Top

Pre-Conference Workshops

2021 Pre-Conference Workshops

MNRS is proud to offer additional educational opportunities to the MNRS members and conference attendees.  We encourage you to explore adding pre-conference workshops to your conference experience.  Please note that workshops will be held on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.  Workshop participation requires registration and an additional fee.

Conference attendees can join the half day conferences for an additional $175.00.
Half-Day Workshop:
Wednesday, March 24, 20218:30 AM – 12:00 PM CENTRAL

Toolbox for Collecting and Integrating Environmental and Occupational Exposure Data

Workshop Speakers:
Barbara Polivka, PhD, RN, FAAN
Azita Amiri, PhD, RN
Jessica Castner, PhD, RN-BC, FAEN, FAAN
Luz Huntington Moskos, PhD, RN, CPN
Over one-fifth of global death and disability can be attributed to environmental factors, according to World Health Organization estimates. Globally, both indoor and outdoor air pollutants are leading risk factor for death and lost quality of life years for a broad range of common diseases including asthma, cardiovascular events, and COVID-19. In July 2018, the National Academies of Medicine, Science, and Engineering launched the “Environmental Health Matters Initiative” underscoring the critical need for the environmental and occupational exposure research. Given that the theoretical foundation of nursing is based on Florence Nightingale’s concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing, nurse scientists must be able to understand the impact of environmental determinants of health and incorporate exposure measurements into their research protocols.

This workshop will provide learners with an intellectual toolbox of environmental and occupational exposure data for nursing research. The workshop is conceptually organized into levels of measurement and analyses using the socio-ecological framework. Furthermore, we apply the content to the nursing research by integrating methods for endotype characterization (the causal
pathway) into the NIH/NINR Symptom Science Model’s process of complex symptom, phenotype characterization, biomarker discovery, and clinical applications. We will address both methodology and measurement for data collection.

During the workshop, learners will become familiar with common environmental data collection tools that can be incorporated into their research: biomarkers (e.g., cotinine), self-report validated exposure assessment; individual/personal wearable monitoring of e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOCs); area monitoring (home or workplace) of e.g., community air quality; and COVID-19 as an occupational co-/exposure including measures/considerations of environmental controls as infection control and the built environment of the clinical unit as a factor. Learners will have the opportunity to explore how these exposure measurements can be incorporated into their research questions and data collection methods in the era of COVID-19. By the end of the workshop, learners will have compared and contrasted relevant research design, level of analysis, strengths, and limitations for each type of exposure measurement. The workshop will be facilitated by research experts who have incorporated air quality measures into completed research projects that include formaldehyde, VOCs, particulates, and other pollutants.