Focus on asthma 2: air pollution and its effects on children and young people
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD    

Focus on asthma 2: air pollution and its effects on children and young people

Heather Henry Independent Public Health Nurse and Queen’s Nurse, owner/founder, Brightness Management Limited, Sale, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To identify the adverse effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution on children, particularly those with asthma

  • To increase your knowledge of how to support children, families and schools to limit their exposure to air pollution and reduce their own emissions of pollutants

  • To count towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD, or you may wish to write a reflective account (UK readers)

  • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

This article is the second in a series on asthma. The first article identified that the UK is experiencing an ‘epidemic’ of childhood asthma and one of the major culprits is air pollution. This article examines the main causes of air pollution and how they affect the lung health of children from before birth and onwards. It considers the contribution of indoor and outdoor air pollution, how these have changed over time and the unequal effect they may have on vulnerable populations. The nurse’s role is discussed, not only in terms of clinical care, but also as adviser to families and schools on what actions to take to limit their exposure and reduce their own emissions of pollutants.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2020.e1339

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

@breathchamps

Correspondence

heather.henry@brightnessmanagement.org.uk

Conflict of interest

The author is founder and managing director of BreathChamps CIC

Henry H (2020) Asthma 2: air pollution and its effects on children and young people. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2020.e1339

Published online: 19 October 2020

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