TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1

Teaching Experience
Lead poisoning of toddlers is a recurrent prole! in the de"eloped #orld$ %ue
to the gro#ing reliance on che!ical co!pounds and their increased use in da&'to'
da& acti"ities( toddlers eco!e !ore susceptile to the ris)s of lead poisoning$
*nfortunatel&( !an& !others and fathers do not reali+e the se"erit& of the prole!$
,an& others ignore the #orsening ph&sical and e!otional s&!pto!s of lead
poisoning$ -Nurses are natural teachers and the& help patients to understand their
condition and learn ho# to cooperate #ith the course of treat!ent- .Raeis( /001( p$
1023$ The&.nurses3 are #ell positioned to deli"er the !essage of lead poisoning and
!ethods of its pre"ention to adults$ The purpose of the paper is to reflect on the
teaching experiences #ith adult parents of toddlers( #ho #ere #illing to learn !ore
aout the ris)s of lead poisoning in their aies and possile #a&s to pre"ent it$
Co!!unit& health nursing is a field of professional speciali+ation that has
historicall& de"eloped around the health needs of the population$ Nurses ha"e
al#a&s pla&ed one of the chief roles in ad"ancing the !essage of pulic health and
reducing the ris)s of diseases and epide!ics$ *nfortunatel&( e"en in the presence of
o"er#hel!ing data and an eas& access to infor!ation( thousands of people cannot
deal #ith the si!plest diseases$ Lund& and 4anes ./0053 #rite6 -In spite of the
o"er#hel!ing a"ailailit& of health infor!ation to !ost of the *$7$ population( #e
continue to e plagued #ith pre"entale illnesses that are largel& a result of
unhealth& lifest&les- .p$ xxx3$ As a result( nurses assu!e responsiilit& for alle"iating
the urden of pulic health prole!s( including lead poisoning$
Lead poisoning is one of the !an& pre"entale health conditions that re8uire
professional nursing assistance and support$ 9ftenti!es( it is enough to suppl& the
target audience #ith co!prehensi"e infor!ation aout pre"ention opportunities( thus
TEACHING EXPERIENCE /
e!po#ering and adults to deal #ith the !ost per"asi"e health ris)s$ 9ne of the
reasons #h& the post!odern population re!ains unhealth& is ecause thousands of
people cannot use the infor!ation the& otain through ne#spapers( professional
:ournals( and the Internet$ The le"els of pulic health a#areness are also lo#$ The
existing social and econo!ic conditions fa"or the creation of population'centered
healthcare and the rapid expansion of the infor!ation net#or)s to satisf& the gro#ing
de!and for 8ualit& co!prehensi"e data$ ;et( #ithout nurses( creating such s&ste!
#ill e close to i!possile$ In a population that has eco!e the stage for the rapid
e"olution of pre"entale diseases( co!!unit& infor!ation ca!paigns ha"e the
potential to change the direction of societal de"elop!ent and gro#th$ Lead poisoning
in toddlers presents a serious co!!unit& challenge$ Ho#e"er( it is also a good test
to the effecti"eness of "arious instructional strategies that are used & nurses to
spread the !essage of pre"ention and health& li"ing$
Although lead poisoning is not a topic of nursing discussion as popular as
childhood oesit& or cardio"ascular !ortalit& in adults( it re!ains a !atter of pulic
health concern$ In the past 1< &ears( the *nited 7tates #itnessed a nu!er of
tragedies that resulted fro! pediatric lead exposures$ In /000( a /'&ear'old refugee
fro! 7udan died fro! lead poisoning .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ Later in /00/( a 1'&ear'old
resident of Ne# ;or) Cit& #as reported to sho# ele"ated le"els of lood lead #ithout
an& "isile signs of poisoning .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ 7uch cases do not dra# !uch
pulic attention ut re8uire i!!ediate actions$ *nfortunatel&( !an& parents do not
reali+e the dangers their toddlers face due to the acti"e use of che!icals$
Generall&( lead is a corrosion'resistant che!ical sustance that has een
used & hu!ans since the earliest ti!es$ *nder the pressure of industrial changes
and unprecedented population gro#th in the /0
th
centur&( at!ospheric
TEACHING EXPERIENCE 2
concentrations of lead ha"e increased !ore than six'fold .Le"in et al$( /00=3$
>et#een 1500 and 15?@( the le"els of lead in childrenAs lood rose sharpl& due to
the #idespread lead conta!ination .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ No#ada&s( lead poisoning is
a persistent pulic health prole! that has profound i!plications for nursing$
Certainl&( the *$7$ #as 8uite successful in passing the la#s that #ould reduce
the urden of lead exposure on children$ Leaded house paint #as officiall& anned$
Leaded gasoline is no longer used in "ehicles .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ Ne"ertheless(
e"en the est policies cannot eli!inate lead fro! the li"es of children$ >et#een 1555
and /00/( approxi!atel& 1$1 percent of *$7$ children had ele"ated lood lead le"els
.Le"in et al$( /00=3$ Al!ost 1< percent of children in the *$7$ sho#ed the le"els of
lood lead close to critical .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ *nfortunatel&( the current state of
literature does not pro"ide an& specific data on toddlers$ Ho#e"er( according to
>ada#& et al$ ./0123( lead poisoning affects !ostl& toddlers and children efore the&
reach 1 &ears of age$ Thus( the statistics pro"ided can e readil& related to toddlers$
7ince /000( the *$7$ has een strongl& co!!itted to the goal of reducing the scope
of lead exposure a!ong )ids( ut parents should pla& one of the pri!ar& roles in
pre"ention efforts$
9ne of the chief reasons #h& pre"enting lead poisoning is i!portant is
ecause it leads to intellectual i!pair!ents in children$ Lanphear( %ietrich( Auinger
and Cox ./0003 confir! that lead is a serious neurotoxicant( and e"en the lo#est
concentrations of lead in childrenAs lood are associated #ith i!paired cogniti"e
functioning and poor acade!ic achie"e!ent$ Bhen the le"els of lead poisoning are
lo# and toxicit& is suclinical( parents and nurses find it particularl& difficult to identif&
the !ost rele"ant causes of cogniti"e !alfunctioning in children$ Therefore( nurses
should teach parents ho# to pre"ent lead poisoning in toddlers$ Nurses ha"e the
TEACHING EXPERIENCE <
)no#ledge( s)ills( and expertise needed to expand parentsA )no#ledge of lead
poisoning( its !ain sources( and !ethods of pre"ention$
7ince lead poisoning re!ains a topic of acute concern for parents( a decision
#as !ade to organi+e a teaching session for adult parents of toddler children$ The
!ain instructional !ethod used #as the pa!phlet( #hich included the !ost
i!portant co!prehensi"e infor!ation aout the sources of lead poisoning( possile
signs of exposure( and !ethods of pre"enting the traged&$ A pa!phlet #as selected
as the !ost suitale !ethod of deli"ering eas&'to'understand infor!ation to parents$
The audience did not ha"e an& speciali+ed )no#ledge of nursing or !edicine( and
the instructional strateg& used had to facilitate the integration of ne# infor!ation into
the dail& practices of parents and their interactions #ith children$
9"erall( the teaching experience #as positi"e$ The process of creating the
pa!phlet #as long and 8uite enduring( since it had to include onl& the !ost "ital
infor!ation #ithout an& speciali+ed ter!s or sophisticated descriptions$ 9ne of the
!ost challenging aspects of the teaching experience #as to engage parents in the
process of co!!unication and persuade the! that the topic #as rele"ant for the!
and their children$ Ho#e"er( due to the fact that the pa!phlet #as right( eas&'to'
read( and colorful( the parents in"ol"ed in the nursing acti"it& 8uic)l& reali+ed the
i!portance of the topic and their crucial role in pre"enting lead poisoning$
This eing said( it is possile to assu!e that the co!!unit& responded #ell$
The fact that the& as)ed !an& 8uestions aout the topic of lead poisoning has far'
reaching i!plications for nurses as teachers$ 9n the one hand( it sho#s the genuine
interest of the audience in the issue of lead poisoning in toddlers$ 9n the other hand(
it suggests that the pa!phlet & itself id too rief and li!ited to pro"ide co!plete
infor!ation on the topic$ Prior to i!ple!enting the co!!unit& acti"it&( the pa!phlet
TEACHING EXPERIENCE @
see!ed to ha"e all the ele!ents needed to eco!e a con"enient and effecti"e
instru!ent of pulic health and disease pre"ention$ The results of the teaching
experience i!pl& that the pa!phlet alone #as !erel& the starting point in raising the
pulic a#areness of lead poisoning in children$ Conse8uentl&( it is al#a&s etter for
nurses to )eep in touch #ith parents and co!!unicate their pre"ention !essages
personall&$
As such( the teaching experience has unco"ered the strengths and areas of
i!pro"e!ent( #hen it co!es to using pa!phlets in nursing and co!!unit&
education$ 9n the one hand( the pa!phlet has pro"ed to e a rele"ant source of
interesting and useful infor!ation aout lead poisoning in children and possile #a&s
to pre"ent it$ 9n the other hand( the adult parents present during the !eeting
de!anded !ore resources to understand and eli!inate possile sources of lead
conta!ination in their ho!es$ Le"in et al$ ./00=3 suggest that the pri!ar& causes of
lead conta!ination are deteriorating lead paint( as #ell as conta!inated soil and
dust$ ;et( parents should not !iss the nonpaint sources of lead( including diet .Le"in
et al$( /00=3$ Cor instance( fe# parents are a#are of the ris)s of lead poisoning
through drin)ing #ater( food contact #ith !etal pac)aging or pig!ents( and e"en the
consu!ption of chocolate and certain i!ported products .Le"in et al$( /00=3$ The
pa!phlet included such infor!ation( ut the parents in"ol"ed in the nursing acti"it&
still #anted to )no# !ore aout lead sources$
Another prole! is that( "er& often( pa!phlets are designed at le"els of
education that are difficult to understand & the target audience .Raeis( /0013$ The
discussed teaching experience has sho#n that the le"el of education is one of the
central factors to consider( #hen designing co!!unit& nursing acti"ities$ Ho#e"er(
the adult parents #ho participated in the acti"it& did not report an& difficulties #ith
TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1
understanding the !aterial$ Cuture teaching strategies should include a roader
co"erage of the infor!ation related to the topic of lead poisoning in children$
To conclude( lead poisoning re!ains a serious prole! facing children and
their parents in the de"eloped #orld$ %espite nu!erous initiati"es and legislati"e
decisions( the prole! of lead poisoning in toddlers continues to persist$ Nu!erous
cases of ele"ated lood lead le"els are registered in the *$7$ 9ne of the iggest
dangers of lead poisoning is i!paired cogniti"e functioning and poor acade!ic
achie"e!ent in children$ Another prole! is that( "er& often( an& o"ious s&!pto!s
of lead poisoning in children are asent$ The teaching experience has sho#n that
adult parents of toddlers are particularl& interested in understanding the prole! and
pre"enting it$ The pa!phlet #as designed to deli"er co!prehensi"e infor!ation
aout lead poisoning to adult parents$ ;et( the pa!phlet alone could not satisf&
parentsA de!and for 8ualit& infor!ation$ The parents #ho participated in the acti"it&
de!anded !ore data on possile sources of lead conta!ination( suggesting the
need for roadening the scope of infor!ation during co!!unit& nursing acti"ities$
TEACHING EXPERIENCE ?
References
>ada#&( ,$D$ ./0123$ Pediatric lead toxicit&$ Medscape. Retrie"ed fro!
http6EEe!edicine$!edscape$co!EarticleE1005@=?'o"er"ie#Fa01@1$
Lanphear( >$P$( %ietrich( D$( Auinger( P$ G Cox( C$ ./0003$ Cogniti"e deficits
associated #ith lood lead concentrations H10 IgEdL$ Public Health Reports,
115, @/1'@/5$
Le"in( R$( >ro#n( ,$4$( Dashtoc)( ,$E$( 4acos( %$E$( Bhelan( E$A$( Rod!an( 4$ J
7in)s( T$ ./00=3$ Lead exposures in *$7$ children( /00=6 I!plications for
pre"ention$ Environmental Health Perspectives, 116, 1/=@'1/52$ %9I6
10$1/=5Eehp$11/<1$
Lund&( D$7$ G 4anes( 7$ ./0053$ Community health nursing Caring !or public"s
health. 7udur&( ,A6 4ones G >artlett Learning$
Raeis( %$N$ ./0013$ E"aluation of 8ualit& of patient education pa!phlets !ade &
nursing students$ #ournal o! Medical Education, $./3( 102'110$