Gul Family

The quality of our air, food and water play a significant role in our health. Contamination in any of these areas can cause both acute and chronic health conditions. Some common health conditions include cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diarrheal diseases and maternal complications. Let's look at a family who recently moved to the area and identify methods of quality improvements in air, water and food, after observing their apartment because as a nurse its my responsibility to provide health promotion and health education.
The Gul family recently arrived in Springfield, Massachusetts from Iran. The Gul family consists of a mother, father and three children, ages 1, 5 and 7. This family is living in a small
three room apartment, in the inner city and Mr. Gul recently started working at a local gas station. Their primary language is Persian; however, they have the ability to speak English fairly well. The Gul family follows a pretty healthy diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables and greens, while typically eating lamb or chicken as a side dish. Rice and whole grain breads are very common in their diet and a staple beverage in their household is black tea. Typically their big meal is in the afternoon and they will often have a small morning and evening meal.
Now image going to their home as a public health nurse with the plan of welcoming them to the community and finding thawed, raw meat on the counter alongside cut up fruits and vegetables and cook rice. Then looking in the refrigerator and finding food stored in containers without date, which appear to have been there for days and the refrigerator and freezer set at suboptimal temperatures. Then you look past the empty space where a kitchen table should be stored and see the children eating their morning meal on the carpet in their living room, with their plates on the carpet. Finally, you notice the family is living in an old building, known to have lead paint and old pipes, which is located in the inner city and is adjacent to a power plant.
Many observations from this assessment have identified multiple pollutants present in the Gul family's environment and education is needed to promote health and wellness.
First, I'd provide education on air pollution can be broken down into two categories: outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution includes smog, tobacco smoke and gases and indoor air pollution includes those from building materials such as lead and asbestos, indoor allergens, such as cockroach and mouse droppings, mold and household chemicals ("Air pollution," 2016). Since the Gul family is living in a small three room apartment in the inner city, they are already at increased risk for exposure to these pollutants. Since Mr. and Mrs. Gul have a one year-old, who is still crawling and at the stage where she is placing everything in her mouth, it is dyer they inspect the walls and woodwork for peeling or chipping paint and immediately make their landlord aware if they find any due to its toxicity when ingested. Additionally, they must assess if rodents such as cockroaches and mice are living in their apartment, as their dropping and urine can cause respiratory
diseases.
Next, water is a vital resource to our health and billions of gallons of clean water are delivered each day to homes, schools and businesses.
This water is treated to remove chemicals, pesticides and waste before it is delivered to our homes. However, "lack of proper sanitation is the world’s biggest cause of infection and unfortunately 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation, including 1.2 billion people who have no facilities at all" (Ghozikali, Mosaferi, & Naddafi, 2013). For the Gul family, it's important they understand the importance of reporting any problems with waste backup in their apartment or if their water is ever cloudy or
discolored.
Finally, food contamination often comes from agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides, which have been shown to cause cancers. Additional causes of food contamination include artificial growth hormones and antibiotics, which are routinely fed or injected into the animals we eat to prevent infection and accelerate weight gain ("Pollution," 2016). Food can also be contaminated by harmful bacteria (e-coli, salmonella and listeria), viruses (norovirus) and parasites (tapeworm) and chemicals (pesticides, growth hormones), which can cause anything from diarrhea to infection to cancer. Therefore, it is important to understand how to handle, prepare, cook and store food to minimize the chance for food contamination.
Since this family eats large quantities of salad, fruits and vegetables, I would recommend they wash all food thoroughly, under running water, and avoid eating foods, which are bruised or discolored foods (Conway, 2002.) Other recommendations include washing hands before touching food, after using the toilet, and emptying trash; washing counters, cutting boards and utensils between handling cooked and uncooked food; and store thawing meat in the bottom of the fridge to avoid the juice dripping onto other food. Additionally, I would recommend the family buy organic food, which is free from GM, hormones and pesticides. Finally, schools provide school lunch; however, many children continue to bring their own lunches from home. The Gul's report their oldest two children will be bringing their lunches to school. Therefore, I would recommend the Gul's send their children to school with lunch boxes, which contain ice packs to keep cold food cold, which avoids the growth of bacteria. According to the Food and Drug Administration, to ensure food is stored correctly, they recommend setting refrigerators at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and setting freezers at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
In conclusion,