CHILDHOOD LEAD-POISONING ON THE US-MEXICO BORDER - A CASE-STUDY IN ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH NURSING LEAD-POISONING

Human exposure to environmental hazards is a major public health probl em along the US-Mexico border due to socioeconomic, cultural and polit ical factors. Childhood lead exposure is endemic in areas of extreme p overty and substandard housing. Hispanic children of indigent, poorly- educated, disenfranchised families are at disproportionate risk. Risk management is contingent upon consideration of the interrelationships between socioeconomics, politics, and culture. This case study explain s childhood lead poisoning in a colonia family living at subsistence l evel from such a perspective. The purpose of the study was to identify , explain, and ameliorate lead exposure pathways. Case study methodolo gy was used to support or refute the proposition that these children w ere exposed to occupational lead. The children were the study sampling unit and the family a subunit. An embedded single case explanatory de sign was appropriate. Data were collected from exposure surveys, envir onmental and blood specimens, and review of medical records. Pattern-m atching and explanation-building techniques were used to analyze data. The study illustrated how extreme poverty, lack of access to health s ervices, social isolation, language and legal barriers, and hazardous occupations may be singularly common risk factors for Hispanic childre n on the US-Mexico border. The study is pertinent to public health nur ses who work with this population.