The Nursing Professional’s Perception of the Effects of Climate Change on the Health of Children

Abstract

Introduction: Climate change increasingly affects the health of children, who become affected by immature growth and development. Nurses care for this population group at the first level of healthcare, where health prevention and promotion activities can be carried out in the face of this environmental threat.

Objective: To describe the nursing professional's perception of the effects of climate change on the health of children.

Methods: A qualitative study with a descriptive exploratory approach was conducted from May to June 2020 at the first level of healthcare of the Lambayeque health network in Peru. The population consisted of 97 nurses and the sample size was 12, obtained by saturation and redundancy criteria. A semistructured interview via telephone was used and the data were processed using content analysis.

Results: Four categories were obtained: a) meaning and causes of climate change that affect the health of children, b) identification of children’s diseases due to climate change, c) the nurse's preventive-promotional action in the face of climate change, and d) the need to learn about climate change and its effects on the health of children.

Conclusion: The nurses in the study identified some causes and diseases related to climate change; in their preventive action, they focus on education about infectious-contagious diseases affecting the health of children. In view of this, there is a need to incorporate the topic into university curriculums, since it is considered as one of the main public health concerns worldwide.