A nurse would like to increase the accessibility to health care services for mentally ill homeless clients in the community.
Which of the following actions should be taken by the nurse?

Choice A rationale

Avoiding legal complications aligns with primary prevention, but the nurse’s focus is reducing health risks associated with drug use, especially blood-borne diseases from shared needles.

Choice B rationale

Tertiary prevention minimizes harm like disease transmission. Providing sterilization education addresses risks from ongoing drug use, emphasizing reduction of complications rather than complete cessation.

Choice C rationale

Secondary prevention detects or prevents complications early. While sterilizing needles helps, the focus here is ongoing harm reduction rather than immediate risk identification or complication prevention.

Choice D rationale

Educating about safe injections promotes harm reduction but does not focus on primary prevention. Tertiary prevention is the appropriate classification for reducing ongoing drug use risks. .

Choice A rationale

It is scientifically incorrect to suggest that infants exposed to tobacco smoke will develop tolerance. Tobacco smoke contains harmful chemicals such as nicotine and carbon monoxide, which can damage developing lungs and increase the risk of respiratory illnesses and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Tolerance does not mitigate these risks.

Choice B rationale

Chewing tobacco still contains nicotine and carcinogens. Although it reduces exposure to sidestream smoke, it still poses risks for nicotine addiction and poisoning, particularly through secondhand exposure and accidental ingestion by children. This recommendation is not supported by scientific evidence.

Choice C rationale

Fetal nicotine syndrome, also known as neonatal nicotine withdrawal, can result from prenatal tobacco exposure. However, this syndrome primarily affects babies exposed to nicotine in utero. Postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke is linked to other complications such as respiratory infections and SIDS, which are immediate concerns.

Choice D rationale

Sidestream smoke, emitted from the burning end of a cigarette, contains higher concentrations of carcinogens and toxins compared to mainstream smoke inhaled by the smoker. Infants exposed to secondhand smoke are at greater risk for respiratory conditions, SIDS, and developmental issues due to these higher concentrations.