Nursing's metaparadigm, climate change and planetary health

Climate Justice Perspectives and Experiences of Nurses and Their Community Partners

The global climate crisis is an immediate threat, causing inequitable health impacts across different populations. Climate justice connects the causes and effects of climate change to structural injustices in society. Nurses and community-based organizations (CBOs) partner in promoting justice and health equity. The purpose of this article is to describe how nurses and their CBO partners envision, perceive, and experience climate justice in the communities they serve. Participants were recruited via a screening survey sent to nursing and public health organizations in the United States. This descriptive mixed-methods study utilized participatory photo mapping (i.e., combined participatory photography, community mapping, and interviews) to capture participants' understanding and experiences of climate justice. Recruitment methods identified eight partnerships across six states. Participants depicted how climate injustice is reinforced by colonial severance from Nature. Participants noted that state violence and corporate climate pollution degraded the public's health. Climate justice was described as a long struggle to regain spiritual relationships within Nature, fostering belonging, abundance, and protected communities of care. Planetary health and well-being were central to participants' experiences with climate justice. Future research could explore barriers and facilitators to addressing climate injustice and promoting climate justice in diverse settings.

Exploring Nursing Students' Metaphorical Perceptions and Cognitive Structures Related to the Global Climate Crisis's Impact on Nursing

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore the metaphorical perceptions and cognitive structures of Turkish nursing students related to the impact of the global climate crisis on their profession.

METHODS

Researchers adopted a qualitative approach centered on metaphor analysis and involved 40 Turkish nursing students enrolled in programs in Türkiye during October 2023. Using metaphor analysis and techniques involving writing and drawing, the study uncovered how these students perceive and cognitively structure the influence of the global climate crisis on their nursing careers. The interview form featured the metaphor expression "The reflection of the global climate crisis on nursing is like … because …," while the drawing component prompted students to determine their perspectives on the climate crisis's impact on nursing through concept drawings. The research adhered to the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS

The study revealed that nursing students generated 22 metaphors each through written and drawing techniques. Written metaphors were grouped into five categories: psychosocial challenges faced by nurses, patient populations, diseases and coping, burdens on the health system, and the growing importance of various fields within nursing. Drawing technique metaphors were grouped into four categories: nurses and the difficulties they face, the impact of the global climate crisis on the world, the impact of the global climate crisis on the healthcare sector, and the roles and responsibilities of nurses.

CONCLUSIONS

While nursing students expressed diverse opinions, their concerns about the reflection of the global climate crisis on nursing yielded similar emotional responses. Metaphors are mostly focused on psychosocial challenges faced by nurses, the patient population, diseases, and coping mechanisms. The findings underscored nursing students' concerns about the global climate crisis's impact on both their profession and the broader community.

Developing a Green Nursing Practice in a Profession That Contributes to Climate Change: One Nurse's Journey

The health care industry accounts for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with hospitals being the largest contributor. Critical care units create 3 times the greenhouse emissions of other hospital patient care units. Health care contributions to environmental harm include medical waste disposal, toxicant exposure, and pollutants. Integrating green practices into hospitals, especially in intensive care units, can seem overwhelming, with barriers including time constraints, lack of leadership and organizational support, and ignorance of green practices. Nursing is a socially responsible discipline committed to improving the health of individuals and communities; values of environmental stewardship and the desire to minimize poor health outcomes caused by climate change do not always align with hospital policies or clinician practices. This article addresses how nurses can confront the complex environmental problems in the workplace, apply sustainability principles to develop a green nursing practice, and collectively influence the future of national and global health.

Is climate change awareness a predictor of anxiety among nursing students?: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Determining the climate change anxiety and awareness of student nurses, who will provide health services in various parts of the world after the borders are removed, is important in combating climate change.

OBJECTIVES

The study aims to assess whether nursing students' climate change awareness is a predictor of climate change anxiety.

DESIGN

This research adopts a descriptive cross-sectional study design.

PARTICIPANTS

The population of the study consisted of a total of 562 students studying in the nursing department of a state university. 419 students were included in study.

METHODS

Data were gathered from 419 students enrolled in the nursing department of a university during the fall semester of 2022-2023, employing online questionnaires via Google Forms from January to March 2023. The research instrument comprised three parts: a Descriptive Information Form developed in line with the literature, the Global Climate Change Awareness Scale, and the Climate Change Anxiety Scale. SPSS 20.0 software was used for data analysis. The study obtained ethical committee approval, institutional permissions, and participant consent.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that nursing students' mean Global Climate Change Awareness Scale total score was 59.06 ± 15.78, Climate Change Anxiety Scale total score was determined to be 21.27 ± 8.75. A moderate positive relationship was identified between global climate change awareness and climate change anxiety levels among nursing students (r = 0.304, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the study revealed that the participants' awareness of global climate change served as a predictor for their anxiety levels.

CONCLUSION

The climate change awareness of nursing students significantly influences their levels of anxiety related to climate change. Integrating climate change awareness into nursing education is quite important and necessary. This can empower future nurses to be more prepared and effective in a changing world.

Planetary Health in Nursing: A Scoping Review

AIM

To map the extent of the use of the term 'planetary health' in peer-reviewed nursing literature.

DESIGN

Scoping Review.

DATA SOURCES

CINAHL, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Premium, MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Web of Science were searched in January and February 2024 for English and French-language publications. A follow-up search was conducted on 10 June 2024 to determine if additional literature was published.

REVIEW METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley methodology for scoping reviews. To be included the article had to explicitly use the term 'planetary health' and 'nursing' or 'nurses'.

RESULTS

Sixty-eight articles met the criteria for the scoping review and were included in this review, with the majority published between 2017 and 2024. Predominant literature included discussion papers, commentaries and editorials. A lack of original research is apparent. Most of the publications were calls to action for nurses to advance planetary health in nursing education, practice, research and advocacy work.

CONCLUSIONS

Literature confirms that planetary health is a recent and an important topic in nursing, and nurses have a well-documented role to play in planetary health, given the numerous calls to action in nursing leadership, education, practice and research. There is a need to publish the essential work nurses are doing in planetary health in various nursing domains.

IMPACT

This scoping review revealed a clear and urgent call to action for nurses to address planetary health. Given this finding, nurses have a responsibility to advocate for a planetary health approach in the profession and take action to contribute to planetary health through education, research, practice and advocacy.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Not applicable, as no patients or public were involved.

Climate Change and Environmentally Sustainable Kidney Care in Canada: A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Survey of Kidney Care Providers

Background

Climate change impacts health and threatens the stability of care delivery systems, while healthcare is mobilizing to reduce its significant environmental impact.

Objective

This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) about climate change among Canadian kidney care providers.

Design setting participants measurements and methods

An electronic KAP survey, created by the Canadian Society of Nephrology-Sustainable Nephrology Action Planning committee, was distributed to kidney care providers across Canada, from March to April 2023.

Results

A total of 516 people responded to the survey. Most respondents (79%) identified as women; 83% were aged 30 to 59 years. Nurses and nephrologists made up 44% and 23% of respondents, respectively. About half of the participants felt informed about climate change to an average degree. Most respondents (71%; 349/495 and 62%; 300/489) were either extremely or very concerned about climate change and waste generated in their kidney care program, respectively. The vast majority of respondents (89%; 441/495) reported taking steps to lower their personal carbon footprint. People who felt more informed about climate change presented higher degrees of concern. Similarly, both those who felt more informed and those who reported higher degrees of concern about climate change were more likely to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Over 80% of respondents (314/386) were at least moderately interested in learning sessions about environmentally sustainable initiatives in care.

Limitations

This survey is at risk of social acceptability, representative, and subjective bias. Overrepresentation from Quebec and British Columbia, as well as the majority of respondents identifying as women and working in academic centers, may affect generalizability of the findings.

Conclusions

Most kidney care providers who responded to this survey are informed and concerned about climate change, and their knowledge is directly associated with attitude and practices. This indicates that educational initiatives to increase awareness and knowledge on climate change will likely lead to practice changes.

Critical posthumanism: A double-edged sword for advancing nursing knowledge in planetary health

In this article, we aimed to evaluate the utility of critical posthumanism for nurses interested in planetary health-a growing area of study that requires a decentering of the human, and environmental justice considerations. We used Chinn and colleagues' method to describe and critically reflect on critical posthumanism, extending the theory analysis method to include a wide range of academic and video sources. We found that critical posthumanism is like a double-edged sword: It provides a lens through which to transcend human-centric approaches to healthcare but is marred by its lack of clarity and inaccessibility. We argue critical posthumanism can be adapted to enhance its potential at the intersection of nursing and planetary health. An analysis of critical posthumanism is followed by a discussion framed by five ways of knowing in nursing, highlighting real-world examples of how critical posthumanism can aid nurses in dealing with planetary health concerns. By exploring the intersections of critical posthumanism with nursing knowledge, we demonstrate how critical posthumanism can enable nurses to comprehend and tackle environmental issues intricately linked to human health.

Advancing sustainable healthcare: a concept analysis of eco-conscious nursing practices

BACKGROUND

As the healthcare sector grapples with its environmental footprint, the concept of Eco-conscious Nursing emerges as a pivotal framework for integrating sustainability into nursing practice. This study aims to clarify and operationalize Eco-conscious Nursing, examining its attributes, antecedents, consequences, and providing operational definitions to guide future research and practice.

METHODS

Utilizing a systematic literature review across PubMed, Google Scholar, and CINAHL Ultimate, this study identifies and analyzes existing theories, frameworks, and practices related to eco-conscious nursing. Through conceptual analysis, key attributes, antecedents, and consequences of Eco-conscious Nursing are delineated, leading to the formulation of comprehensive operational definitions.

RESULTS

The study reveals Eco-conscious Nursing as a multifaceted concept characterized by environmental stewardship, sustainable healthcare practices, and a commitment to reducing the ecological impact of nursing care. Operational definitions highlight the role of education, awareness, and institutional support as antecedents, with improved environmental health and sustainable healthcare outcomes as key consequences.

CONCLUSION

Eco-conscious Nursing represents a crucial ethos for the nursing profession, emphasizing the necessity of sustainable practices within healthcare. The operational definitions provided serve as a foundation for embedding eco-conscious principles into nursing, addressing the urgent need for sustainability in healthcare settings. Future research should focus on the empirical application of these definitions and explore the economic and cross-cultural dimensions of eco-conscious nursing.

Practicing nurses' and nursing students' perceptions of climate change: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Human activities have significantly contributed to a persistent climate change trend, posing substantial threats to human health. Nurses regularly interact with patients experiencing the consequences of climate change, making their engagement in addressing this issue crucial. Nonetheless, our understanding of nurses' viewpoints regarding climate change remains limited.

AIM

This scoping review aims to identify practicing nurses' and nursing students' perceptions of climate change.

DESIGN

To fulfil this objective, a documentary search strategy was developed using an iterative process.

METHODS

The search strategy was tested in four bibliographic databases, as well as in the grey literature. A 2-stage selection process was conducted, and relevant data were extracted from selected articles for analysis.

RESULTS

Twenty-two scientific articles and 11 documents from nursing associations were selected. The findings suggest that while many nurses and nursing students are concerned about climate change and its effects on their patients' health, their role in addressing the climate crisis is not well understood. Many barriers such as having a heavy workload and the lack of support hindered their ability to adjust their practice in response to the changing climate. Furthermore, many expressed a need for trainings on climate change issues.

CONCLUSIONS

These results raise a great and urgent demand for these professionals to receive appropriate training to cope with climatic threats to health. Future research should focus on the development of nursing climate leadership, and healthcare organizations should support nursing initiatives and help raise nurses' awareness regarding climate change.

Relationship between nursing students' global climate change awareness, climate change anxiety and sustainability attitudes in nursing: a descriptive and cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

As a major global health threat, climate change is an important issue for nurses who play a pivotal role in health protection and improvement, and in the development of climate-smart healthcare systems. Sustainability attitudes in nursing should be developed together with awareness and concern for climate change.

AIM

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between nursing students' global climate change awareness, climate change anxiety, and sustainability attitudes in nursing.

METHODS

This descriptive, correlational study was conducted with 289 nursing students at a state university. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Global Climate Change Awareness Scale, the Climate Change Anxiety Scale, and the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey. Mean and percentage distributions, the Independent Samples t-test, ANOVA test, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The STROBE checklist was used to report this study.

RESULTS

Global climate change awareness of the nursing students was at a moderate level, and the levels of climate change anxiety and sustainability attitudes in nursing were above average. There was determined to be a moderate positive correlation between climate change awareness and sustainability attitude in nursing, between anxiety and sustainability attitude in nursing, and between climate change awareness and anxiety. Climate change awareness and anxiety explained 25.1% of the sustainability attitude in nursing.

CONCLUSIONS

The study provides evidence of the relationship between nursing students' global climate change awareness and anxiety, and sustainability attitudes in nursing. It can be recommended that climate change and sustainability awareness-raising content are integrated into the nursing curriculum. The development of a sustainability attitude in nursing will contribute to the development of sustainable and low-carbon healthcare practices.

Strategies for academic nursing to advance global and planetary health: A call to action

Nurses play a crucial role in addressing human health influenced by global forces such as pandemics, and political conflicts that displace millions; in leading efforts to promote planetary health; and in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Agenda. Academic nursing programs have a significant role in actualizing nursing's impact on global health (GH) and planetary health (PH). This paper describes how nursing programs can actualize their GH and PH nursing perspectives to benefit students and society, thereby increasing nursing's effectiveness and improving health outcomes in local and global settings. Numerous strategies to actualize GH and PH perspectives were derived from current literature and an assessment of eleven nursing program websites. Nursing programs may adopt program-wide strategies such as reflecting GH and PH in their mission statement; through education, in courses; and through faculty or student scholarship, policy endeavors, and/or partnerships. Now is the time to take such action, recommitting to GH and PH nursing and deepening nursing's impact. Academic nursing programs' leadership role in society, and their role in preparing nurses to lead, educate, discover, and advocate is essential for the health of populations and the planet long into the future.

Climate change worry among nurses and their hope levels for climate change prevention

AIM

This research aimed to determine nurses' climate change worry, their level of hope for climate change prevention, and the relationship between climate change worry and hope for climate change.

BACKGROUND

Nurses are healthcare professionals actively involved in the fight against climate change. However, their close involvement with the issue can also increase their own climate change worry. Therefore, it is important to maintain high levels of hope among nurses in preventing climate change.

METHODS

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with nurses working at a university hospital.

RESULTS

The average score on the Climate Change Worry Scale for nurses was 29.22 ± 9.33, with sub-dimensions scores as follows: personal-sphere will and way 10.96 ± 2.09; collective sphere will 18.36 ± 3.39; lack of will and way dimensions 10.40 ± 2.48. The average score on the climate change hope scale was 39.73 ± 5.52. A statistically significant positive relationship was found between age and the climate change worry scale (r = 0.169, p = 0.020) as well as climate change hope (r = 0.148, p = 0.041).

CONCLUSION

The research findings indicate that nurses have a high level of climate change worry, but they also have a high level of hope in preventing climate change. It is considered essential to address the concerns of nurses who are actively combating the climate crisis.

Celebrating Australian nurses who are pioneering the response to climate change: a compilation of case studies

BACKGROUND

Nurses, the largest healthcare workforce, are well placed to provide leadership in initiatives that promote planetary health. Yet, few practical examples of nurse leadership in the health sector's response to climate change are evident in the scholarly literature.

AIM

The aim of this discussion paper is to profile Australian nurses who are leading initiatives designed to champion planetary health and promote sustainable practice.

METHODS

The paper presents a series of case studies derived from interviews conducted in October and November 2023.

FINDINGS

The nurses' experiences and insights, along with the challenges they have encountered, are presented as evidence of Kouzes and Posner's five practices of exemplary leadership.

CONCLUSION

The case studies demonstrate that appointment of more nurses with climate and sustainability expertise will accelerate the implementation of responsive strategies that target waste management, emissions reduction and climate resilience across healthcare organisations.

The perspectives of nurses, as prominent advocates in sustainability, on the global climate crises and its impact on mental health

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the perspective of nurses in Turkey towards the global climate crisis and its impact on mental health using a qualitative approach.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

This study was conducted from August to September 2023 with 35 nurses living in seven regions of Turkey using an inductive qualitative approach. The researchers employed the snowball sampling method to select participants. Interviews with the participants were conducted until data saturation was reached. Thematic analysis was used to emerge themes.

RESULTS

The findings revealed five main themes (perception of the global climate crisis, effects of the global climate crisis, effects of the global climate crisis on mental health, reflections of the global climate crisis on nursing and nurses' views on prevention and intervention studies for the global climate crisis). Also, the findings revealed 12 sub-themes (physical outcomes, mental outcomes, direct and indirect impacts, psychosocial effects and personal, national and international-based reflections).

CONCLUSION

Our study indicates that nurses exhibit genuine concern for the global climate crisis and experience psychological effects related to this pressing environmental issue. Nurses are keenly aware of their responsibility to safeguard the planet and demonstrate a strong sense of concern for the state of the world.

IMPACT

It is evident that nurses, being prominent advocates for sustainability, are cognizant of their responsibility to protect the planet and demonstrate genuine apprehension for the state of the world.

IMPLICATIONS

Nurses play a crucial role, as they make up 60% of the global healthcare workforce and are often the frontline healthcare professionals during natural disasters. It is vital to elucidate and clarify the terminology concerning the relationship between the climate crisis and the mental health of nurses, to determine the scope of this relationship and to make recommendations for future research areas.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or Public Contribution.

Practical effect of different teaching modes in teaching gastrointestinal surgery nursing

BACKGROUND

With the continuous development and progress of medical technology, the position of surgical nursing in the field of clinical medicine is becoming increasingly prominent. As an important branch of the surgical field, the nursing requirements and difficulty of gastrointestinal surgery are also increasing. In order to improve the teaching quality of nursing care in gastrointestinal surgery, many educators and researchers are actively exploring new teaching methods. Among them, the teaching method case-based learning (CBL), scene-simulated learning (SSL), task-based learning (TBL), combining self-evaluation and training mode is considered as an effective method. This method aims to help students to better master knowledge and skills and improve their comprehensive quality by cultivating their self-evaluation ability.

AIM

To explore the practical effect of CBL-SSL-TBL combined with training mode and student self-assessment in nursing teaching of gastrointestinal surgery.

METHODS

Seventy-one nursing interns in our hospital from December 2020 to December 2021 were selected. According to different teaching modes, they were divided into observation group CBL-SSL-TBL combined with training mode combined with student self-assessment and control group (conventional teaching mode), of which 36 were in observation group and 35 were in control group. The results of operational skills, theoretical knowledge, nursing students' satisfaction, learning effectiveness questionnaire and teaching effect were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Compared between the two groups, the operational skills and theoretical knowledge scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Compared between the two groups, the total satisfaction ratio of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Compared between the two groups, the observation group was lower than the control group in the questionnaire results of learning efficacy, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Compared between the two groups, the proportion of thinking ability, subjective initiative and understanding of theoretical knowledge in the observation group was higher than that in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The use of CBL-SSL-TBL combined with training mode and student self-assessment in gastrointestinal surgery nursing teaching can improve the operational skills of nursing interns, theoretical knowledge and satisfaction scores of nursing students, improve the results of learning efficiency questionnaire and teaching effect, which can be popularized in clinical teaching.

Just-relations and responsibility for planetary health: The global nurse agenda for climate justice

There is an urgent call for nurses to address climate change, especially in advocating for those most under threat to the impacts. Social justice is important to nurses in their relations with individuals and populations, including actions to address climate justice. The purpose of this article is to present a Global Nurse Agenda for Climate Justice to spark dialog, provide direction, and to promote nursing action for just-relations and responsibility for planetary health. Grounding ourselves within the Mi'kmaw concept of Etuaptmumk (two-eyed seeing), we suggest that climate justice is both call and response, moving nurses from silence to Ksaltultinej (love as action). We review the movement for climate justice in nursing, weaving between our own stories, our relations with Mi'kmaw ways of knowing, and the stories of the movement, with considerations for the (w)holistic perspectives foundational to nursing's metaparadigm of person, environment, and health. We provide a background to the work of the Global Nurse Agenda for Climate Justice steering committee including their role at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, 2021, and share our own stories of action to frame this agenda. We accept our Responsibility for the challenges of climate justice with humility and invite others to join us.

Awareness, worry, and hope regarding climate change among nurses: A cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to determine nurses' awareness, worry and hope levels about climate change.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 511 nurses. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Global Climate Change Awareness Scale, the Climate Change Worry Scale, and the Climate Change Hope Scale.

FINDINGS

The mean scores of the participating nurses obtained from the Climate Change Awareness Scale (71.72 ± 18.11) and Climate Change Worry Scale (35.36 ± 10.51) and Climate Change Hope Scale (38.67 ± 8.80) were moderate, and there was a significant positive correlation between them.

CONCLUSIONS

The nurses who participated in this study had moderate levels of climate change-related awareness, worry, and hope. As their climate change awareness scores increased, their worry and hope scores also increased. Interventions that will raise climate change awareness in nurses such as education programs and awareness campaigns may increase their levels of worry and hope that will mobilize them for the solution to the climate change problem.

The Environment as a Patient: A Content Analysis of Canadian Nursing Organizations and Regulatory Bodies Policies on Environmental Health

BACKGROUND

Individual, community, and societal health is impacted by the environment, specifically by air, water and soil pollution, and climate change. Poor environmental conditions have been associated with many illness exacerbations. Although global nursing organizations have increased their environmental health focus, evidence is lacking that Canadian nurse leaders and organizations are similarly invested.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this analysis was to explore the policies of Canadian nursing regulatory bodies and associations on nursing practice specific to environmental health.

METHODS

A content analysis of nursing focused position statements and competency documents was conducted to assess Canadian nursing policies in environmental health. Publicly available position statements and competency documents regarding health and the environment were retrieved from Canadian nursing regulatory colleges and nursing associations, the Canadian Nursing Associations, and the International Council of Nurses. All documents were coded inductively and thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

In total, 22 documents were retrieved which consisted of 11 policy statements from nursing associations and 11 competency documents from nursing regulators and national associations. Four themes were generated: collaboration, language of engagement, nursing actions, and social justice.

CONCLUSION

There is a gap between nursing policies and competencies directing nursing action related to the health of the environment across Canada. There is an opportunity to improve eco-literacy within the nursing profession, undergraduate education and to produce nursing research on environmental health.

Nurse-sensitive environmental indicators: A qualitative study

AIM

This study aims to explore the proposed concept of "nurse-sensitive environmental indicators" among nursing and non-nursing leaders of environmental stewardship who work with nurses.

BACKGROUND

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, nurses are obligated to "practice in a manner that advances environmental safety and health." Little is known about environmental impacts in acute-care nursing.

METHODS

Nursing and non-nursing leaders of environmental stewardship across the United States (N = 9) were interviewed to explore the concept of acute-care nurse-sensitive environmental indicators. Transcripts were examined using qualitative descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis revealed that nurses are in key positions to influence environmental change, need more education and awareness to be effective, and need leadership support and role-modelling. Issues related to waste were highly nurse sensitive; issues related to food, chemicals, and transportation were moderately nurse sensitive; issues related to energy and water were minimally nurse sensitive.

CONCLUSION

Preliminary consensus on nurse-sensitive environmental indicators was confirmed by leader participants in this study.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

To help meet environmentally focused Sustainable Development Goals, nursing leaders can use the concept of nurse-sensitive environmental indicators in planning, education, resource allocation, and leadership to improve environmental stewardship in acute care nursing.

Planetary Health and Health Education in Brazil: Towards Better Trained Future Health Professionals

Brazil is Latin America's largest country and has a strong economy, but it is also characterised by many inequalities. These are very conspicuous in the health sector, particularly in health education, which is expected to modernise according to the planetary health (PH) perspective. This paper describes the health education scenario in Brazil and undertakes an analysis of the postgraduate health programmes and policies in place, identifying the extent to which these support the cause of PH. To achieve this goal, this paper deploys a bibliometric analysis to gain a better understanding of the research streams related to higher education and PH. In addition, it presents and discusses selected case studies in the field and cross-checks documents from the Brazilian Ministry of Education against five domains of PH in education. The results indicate that despite some progress to date and the fact that some programmes are in place, there is a perceived need for policies and efforts from education organisations towards connecting PH principles in the education of current and future health professionals.

Empowering Veterinarians to Be Planetary Health Stewards Through Policy and Practice

Veterinarians are established public health professionals, committing to promote public health when they take their veterinary oath. The issue of climate change and its impact on planetary health is vital to public health, and therefore, it is critical that climate change is regarded as within the veterinary scope of practice. However, climate change is a multi-faceted issue which requires interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated stakeholder involvement in order to establish effective solutions and impactful policies. As a result, in this perspective, we discuss how policy is critical to support veterinarians in the climate change space and argue that more explicit support is needed for veterinarians to take an active role in climate change adaption, resilience, and mitigation. We address the discrepancies between the human health and veterinary professions with respect to providing policy support and capacity for practitioners to be stewards to promote planetary health and shed light on the lack of veterinary capacity in this area. We stress that veterinary professional societies are well equipped to bolster their policies, expand education for veterinary professionals and students in policy and advocacy, and establish calls to action to address climate change and planetary health issues. Ultimately, as public health professionals, veterinarians are uniquely poised to be contributors to climate change solutions and they should be actively involved in policy decision-making and empowered to take active roles in interdisciplinary conversations surrounding this important issue.