Sustainability and nursing: an integrative literature review

Background:

Environmental changes are drastically influencing way of life and healthcare, and are considered a global health emergency. Nursing professionals stand as a great opportunity to positively influence this situation.

Aims:

To understand the role of nursing and its importance within the health field for sustainability in global healthcare.

Methods:

An integrative review was carried out searching for the PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL and SCOPUS databases in the last 5 years of research. Keywords and synonyms relating to sustainable development and nursing were used. Papers published in the last 5 years in English and Spanish were included. Exclusion criteria were studies showing data before 2019 and, studies on non-health-related sustainability. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) was followed.

Results:

From a total of 2909 references, 17 were included. Our findings revealed that nursing can be considered a key agent for the incorporation of sustainability into the health system. The role of nurses is highly influenced by the context, political decisions and research. The current nursing education system was analysed together with the new visions that are emerging and provide a conception of nursing that is more resilient with the world.

Conclusions:

The incorporation of sustainability into the health system is taking time, despite nurses being positioned as a key factor in this change. There is need for changes in politics, education and research to facilitates nurses’ agency in this domain.