Highlights
- •Climate change poses unprecedented threats to human and planetary health.
- •Nurse practitioners must be prepared to care for people affected by climate change and advocate to mitigate its harms.
- •Climate change and climate justice can be woven into existing curricular content.
Abstract
Climate change poses unprecedented threats to health, leading to higher rates of heat
stress; cardiopulmonary illness; food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases; adverse
pregnancy outcomes; poor mental health; and premature death. These impacts are inequitably
distributed, with vulnerable populations bearing the greatest burdens. Nurse practitioners
must be prepared to care for people affected by climate change and to advocate for
policies to mitigate its harm. To date, efforts to integrate climate change and health
concepts into health professions education are lacking. This article describes one
nursing school’s experience incorporating these concepts into nurse practitioner curricula.
Keywords
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Biography
Katherine Simmonds, PhD, MPH, WHNP-BC, is a distinguished teaching associate professor and coordinator of the Women's Health/Gender-Related NP Track, School of Nursing, MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA, and can be contacted at [email protected]
Biography
Suellen Breakey, PhD, RN, is a distinguished teaching associate professor and associate director at the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health School of Nursing, MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Biography
Patrice K. Nicholas, DNSc, MPH, NP-C, is a distinguished teaching professor and director at the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health School of Nursing, MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 01, 2021
Footnotes
In compliance with standard ethical guidelines, the authors report no relationships with business or industry that would pose a conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
