Introduction
Environmental cleanliness which includes management of waste within communities entails various activities. Usually, these activities are associated with health care sector which is a body endowed with responsibility of providing preventive and curative measures against diseases. In the waste management, there are processes involving collection, storing, handling and disposal of waste which at times is associated with environmental and public health risks (Anderson and McFarlane, 1995). Most towns and cities have for decades encountered difficulties in effective management of cleanliness within their environments due to multiple factors such as inappropriate waste disposal techniques and poor infrastructure which assist in effective control measures. Besides, rapid urbanization, globalization and economic growth within these cities have compounded the predicament (McEwen and Wills, 2011).
Aim of the Analysis
Registered nurses are capable of providing efficient healthcare services within different communities. Environmental hazards range from wastes, results of violence to psychosocial conditions within communities and work places. Such conditions can be prevented through understanding of various factors contributing to such occurrences. Environmental cleanliness is seen as the basic part of human existence since it helps in avoiding problems caused by diseases. Nurses frequently come into contact with people in such conditions during their nursing practices at home, community and workplaces. Within such proximity of analysis, nurses are considered capable of handling such cases of health hazards in line with their profession. They are capable of taking initiative on advising community concerning potential hazards and necessary steps required to eliminate such conditions (Anderson and McFarlane, 1995). However, in addition, to all these, global environmental conditions contribute more negative results that justaffecting human health due to effects of global warming. Such analysis creates awareness on climatic changes such asincrease in global temperature which is usually associated with variety of diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (McEwen and Wills, 2011).
Uses of the concept
The concept of cleanliness of environment creates an awareness on both preventive and control measures on various diseases. Cleanliness of environment leads to adoption of exposure limits set by various regions for the purposes of regulating environmental hazards. For example, maximum contaminant levels set for soil, air and drinking water. These are based on natural experimental model done within the laboratories despite the significant degree of uncertainty experienced. This includes indoor and outdoor air pollution which is considered the most prevalent form of pollution within most countries (McEwen and Wills, 2011). However, not all nurses are capable of handling environmental settings due to differences in training settings they receive. The concept helps in defining nursing profession since most registered nurses receive training mainly in hospital diploma and associate degree of which are used to provide patient care within organized settings including community-based health care. Despite all these, nurses are capable of proving assistance in leadership roles required for conducting environmental quality control measures.
Defining Attributes
Various attributes can be drawn from this concept, such as health consciousness, waste management, mitigation of pollutants amongst others. In response to such environmental concerns, the concept reveals that most nurses are operating at distinctive disadvantage due to the disparity between matters pertaining to public health and nursing professional practices. Environmental issues are usually approached from population control and preventive perspectives. This is contrary to the curative perspective that nurses are trained to undertake where focus in on patients already suffering from some kind of disease. Environmental specialists at times may feel inadequate when it comes to handling environmental matters despite possibilities of re-conceptualizing on ways through which the profession can be used to minimize pollution cases. They feel comfortable caring for individuals since this defines so well the nature of their profession avoiding instances of stepping into social and political programs geared towards disease prevention mechanisms (Gupta et al., 1998).
Model cases
Evidently, waste management strategies within various environments around the world may be similar including those in areas considered primarily ineffective. Such practices are normally attributed to health sector in collaboration with local and central governments. Most of the regions especially in Africa still use the centralized approach in which the local government is responsible for waste collection, transportation as well as disposal (Gupta et al., 1998). The centralized and undiversified approach does not carter for the different needs and the disparities in living conditions within neighborhoods in various segments. Furthermore, such systems are considered bureaucratic hence limiting nursing and community participation. The approaches have also been found to be capital intensive, tending to mimic strategies employed in the developed world.
Although there exists a number of ways used in managing and transporting waste materials, majority of countries employ relatively primitive and weak systems. According to Gupta et al (1998), the use of dumper trucks, open trucks, tipper trucks and even animal-drawn carts are some of the ways used to transport waste which have been shown to be not only ineffective but are inherently costly. Even the modern trends used within the big cities involving the use of container carriers and dumper placers have not made the process as effective as required. Medina (1998) reports that, although African countries invest on average 50% of waste management budget on waste transportation constitutes, 20% of the total waste is transported.
Rationale for not adopting some model cases
Imaginary influences cannot be adopted in this case since the concept has direct effects on human health. Cleaning environmental wastes around cities and their transportation is considered responsibility of the local government which applies the use of trucks, trailers and animal drawn carriers. The modernization process has seen the entry of lag carriers which transport larger volume of waste. Gupta et al. (1998, p. 139) estimate that the daily waste transportation needs can be calculated on the basis of waste density. On the same note, it is estimated that within developing world, 320 m3 of waste is generated daily for an estimated population of 1 million which implies that, more than half of such wastes is generated in the city. It is evident that the cities do not have 320 m3/million hence more strategic management styles and new transportation and disposal options are required as recommended by Medina (1998).
Antecedents and Consequences of the concept
Environmental cleanliness concept can be used in the process of changing community perception concerning healthy lifestyle. This is found necessary in measuring the extent of utilization and underutilization of medical services within specific regions. By considering prevalence of diseases in children and adults in the absence of hygiene, the concept focuses on dealing with causal organisms especially based on sanity within communities. Additionally, there is a need for evaluating the impact of cleanliness and other disease controlling mechanisms within the society (Walker and Avant, 2010). This is necessary since it assists in measuring the strength of using exposure limits and various challenges of failing to use them. The kind of environment under which nursing programs are implemented can exhibit best outcomes in the typical society under normal circumstances as opposed to areas presently prone to disease outbreaks. This is because the outcome of normal situations definitely reflects reality, unlike areas with outbreaks, which are certainly bound to reflect contemporary extremes (McEwen and Wills, 2011).
Defining Empirical Referents
The concept can be measured through initiation of superior models capable of handling the current rising population needs within the area of environmental cleanliness. The nature of prevailing kind of diseases would determine level of cleanliness of an environment. There is a need of involving other players in environmental projects such as community based organizations, micro-enterprises and the private sector. Such moves help in increasing volume of recycled waste within various regions which ultimately helps in improving the environment. Furthermore, companies and the informal reuse collectors would play a critical role in processing and collecting the recyclable waste (Walker and Avant, 2010). In order to prove the effectiveness and necessity of environmental cleanliness, there is a need to make use of the background information on health of the community and determine on the necessity of undertaking preventivemeasures at early stages of human development. Indeed, immunization is the protective measure to mitigate the prevalent risk of diseases in children. At the same time, health organizations will be able to use findings on environmental cleanliness for the purposes of improving ways of administering treatments on children and community at large. This makes parents and children have the ability of minimizing the risk of losing their loved ones to preventable illnesses.
Sensitive observations from the nature of children health will be vital for fair evaluation. Environmental preventive measures have been in use for a long time. This began in ancient civilizations and was handed over to the rest of the developing world in the later centuries. However, till now, a majority of the populations in the developing world have neglected the importance of taking care of environmental hazards (McEwen and Wills, 2011).
In order to ensure absolute cleanliness within the environment, it is recommended that additional measures should be implemented such as more awareness campaigns organized by health sectors. At the same time, it is important for waste trucks to be provided by government within cities for the purposes of effective management of estimated high volume of waste discharged daily within the cities. Local governments in collaboration with health sector should privatize waste collection and transportation thereby giving opportunity to the private sector on provision of necessary services based on additional demand (McEwen and Wills, 2011).
Conclusion
In conclusion, overall responsibility of implementing environmental programs aimed at cleaning the environment rests entirely in the hands of the medical institutions and other concerned governing bodies. However, evaluation nursing process plays important roles in post-implementation and administration of remedial tests and care. Implementation of environmental programs requires basic information concerning public and private environmental conditions. This ensures full participation of target communities and associated programs. Generally, nursing intervention in environmental matters does not stop at the implementation stage. The process involves monitoring of the effectiveness of all programs included in the process which basically determines the need for remedial and preventive actions. There is also a need for nurses to lead in educating target communities concerning the benefits of remaining consistent in tackling medically related environmental issues. Such actions ensure realization of sustainability on evaluation processes targeting long-term success.
References
Anderson, E., & McFarlane, J. M. (1995).Community as Partner: Theory and Practice of Nursing. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.
Gupta, S., Mohan K., Prasad R., & Arun K. (1998). Solid Waste Management in India: Options and Opportunities. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 24(1), 137-154.
Medina, M. (1998). Globalization, Development and Municipal Solid Waste Management in Third World Cities. Mexico: El Colegio de la Frontera Notre, Tijuana
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2011).Theoretical basis for nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.
Walker, L., & Avant, K. (2010). Strategies for theory construction in nursing. Boston: Pearson publishers