Effect of Climate Change and Health Course on Global Warming Knowledge and Attitudes, Environmental Literacy, and Eco-Anxiety Level of Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Climate change is the most important problem that threatens the health of individuals, public health, and health systems on a global scale. The International Council of Nurses emphasizes that nurses should strive to reduce the effects of climate change and help individuals and systems adapt. In addition, it is stated that climate change should be integrated into nursing education curricula and nursing students, who are future healthcare providers, should be prepared to reduce the effects of climate change and promote a healthier environment.

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the Climate Change and Health course on global warming knowledge and attitude, environmental literacy, and eco-anxiety levels in nursing students.

Design and methods: In this study, a pretest-posttest comparative quasi-experimental design type was used. The research was conducted with 117 students taking the "Climate Change and Health" course added to the curriculum at the Nursing Department of a private university in Istanbul between February 2023 and June 2023. Data were collected before and after the intervention using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Global Warming Knowledge Questionnaire, Global Warming Attitude Scale, Environmental Literacy Scale for Adults, and Eco-Anxiety Scale.

Results: After taking the Climate Change and Health course, nursing students' global warming knowledge and attitude total scores increased, and a statistically significant increase was detected in the eco anxiety total and behavioral symptoms subscale mean scores. There was no statistically significant change in the Environmental Literacy Scale total and subscale mean scores.

Conclusions: It can be stated that the Climate Change and Health course positively improved nursing students' knowledge and attitudes toward global warming and increased their sensitivity about climate change. Nurses, who constitute the most important part of the healthcare workforce worldwide, have an important role in creating a healthy and safe environment and in combating the effects of global warming and climate change. For this reason, in order to train knowledgeable and equipped health professionals on this subject, it is recommended that courses on the effects of climate change, adaptation, and coping with it be added to the nursing curriculum and integrated into all subjects every year to ensure continuity.