Nature-friendly hands: The relationship between nursing students' climate change anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety about the future


Gülırmak Güler K., ALBAYRAK GÜNDAY E.

Public Health Nursing, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/phn.13388
  • Dergi Adı: Public Health Nursing
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, AgeLine, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, MEDLINE, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: climate change anxiety, future anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, nursing students
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Aim/objective: This study examined the relationship between climate change anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and future anxiety levels of nursing students. Background: The effects of climate change, an important global problem, on people's emotional and intellectual states are becoming increasingly important. It is important to understand to what extent prospective health professionals, such as nursing students, are affected by such environmental concerns and the possible impact of this level on their professional behaviors to develop an environmentally focused approach to health services. Design: This study was conducted using a descriptive and correlational design. Methods: Students enrolled in the Nursing Undergraduate Program of a university in Turkey in the 2023–2024 academic year participated in the study. The participants were administered a personal information form, climate change anxiety scale, intolerance of uncertainty scale, and future anxiety scale in university students. The data were evaluated using advanced statistical analyses, and relationships were examined. Results: As a result of these analyses, it was determined that there was a significant relationship between future anxiety and climate change anxiety in university students (R = 0.234, p =.000). In addition, there was a substantial relationship between climate change anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty (R = 0.562, p =.000). Conclusions: These findings indicate significant and linear relationships between nursing students' emotional and cognitive states associated with environmental factors such as climate change, uncertainty, and future anxiety. Developing support and interventions in nursing education is crucial to help students cope with these issues and function more effectively in their future professional lives.