OT, Nitrates, and Cancer Prevention

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

It’s no secret that I believe occupation therapy is entering its prevention era. 

We are starting to leverage our skillset not after a terrible health incident has occurred, but at the first sign of trouble. 

As I imagine this not-too-distant reality, there is one deeply personal area that I am so eager to see us shift our energy toward: 

Cancer prevention. 

Across the healthcare community, we are learning more and more about the specific lifestyle and environmental factors that put people at a higher risk for cancer. Case in point: My own county in rural Nebraska, where above-average pediatric cancer rates have been associated with high levels of nitrates in our water.

On this live webinar and podcast course, we are lucky to be joined by Dr. Jesse E. Bell, one of the world’s leading experts on water and human health and the Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate, and Health in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health.

Dr. Bell—who also is the author of the paper we will discuss during this episode—will help us understand where the science stands on the connection between nitrates in water and multiple health conditions. We’ll talk through ways the medical community can provide education on these risks—as well as the simple solutions OTs could potentially bring to high-risk families to help address this basic ADL safety concern. 

This episode is meant to highlight the cutting edge of what’s becoming possible—where new large datasets on environmental health risks converge with new opportunities in value-based care to create pathways for OTs to intervene earlier than we ever thought possible.

Primary Journal Article Explored

• Geospatial Distribution of Age-Adjusted Incidence of theThree Major Types of Pediatric Cancers and Waterborne Agrichemicals in Nebraska

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Drinking Water From Private Wells and Risks to Children
• Drinking-water nitrate and cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Occupational Therapy in Prevention and Wellness: Retaining Relevance in a New Health Care World
• Water Quality, Health, and Human Occupations

Nitrates in Water and Health Risks

Example Patient Journey with Associated ICD-10 and CPT codes

Learning Objectives

• You will recognize how you as an OT could help assess the critical occupation of drinking safety in rural areas.  
• You will be able to identify who you can educate and intervene around the bADL of drinking safely in rural areas.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (50 minutes)

1. How did you become interested in nitrates and human health?
2. Why do you think it is important for health professionals, like OTs, to learn more about environmental risks and health?
3. The article we reviewed was published in 2022, what have you learned about nitrates and human health since?
4. What are the biggest questions you have lingering about nitrates and human health?
5. It seems like even though the problem is very complex- the solution is simple: test your water and if your levels are either do not drink it or high install an R.O. (which the state of Nebraska supports through various programs.) Would you agree with this, and do you see the medical community having a role in supporting this process?
6. There’s a great line from the American Academy of Pediatrics on providers’s role in educating on water safety. What have you found to be the barriers so far?
7. I see a future where a doctor identifies a family that is at risk of high-nitrates and makes a referral to OT, so they can do the patient education and follow-through on testing. (I can even see a data set being integrated into our EMRs, where doctors are flagged when patients live in high-nitrate areas…) Is this the direction we should be heading?
8. What information would you include in patient handouts about OT education and intervention?
9. I’m working with our local health district, where we encourage MDs to refer to an OT for this education. Do you have any advice for us?
10. Where do you see this conversation on nitrates and human health heading in the next 5 years?

Closing (5 min)

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about OT, Nitrates and Cancer Prevention. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. 

Speakers

Jesse E. Bell, PhD

Dr. Jesse E. Bell is the Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate, and Health in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the School of Natural Resources within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the director of the Water, Climate and Health Program at UNMC and the director of Water, Climate and Health at the University of Nebraska’s Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.

Dr. Bell has authored more than 70 scientific articles and technical reports, including serving as a lead author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” that was released by the White House in 2016 and an author of Human Health chapter for the congressionally mandated Fifth National Climate Assessment. Dr. Bell is a native Nebraskan and received his Ph.D. is from the University of Oklahoma.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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