What is the first step a nurse should take when assessing potential environmental health risks in a community?

• A. Conduct health risk assessments of randomly selected individuals
• B. Perform a windshield survey
• C. Review facility permits and consumer confidence reports
• D. Survey community members

Answer: (B)

Starting with a windshield survey is the best first step because it provides a quick, real-time view of the community’s built environment and visible environmental hazards. By driving or walking through areas, the nurse can observe housing conditions, sanitation, waste disposal, drainage issues, water sources, air quality indicators, noise, traffic hazards, and the location of industrial sites or dumps. This broad, observational scan helps identify priority areas and guides where to focus deeper data collection and interventions, using minimal resources and without intruding on residents. After this initial scan, more detailed work—such as targeted surveys of community members, reviewing facility permits and reports, and analyzing health data—can follow to confirm risks and quantify exposure. While other approaches like surveying individuals or relying solely on permits can be useful later, they don’t provide the immediate environmental picture needed to start a focused, effective assessment.