Factors Influencing Arab Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability and their Inclusion in Nursing Curricula.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the factors influencing the attitudes of Bachelor of Science in Nursing students toward climate change and environmental sustainability and the inclusion of these concepts in the nursing curricula of four Arab countries. METHOD: A convenience sample of 1,059 students from four Arab countries was surveyed using the Environmental Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey-2 (SANS-2) questionnaire in this descriptive-comparative study. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents exhibited positive attitudes toward the five items of SANS-2, with "Environmental sustainability is an important issue for nursing" receiving the lowest mean score and "Issues about climate change should be included in the nursing curriculum" receiving the highest mean score. Saudi students had more positive attitudes toward environmental sustainability in health care compared with students from Iraq, Egypt, and the Palestinian Territories. Country of residence, type of community, and knowledge about environmental issues and their impact on health in any nursing course were significant factors that influenced attitudes toward environmental sustainability. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in nursing curricula in the Arab region was emphasized by the findings. Including environmental sustainability practices in nursing education will help student nurses develop critical thinking and skills in the adaptive delivery of health care, especially when resources are scarce.

Knowledge of and attitudes toward climate change and its effects on health among nursing students: A multi-Arab country study.

BACKGROUND: Climate change and its impact on health continues to receive inadequate attention in the nursing literature, especially in the Arab region. This study explored the knowledge of and attitudes toward climate change and its effect on health among nursing students from four Arab countries. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 1,059 baccalaureate nursing students from four Arab countries using the New Ecological Paradigm scale and an adapted questionnaire. RESULTS: The findings indicate an average range of attitude toward the environment, with country of residence, type of community, academic-year level, and climate change related variables as significant factors influencing students' attitudes. A moderate level of knowledge about the potential health related impacts of climate change was revealed. Students from Saudi Arabia and Palestinian Territory reported a significantly higher level of knowledge than Egyptian and Iraqi students. Most of the respondents reported that all identified health related effects of climate change have already increased, while more than two-thirds reported that each of the health-related impacts would increase within the next 20 years. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the need for more coverage of topics related to climate change and its health-related impacts in nursing education curricula in Arab countries.