Nursing in the Anthropocene–translating disaster nursing experience into climate crisis nurse education

The Anthropocene is an era of human influence on the earth that is disrupting the global terrain and environment (Dillard-Wright, Walsh & Brown, 2020). As a result of this human influence, climate change has been recognized as one of the greatest threats to human health (World Health Organisation, 2022). The current health care system is in continual disaster which means that all nurses in the 21st century will be practicing in the escalating climate crisis until the current rate of global warming is reversed (Ward et al., 2022).

Despite the established links between climate change and health (Romanello et al., 2022), nursing education and training policy for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries1 currently does not include adequate evidence-based training on the Anthropocene or escalating disaster responsiveness (Quinn Griffin et al., 2022). Nurses now and into the future will be required to respond to disasters more and more. All nurses, regardless of specialty, will be innocuously affected by climate change. Climate disaster education and training of nurses will become paramount as nurses adapt their education and practice to life in the Anthropocene.

To prepare the current and future nursing workforce, we must review the lessons learned from past climate disasters so that they can be rapidly translated to strengthen the workforce, promote self-care, and develop climate crisis nursing practice. The success of this response will be dependent upon ensuring current and future nurses are adequately supported with practice underpinned with existing disaster nursing research.

A “natural” disaster is the profound series of consequences caused by a natural hazard such as an earthquake, flood, hurricane, or drought (Prasad & Francescutti, 2017). While scientific and scholarly debate has historically obstructed causal links between climate change and prominent natural disasters (Zanocco et al., 2018), evidence suggests that the frequency of natural disasters is increasing due to human induced climate change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022). The term "natural" disaster is still widespread, despite many events clearly being linked to anthropogenic causes. Many countries are already experiencing the effects of the Anthropocene with an escalation in heat/cold events, flooding, cyclones, bushfires, and drought, resulting in physical and mental trauma, food/water insecurity, vector borne diseases, heat/cold stress, and respiratory disease (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022).

Nurses account for 60% of the worldwide health workforce and will be at the forefront of healthcare delivery in natural disasters (Rosa et al., 2021), making climate change a necessary focus for contemporary nursing policy and practice. As the healthcare sector is one of the largest contributors to emissions globally, nurses must work to reduce emissions in healthcare to help reduce disaster frequency (Ward et al., 2022; Vold and Meszaros, 2021). However, until global warming is reduced, nurses will be required to adapt their practice to mitigate the effects of climate intensified disasters. The role of nurses within climate escalated natural disasters is ill defined and has resulted in a dearth of policy, education, and training within the sector (Xue et al., 2020).

Further, nurses’ do not perceive they have a role in adapting to climate change with many being unaware of the Anthropocene (Ward et al., 2022). The profession's focus on the biomedical model or “person centered” discourse has prevented a wider discussion of climate change on health and the move to a planetary health model (Rockstrom et al., 2009; Capon 2020) (Vold and Meszaros, 2021). Scoping the expectations and responsibilities of a nurse in climate related natural disasters is necessary to define the role of a nurse in the Anthropocene; to determine professional development needs and to provide broader organizational, educational and policy support required for intensifying climate disaster preparedness (Angelini, 2017; International Council of Nurses, 2021).

This rapid review delivers a transitory depiction of the experiences of nurses working in healthcare settings during natural disasters. The findings may guide the policy makers to implement the lessons learned into policy, education and practice to optimize frontline nurse performance and develop a climate crisis ready nursing workforce.

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