Nursing students' perception of climate change and sustainability actions - A mismatched discourse: A qualitative, descriptive exploratory study

Abstract

Background: Climate change is described as the biggest global challenge for human health in the upcoming decade. Nurses play a central role in mitigating the effect of climate change on the healthcare sector and adapting to the phenomenon. Therefore, nursing students must be prepared for a new professional role keeping climate change in mind; consequently, it is important to study students' perceptions of climate change and sustainability.

Objectives: To explore nursing students' perceptions of climate change and sustainability and examine how they perceive their role as nursing students in working towards a more sustainable development within the healthcare sector.

Design: It is a qualitative, descriptive exploratory study.

Settings: A nursing program at a university in central Sweden.

Participants: Nursing students.

Methods: Individual in-depth interviews and one group interview were conducted for the study.

Results: The main findings revealed that students saw themselves living in a mismatched discourse. They perceived the future of humanity as gloomy but thought that sustainability is the society's joint obligation to achieve the right to a good life for all people equally.

Conclusions: Nursing students perceived themselves as important actors in the work of climate change and sustainability. Thus, nursing education needs to integrate the impact of climate change on healthcare and promote sustainability into the curriculum for preparing students to take responsibility for sustainability in society.

Keywords: Climate change; Nursing education; Sustainability; Sustainable healthcare.