Nursing Faculty’s Perceptions of Climate Change and Sustainability
Roxanne Amerson, Olivia Boice, Hannah Mitchell, Joe Bible
Abstract
AIM: The aim of this research study was to investigate the perceptions of climate change and sustainability of faculty teaching in associate and baccalaureate degree nursing programs in South Carolina and their attitudes toward inclusion of relevant content into the nursing curriculum. BACKGROUND: Climate change is a topic that receives limited discussion in most nursing education curricula. METHOD: This cross-sectional, descriptive study gathered data from 21 schools of nursing via an online survey consisting of demographic questions, the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, and the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey 2 and two questions regarding the current inclusion of content. RESULTS: Eighty-one percent of respondents did not include health implications of climate change in their teaching content; 67% did not include health implications of sustainability. CONCLUSION: Results provide preliminary evidence of gaps and areas of need for curricular content related to climate change and sustainability.