Climate Change Integration in Nursing Academic Curricula and Continuing Education: A Scoping Review.
Martin Roberge, Thierno Diallo, Anouk Bérubé and 2 others
PMID 40528665WHAT IT FOUND
Nursing curricula rarely include climate change content, leaving nurses unprepared to manage heat-related illness or vector-borne diseases.
Educational interventions improve nurses' awareness and intent to act, but evidence linking this training to actual patient outcomes is missing.
Key findings
01Only 16 scientific articles and 11 grey literature documents were found addressing climate change in nursing education, highlighting a significant gap in the literature.
02Nurses report lacking the essential knowledge and formal education needed to address the health impacts of climate change, such as recognizing vulnerable populations and providing evidence-based care.
03Educational interventions increase students' and nurses' awareness and intent to adopt sustainable practices, but the impact on clinical nursing practice and patient care has not been measured.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The quality of the methodology of the included studies was not assessed. The review only included articles in English and French, potentially missing relevant global perspectives. The review did not include primary data from nurses to validate the findings. There is a lack of evidence measuring the actual impact of these educational interventions on clinical practice and patient outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Faculty of Nursing Sciences of Université Laval.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that integrating climate change into nursing education has been proven to improve patient care. The review found no studies measuring the impact of these educational interventions on actual clinical outcomes or patient health.