Perceptions and concerns about sustainable healthcare of nursing students trained in sustainability and health: A cohort study

Association Between Climate Change and Patient Health Outcomes: a Mixed-methods Systematic Review

“…Given the traditional emphasis of nursing on addressing social inequalities, nurses recognize that communities are disproportionately affected, resulting in climate injustice -groups of people who have the least power in society (e.g., indigenous people, people with low income) are more vulnerable to climate change impacts [29]. Furthermore, based on the studies analyzed, we identi ed that nurses understand that climate change poses new healthcare needs [25,26,33,35]. Students [25,35] and nurses [26,33] recognize the health impacts of climate change through newly emerging diseases and infections, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, mental health issues, cancer, fetal malformations, premature births, increased incidence of chronic diseases in children, and new healthcare needs (e.g., epidemics related to seasonal changes) that arise due to extreme weather conditions and place a burden on the health system.…”

“…Furthermore, based on the studies analyzed, we identi ed that nurses understand that climate change poses new healthcare needs [25,26,33,35]. Students [25,35] and nurses [26,33] recognize the health impacts of climate change through newly emerging diseases and infections, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, mental health issues, cancer, fetal malformations, premature births, increased incidence of chronic diseases in children, and new healthcare needs (e.g., epidemics related to seasonal changes) that arise due to extreme weather conditions and place a burden on the health system. These conditions may include heat or cold waves, temperature changes, natural disasters, and drought.…”

“…In this context, nurses raised another important issue of the healthcare system being a signi cant contributor to climate change in the included studies [29,31,34,35,37]. Nurses are concerned that the healthcare sector produces too much waste and generates a considerable climate footprint [29,34].…”

“…Once students enter clinical practice, they nd out how much waste is produced, how healthcare material is overused, and how waste is or is not managed, recycled, and disposed of. They become concerned about the excessive use of healthcare equipment and proper disposal of materials and understand the need for balance between overuse and patient health [31,35,37]. However, their scores of awareness, concern, motivation, and change behavior at home and work are lower than those of practicing nurses and faculty [33], therefore, immediate action regarding education is needed.…”

“…Students believe that modern nursing roles include being a researcher, educator, and leader in climate change actions [25]. Furthermore, they believe that environmental awareness needs to be increased [35,37] and demand more education on the in uence of the environment on health and the environmental impact of healthcare [25,31,35].…”