ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
FIGURE 1
Formal Education Received on Water Quality Topics
Physicians ( n = 183)
9.8
90.2
Physician Assistants ( n = 28)
3.6
96.4
Nurse Practitioners ( n = 55)
7.3
92.7
Registered Nurses ( n = 349)
4.6
95.4
0
10
20
30
70
80
90
100
40
50
60
% of Participant Responses
Yes No
tioners/registered nurses responded they had not (Figure 1). No statistically significant dif- ferences were found when comparing mean differences between physicians/physician assistants and nurse practitioners/registered nurses for either of these responses. Attitudes and Awareness Domain Attitudes toward and awareness of nitrate contamination in drinking water were assessed to determine how physicians/phy- sician assistants and nurse practitioners/ registered nurses felt when discussing these issues with patients. Participants were asked how often they discussed the health risks of nitrate contamination in drinking water with their patients, how concerned they were about nitrate-contaminated water as it relates
to their patients’ health, and how much of a priority it was for them to educate their patients about the risks of drinking nitrate- contaminated water. Most physicians/physician assistants and nurse practitioners/registered nurses reported that they never discussed the health risks of nitrate contamination with patients (80.5% and 81.9%, respectively). When asked about their level of concern about nitrate-contam- inated water, 78.3% of physicians/physician assistants and 81.1% of nurse practitioners/ registered nurses reported being “somewhat” to “very concerned” ( χ ² = 0.634; p = .426). Despite reporting a high level of concern for nitrate contamination, 25.7% of physicians/ physician assistants and 22.4% of nurse prac- titioners/registered nurses reported that they
believed this issue was not a priority in their practice ( χ ² = 0.705; p = .401).
Behaviors and Openness to Change Domain
Exploring the opportunity for future inter- ventions, participants rated their current behaviors and openness to behavior change regarding nitrate contamination education with their patients. To capture openness to change, participants were asked if they planned to receive any formal education or training on the health risks of consuming nitrate-contaminated water, how likely they would be to use resources for HCP training and education on drinking water quality (should they be made available), and how likely they would be to distribute these edu-
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Volume 89 • Number 3
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