Competencies on environmental health and pedagogical approaches in the nursing curriculum: A systematic review of the literature

I.M. Lopez-Medina, C. Álvarez-Nieto , J. Grose , A. Elsbernd, N. Huss, Maud Huynen, J. Richardson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

It has been suggested that climate change is the biggest threat to public health for the 21st Century; increased demand on health services will impact on already overstretched resources and systems will need to be able to respond. However limited attention is given to climate change and sustainability in nursing education; there is no clear guidance on curricula content for nurses or recommendations regarding the skills and competencies that will be required. Literature published in Dutch, English, German, and Spanish was searched and 32 papers met the inclusion criteria for the review. Results suggests that holistic/systems thinking is relevant to healthcare so bringing a 'sustainability lens' to nursing curricula could be seen as being consistent with wider determinants of health. The literature review has identified the educational approaches necessary to provide a broad based curriculum and a cross-disciplinary approach. The findings suggest that topics such as the use of resources, food, health promotion, globalism, disease management, and the environmental impact of delivering healthcare, if embedded in nursing education could support the nursing profession's response for this new and important aspect of healthcare.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
JournalNurse Education in Practice
Volume37
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2019

Keywords

  • climate change
  • education
  • nursing
  • sustainability
  • CALL
  • SUSTAINABILITY
  • CLIMATE-CHANGE
  • EDUCATION
  • THEMATIC ANALYSIS
  • Climate change
  • Nursing
  • Education
  • Sustainability
  • NURSES

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Competencies on environmental health and pedagogical approaches in the nursing curriculum: A systematic review of the literature'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this