local community.

References

Ren, Z., Fu, Y., Dong, Y., Zhang, P., & He, X. (2022). Rapid urbanization and climate change significantly contribute to worsening urban human thermal comfort: A national 183-city, 26-year study in China. 
Urban Climate
, 
43
, 101154.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212095522000724

Yazdi, M. S., Ardalan, M. A., Hosseini, M., Zoshk, M. Y., Hami, Z., Heidari, R., … & Chamanara, M. (2024). Infectious diarrhea risks as a public health emergency in floods; a systematic review and meta-analysis. 
Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine
, 
12
(1), e46.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11221827/

 

NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses’ Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

Nurses are leaders in communicating public health information in communities. Natural disasters due to climate change have increased fivefold in the past 50 years. Storms, fires, floods, tornados, earthquakes, and hurricanes severely impact the health of populations.

In this Assignment, you will compose an op-ed for your local newspaper about the impact of climate change in your community. You will discuss how nurses such as yourself can protect and improve the lives of populations—especially vulnerable populations—from the impacts of climate change.

To prepare:

Review the Learning Resources for this module, focusing specifically on The 
Washington Post
 resource.

Download the 
Op-Ed Commentary Writing Template
 Download Op-Ed Commentary Writing Template
.

The Assignment (2 pages)

Op-ed commentaries are written by external contributors (“experts”) who present a well-defined point of view on new, current, or controversial topics. In this instance, you are the nurse expert and are tasked with highlighting the impact of climate change in your local community newspaper.

In your 2-page article, using at least one current scholarly reference, include the following:

Introduce yourself and your excellent nursing education and experience.

Describe the impact of climate change on the environment, i.e., air pollution, temperature, and precipitation extremes, etc. How are ecosystems interdependent?

Discuss the impact of climate change on populations, i.e., increased communicable and infectious diseases and water/vector-borne pathogens.

Provide an example of how nurses implement infection control measures, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

How is the impact of climate-related disasters relevant to your local community and its vulnerable populations, such as elderly, pregnant, and pediatric populations, for example?

Is your community’s system-level disaster response plan effective? Why or why not? (You can find information about your community’s disaster plans on city and government websites for your specific community.)

Conclude by expressing the value of nurses in addressing climate change and your personal commitment to your local community (called a “kicker” in op-eds).

 

NURS_4212_Week4_Assignment_Rubric – NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

NURS_4212_Week4_Assignment_Rubric

Criteria

Ratings

Pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Introduces self and nursing experience

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations
The response comprehensively and clearly introduces the author and experience. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the identification and introduction NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations 
The response introduces the author and experience. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that support the identification and introduction NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations 
The response inaccurately and vaguely introduces the author and experience, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the identification and introduction, or it is missing.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Describes the impact of climate change, specifically how ecosystems are interdependent

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations
The response comprehensively and clearly describes the impact of climate change. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the description.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations 
The response describes the impact of climate change. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that support the description.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations 
The response inaccurately and vaguely describes the impact of climate change, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the description, or it is missing.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Discusses the impact of climate change on populations, with an example of how nurses implement infection control measures, such as PPE

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations
The response comprehensively and clearly discusses the impact of climate change on populations. The response includes a relevant, specific, and appropriate example of how nurses implement infection control measures, such as PPE, that fully supports the discussion.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations
The response discusses the impact of climate change on populations. The response includes a relevant, specific, and appropriate example of how nurses implement infection control measures, such as PPE, that supports the discussion.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations
The response inaccurately and vaguely discusses the impact of climate change on populations, or it is missing. The response includes an inaccurate and vague example of how nurses implement infection control measures, such as PPE, that does not support the discussion, or it is missing NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Analyzes the impact of climate change on communities and vulnerable populations

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations
The response comprehensively and clearly analyzes the impact of climate change on communities and vulnerable populations. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the analysis.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations
The response analyzes the impact of climate change on communities and vulnerable populations. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that support the analysis.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations
The response inaccurately and vaguely analyzes the impact of climate change on communities and vulnerable populations, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the analysis, or it is missing.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Analyzes the effectiveness of a specific community’s system-level response plan.

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations
The response comprehensively and clearly analyzes the effectiveness of a community’s system-level response plan. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the analysis.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations 
The response analyzes the effectiveness of a community’s system-level response plan. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that support the analysis.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations 
The response inaccurately and vaguely analyzes the effectiveness of a community’s system-level response plan, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the discussion, or it is missing.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeExpresses the value of nurses in addressing climate change and personal commitment to local community

20 to >16.0 ptsMastered Expectations 
The response comprehensively and clearly analyzes the value of nurses in addressing climate change. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the analysis.

16 to >14.5 ptsAchieved Expectations 
The response analyzes the value of nurses in addressing climate change. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that support the analysis.

14.5 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations
The response inaccurately and vaguely analyzes the value of nurses in addressing climate change, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the analysis, or it is missing.

20 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProfessional writing: Context, organization, audience, purpose, tone, style, clarity, flow

10 to >7.33 ptsMastered Expectations
Demonstrates full awareness of writing context, audience, and purpose Content is generally clear, logical, and well organized, with appropriate sentence and paragraph structure. Tone is highly professional, scholarly, and free of bias. Style is consistently appropriate for a professional setting/workplace context. Mostly free of spelling, punctuation, and grammar/syntax errors

7.33 to >6.0 ptsAchieved Expectations
Demonstrates some awareness of writing context, audience, and purpose Content is mostly clear, logical, and well organized, with adequate sentence and paragraph structure. Tone is adequately professional, scholarly, and/or free of bias. Style is mostly appropriate for a professional setting/workplace context. Contains a few spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar/syntax errors NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters

6 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations 
Demonstrates minimal awareness of writing context, audience, and purpose Content lacks clarity, logic, and/or discernible organization; the content does not use proper sentence and paragraph structure. Tone is not professional/scholarly and/or contains bias. Style is inconsistent with a professional setting/workplace context. Contains significant spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar/syntax errors

10 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProfessional writing: Originality, source credibility, and attribution of ideas

10 to >7.33 ptsMastered Expectations
Content fully reflects original writing and proper paraphrasing. Writing demonstrates full adherence to reference requirements, including the use of credible evidence to support a claim, with appropriate citations and references in APA format.

7.33 to >6.0 ptsAchieved Expectations
Content adequately reflects original writing and paraphrasing. Writing demonstrates adequate adherence to reference requirements, including the use of credible evidence to support a claim, with appropriate citations and references in APA format. There are a few minor APA formatting errors.

6 to >0 ptsDoes Not Meet Expectations 
Content does not reflect original writing and/or paraphrasing. Writing demonstrates minimal or no adherence to reference requirements, including the use of credible evidence to support a claim, with appropriate citations and references in APA format. There are numerous APA formatting errors.

10 pts

Total Points: 140 NURS 4212: Population Health Nursing Assignment: Op-Ed Commentary: Nurses Vital Role in Climate Change Related Disasters