: Climate change is an enormous challenge for our communities, our country, and our world. Recently much attention has been paid to the physical impacts of climate change, including extreme heat events, droughts, extreme storms, and rising sea levels. However, much less attention has been paid to the psychological impacts. This article examines the likely psychological impacts of climate change, including anxiety, stress, and depression; increases in violence and aggression; and loss of community identity. Nurses can play a vital role in local and regional climate strategies by preparing their patients, health care facilities, and communities to effectively address the anticipated mental health impacts of climate change.

Climate and environmental changes have been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century, with the potential to cause immediate harm in early life with important lifelong effects, and important consequences for future generations. Pregnant women and children are increasingly being recognized as vulnerable populations in the context of climate change. The effects can be direct or indirect through heat stress, extreme weather events, and air pollution, potentially affecting both the immediate and long-term health of pregnant women and newborns through a broad range of mechanisms. Climate and environmental changes have wide-ranging effects on a woman's reproductive life including sexual maturation and fertility, pregnancy outcomes, lactation, breastfeeding, and menopause. A comprehensive overview of these impacts is presented as well as opportunities for interventions for nurses practicing in perinatal, neonatal, midwifery, and pediatric specialties.

IntroductionClimate change is expected to worsen air pollution globally, which contributes to a multitude of negative health outcomes in humans.AimThe purpose of this integrative review is to examine the relationship between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents.MethodsThis review utilized Whittemore and Knafl's methodology for conducting an integrative review. After a thorough search of the literature, 17 articles were selected for this review and evaluated utilizing the Johns Hopkins Evidence Based Practice Appraisal Tool.ResultsOf the 17 articles, all were quantitative observational study designs. The studies were then synthesized into four outcome themes. These themes included emergent and general psychiatric outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, stress and anxiety, and depression.DiscussionThe strongest evidence supports a possible correlation between PM2.5 exposure and adolescent mental health outcomes, although there were some studies that contradicted these associations. While research on this topic is in its early stages, more needs to be conducted to determine causality with any of the associations presented to improve generalizability of the findings.Implications for PracticeNurses must be aware of and part of the solution to address climate change and resulting air pollution, as it is a potentially significant threat to children's mental health in the 21st century.