Reference no: EM132308844

Question: Please, respond to following discussion in about one paragraph, use one reference from peer-reviewed Nursing Journal not older than 5 years. APA required, no cover page.

The quality of water is an essential part of living a healthy and happy lifestyle. Without out a good source of quality of water within an individuals life, it has the potential to cause great harm to a person well being. According to Clark (p. 81. 2015), not having the means to obtain safe water as a part of persons daily living can cause a lot of health issues. Nurses are one of the primary sources for a patient, patient-family and the community in promoting and educating a healthy lifestyle on the influences of the environment as well as public health standards in order to keep a community healthy and safe. In some parts of the world drinking water can be contaminated with hazardous particles like heavy metals, waterborne pathogen, and bacteria. Other causes of contamination within our water supplies are from poor infrastructure and/or chemicals that are released from sources such as mining extraction, all of which can cause cancer, birth defects, neurological disorders, learning disabilities and asthma.

Nurses can advocate for the community by engaging in a conversation with local, state and federal officials and working with healthcare institution to bring about the awareness of clean water and its threats and implication on an individuals health and its effects on the community. For instances, nurses can share the responsibility of educating their patients especially the elderly that utilizes well water on having their water tested for E-coli. If the water tests positive it's important for them to understand that they must boil their drinking water before drinking it. By advocating this health concerns the nurse is keeping families, children and the community safe. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (2018), states that their main objective in regards to The Clean Water Act is to ensure that the nation's water is free from chemical, physical and biological integrity.