Nurses Improving the Environmental Health of Women and Children
With growing knowledge of the damaging connection between climate change and the health of millions of women, pregnant mothers and children, 15 national nursing organizations, representing 100,000 healthcare providers, have launched Nurses Improving the Environmental Health of Women and Children.
Led by the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH) and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), key organizations from all areas of nursing will engage in a first-of-its kind, focused effort to combat the environmental factors contributing to compromised reproductive health, poor pregnancy outcomes and worsening cardiovascular and respiratory disease in women.
The Collaborative will coordinate policy development with champions of women’s health like Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14), who has led legislative efforts to eliminate disparities in maternal mortality through her efforts with the Black Maternal Health Caucus. The Congresswoman’s office updated the Collaborative at its inaugural meeting on upcoming legislative efforts, including policies to address the impacts of climate change-related risks on maternal and infant health outcomes.
“I commend the founding members of the Nursing Collaborative on Environmental Issues and Maternal-Child and Women’s Health for their leadership on such a critically important issue. Climate change-related risks pose a large and growing threat to human health, particularly for moms and babies. As a registered nurse, I know that nurses are uniquely equipped to help identify and respond to these risks. I look forward to partnering with the Collaborative to increase awareness of these issues and advance evidence-policy solutions to save lives and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes,” said Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14).
Click here to view the full press release.
Collaborative Participants
American College of Nurse Midwives
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association
National Association of Hispanic Nurses
National Association of Neonatal Nurses
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of Neonatal Nurses
National Black Nurses Association
National Certification Corporation
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties
Philippine Nurses Association of America
Region III Pediatric and Environmental Health Specialty Unit (Villanova University) Nurse Run
Vision
Our vision is that this Collaborative will leverage their collective knowledge to:
- Identify key environmental issues affecting women’s and maternal-child health outcomes;
- Ascertain gaps in knowledge regarding the environmental factors affecting women’s and maternal-child health outcomes
- Consider curricular components necessary to fill knowledge gaps for nurses and patients
- Identify policy solutions to facilitate increased attention, resources, and support for environmental health interventions to improve women’s and maternal-child health outcomes
- Create a prioritized action plan and timeline for execution
It is our hope that this collective effort will significantly contribute to eliminating disparities in maternal child health and improving the overall health status of women and children.
