Is awareness of climate change a predictor of eco-anxiety? Research within the scope of nursing students

Background

Understanding nursing students' awareness of climate change and its impact on their anxiety levels is crucial in representing a significant research area for the sustainability of healthcare services and the development of strategies to address climate change.

Objectives

This study aims to determine nursing students' awareness of global climate change and eco-anxiety levels. Additionally, it seeks to uncover the relationship between these two factors.

Design

During the academic year 2022–2023, this research was conducted with nursing students at a university in Istanbul, utilizing a cross-sectional and exploratory correlational design. The study involved 390 nursing students at the same university, aiming to reach the entire population without using any sampling method. Valid data were obtained from 374 students. The Student Information Form, University Students' Climate Change Awareness Scale and the Eco-anxiety Scale used as instruments for data collection. Subsequently, the data underwent analysis in a computational environment utilizing descriptive statistical methods and Pearson correlation analysis.

Results

Most of the participants were female and single. The mean “total global climate change awareness” of the students was 75.072 ± 15.094, and the mean “general eco-anxiety” of the students was 1.158 ± 0.629. A weak positive relationship was found between the total global climate change awareness and general environmental concerns of the students participating in the study at r = 0.233 (p = 0.000 < 0.05). The level of awareness of climate change explains 5 % of nursing students' eco-anxiety levels.

Conclusion

This study emphasizes a significant relationship between climate change awareness and increased ecological anxiety. Filling a gap in the field due to the lack of specific research focusing on nursing students highlights the importance of maintaining awareness to prevent ecological anxiety from reaching undesirable levels. This approach is crucial in actively encouraging nurses to contribute to developing educational curricula and environmentally friendly health policies.