February | March 2003 AWHONN Lifelines 69

aA recently released report based on an August

2002 meeting, “Nursing and Environmental

Health Roundtable,” is serving as the basis to

implement some strategies to renew nursing’s

role in protecting the U.S. population from

environmental health insults.

The nursing roundtable, a two-day summit

held in Raleigh, NC, was convened by the

National Institute for Environmental Health

Science, the National Institute for Nursing

Research and the Agency for Toxic Substances

and Disease Registry to discuss the future of

environmental health and nursing. The agen-

cies initiated the meeting because environmen-

tal health as both a health and policy issue is

gaining prominence and historically nurses

have played a critical role in helping communi-

ties with public health issues. The meeting also

sought to revisit

the recommenda-

tions published by the

Institute of Medicine in a

1995 book called “Nursing,

Health, and the Environment.”

The roundtable focused primarily on

education (curriculum integration of environ-

mental health issues), clinical practice (integra-

tion of risk reduction intervention strategies)

and research (role of nurses in environmental

health research).

Recommendations in the report include,

• developing a research agenda

• establishing a clearinghouse to catalog and

disseminate environmental health education

materials and research

HealthNursing

CommunityComes

Together toStrengthen

Efforts

Recommendations in

the report include

expanding funding

sources to bolster

research, education

and practice

Focusing onEnvironmental

• expanding publication and dissemination of

environmental health and information, that

is, the foundation of a journal with an

emphasis on environmental health nursing

• improving the integration of environmental

health fundamentals into undergraduate

preparation programs

• strengthening partnerships and resources

with leading academic and professional

groups and centers

• expanding funding sources to bolster

research, education and practice

AWHONN Participates inDiabetes Summit

AWHONN’s Director of Research, Pro-

grams and Publications, Karen Kelly

Thomas, PhD, RNC, CNAA, attended the

Working Summit for the National Public Health

Initiative on Diabetes and Women’s Health. The

meeting, which was cosponsored by the Cen-

ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the

American Diabetes Association, the American

Public Health Association, and the Association

of State and Territorial Health Officials,

focused on selecting priority recommendations

and developing strategies for action in improv-

ing women’s health as related to diabetes. Next

steps include the creation and dissemination of

a national action plan for the National Public

Health Initiative on Diabetes and Women’s

Health, based on the summit participants’ rec-

ommendations and findings. The draft plan

includes a National Agenda for Action featur-

ing priority actions such as,

• strengthening advocacy on behalf of women

with or at risk for diabetes

• expanding community-based health promo-

tion education, activities and incentives for

all ages in a wide variety of settings

• developing age-appropriate messages and

strategies to tailor prevention and education-

al programs according to risk behaviors asso-

ciated with specific age ranges, from adoles-

cents, through reproductive years, to elderly

years

• educating women and providers regarding

the comorbidity of (or the association

between) cardiovascular disease and diabetes

• encouraging and supporting diabetes control

programs in state health departments to

develop prevention efforts for all women and

establish linkages for women at risk for type

2 diabetes

• increasing the priority of federal, state and

local funding for diabetes prevention and

treatment programs

• expanding population-based surveillance to

monitor and understand the illness

• encouraging health care providers to pro-

mote risk assessment, quality diabetes care

and self-management

• encouraging health insurance coverage and

incentives for recommended diabetes pre-

vention and management practices

• conducting public health research

Expanding CardiovascularHealth for Women

AWHONN continues to build on the suc-

cessful outcomes of Phase I of the Car-

diovascular Health for Women Initiative, a mul-

tifaceted, national education and awareness

program aimed at reducing the incidence of

cardiovascular disease in women, the number

one cause of death for women in the U.S. Cur-

rently, AWHONN is expanding the education

program to hospitals, health care systems and

advanced practice nurses in primary care set-

tings as well as developing demonstration proj-

ects to extend the reach of the program by

integrating diverse disciplines and practice set-

tings in selected communities.

Through a professional services contract

grant from the Office of Women’s Health,

Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS), AWHONN is poised to proceed with

Phase II of the Cardiovascular Health for

Women, Primary Prevention: An Education

Initiative for Nurses and Women. The Phase II

campaign seeks to educate and motivate

advanced practice nurses in incorporating car-

diovascular screening into their daily practice

and encouraging women to establish lifelong

heart-healthy habits by taking a more active

role in their cardiovascular health. By reaching

out to both women and the health care com-

munity, AWHONN is leading the fight against

cardiovascular disease in women.

Phase II of the

Cardiovascular Health

for Women, Primary

Prevention: An

Education Initiative

for Nurses and Women

seeks to educate and

motivate advanced

practice nurses in

incorporating

cardiovascular

screening into their

daily practice

70 AWHONN Lifelines Volume 7 Issue 1

—Compiled by

Shelagh Roberts