Student nurses' risk perceptions of home environmental hazards

Our plain-English summary of Student nurses' risk perceptions of home environmental hazards, by B.J. Polivka, C. Wills (Public Health Nursing, 2014).

The study

• Authors: B.J. Polivka, C. Wills
• Journal: Public Health Nursing
• Published: 2014;31(4):298-308
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Objective: This study described nursing students' perceptions of home health risks.

Design And Sample: Nursing students (N = 254) at two large urban universities completed a cross-sectional survey during the 2011-2013 academic years.

Measures: From a list of 22 common home health hazards, students identified what they perceived as the three: (a) most dangerous hazards, (b) most common hazards in their state, (c) hazards most likely to be present in their current home, and (d) hazards they would most afraid to find in their home. Students also rated perceived dangerousness of the hazards, how healthy they perceived their home to be, and the perceived effect of their home on their own health.

Results: Tobacco smoke, asbestos, and cleaning products were the most commonly identified home hazards. Individual characteristics, hazard experiences in personal homes, and university geographic location (state) were associated with perceptions of home hazards. Students who identified hazards in their own homes were more likely to identify them as hazards in general and for their own state.

Conclusions: These results fill a foundational knowledge gap by describing the risk perceptions of near-future health care providers about home environmental hazards.

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In plain English

This survey measured nursing students' opinions about home hazards, not asbestos exposure or disease. During the 2011–2013 academic years, 254 of 317 invited senior and graduate-entry nursing students (80.1%) at two large urban universities, in Ohio and Kentucky, responded. From a list of 22 hazards, each student chose the three they considered most dangerous in any home, most common in their state, most likely in their own home, and most frightening to find at home. Asbestos was the second most often named most-dangerous hazard (71 students, 28.5%), after tobacco smoke (72, 28.9%). Only 14 (5.6%) named it as common in their state and 1 (0.4%) as likely in their own home, but 101 (40.6%) listed it among the hazards they would most fear finding. Students without a history of asthma or allergies named asbestos as dangerous significantly more often. The authors noted that asbestos is not generally considered a primary home hazard unless an older home is being renovated. They suggested that media coverage and nursing education may explain the students' views. They also noted that their sample came from two urban schools and relied on self-report.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey (questionnaire on risk perceptions)
• Who was studied: Baccalaureate senior and pre-licensure graduate-entry nursing students at two large urban universities, one in Ohio and one in Kentucky, surveyed in the 2011–2013 academic years. 254 of 317 potential respondents took part (80.1% response rate). 163 were from University A and 91 from University B.
• Exposure: No exposure was measured. Students chose the top three hazards in each of four categories from a list of 22 home hazards. Asbestos was one of the listed hazards. No fiber types were specified.
• Main results:
  • Asbestos was named among the three most dangerous hazards in any home by 71 students (28.5%), ranking #2 after tobacco smoke. It was named among the most common in their state by 14 (5.6%), among those most likely in their own home by 1 (0.4%), and among those they would be most afraid to find in their home by 101 (40.6%, ranked #4).
  • Tobacco smoke was the hazard most often named as most dangerous in any home, by 72 students (28.9%).
  • Students without a history of asthma or allergies named asbestos as a hazard in any home significantly more often (p 0.05 or less) than students with such a history. Table 3 appears to show 37 (36.3%) of students without that history versus 34 (23.1%) of those with it, but the column layout was lost in the text.
  • In their discussion, the authors stated that asbestos exposure is not generally considered a primary home health hazard unless an older home is under renovation. They cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for this.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors suggested that students may have seen asbestos as a home hazard because of media coverage of asbestos in schools and other buildings, and because nursing education covers asbestos-related illness. They concluded that the results describe the risk perceptions of near-future health care providers about home environmental hazards.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The sample was of moderate size and came from large urban nursing schools in two states, which limits generalization. Results might differ for other health professionals in other settings.
  • The study relied on self-reported perceptions. It did not compare these with students' assessment of hazards in a simulated or actual home.
  • Respondents could not be compared with non-respondents because responses were anonymous.
  • Some hazards, such as carbon monoxide, were not listed separately and were folded into the poor ventilation item.

Related studies

• Inequities in reporting asbestos-related lung cancer: influence of smoking stigma and physician's specialty, workload and role perception — P. Verger, S. Arnaud, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales — E.K. Park, D.H. Yates, et al. (2013)
• Managing malignant pleural mesothelioma: experience and perceptions of health care professionals caring for people with mesothelioma — A. Warby, H.M. Dhillon, et al. (2019)
• Increasing incidence of malignant mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos during home maintenance and renovation — N.J. Olsen, P.J. Franklin, et al. (2011)
• Public perceptions of cancer risk factors: a Western Australian study — A. MacTiernan, L. Fritschi, et al. (2014)
• Environmental policies, politics, and community risk perception: case study of community contamination in Casper, Wyoming — M. Tajik, K. Gottlieb, et al. (2007)

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