Reflections on Environmental Care from the Perspective of University Nursing Students

Abstract

Introduction: Every day, the environment becomes much deteriorated by environmental pollution and climate change; therefore, it is necessary that, from their university education, future nurses become environmentally aware, help to prevent emerging diseases and commit themselves to taking care of their environment, allowing a healthy habitat for all.

Objective: To understand the reflections on environmental care from the perspective of university Nursing students.

Methods: An exploratory descriptive and qualitative research was conducted in August 2022. The population was 20 Nursing students from Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, of Amazonas in Peru, who studied the subject of Nursing in Environmental Health. The sample, of 12 students, was obtained using the saturation and redundancy technique. To collect the data, a semistructured interview was used through the Zoom platform, processed using thematic content analysis.

Results: Four categories were obtained: a) Interest in caring for the environment, b) Strategies to care for the environment at a personal and family level, c) Perception on care/neglect of the environment in their community, and d) Impact of professional training to care for the environment.

Conclusions: Nursing students are aware of the importance of caring for the environment; therefore, they carry out, together with their family, actions that help to mitigate climate change. The positive impact of the course Nursing in Environmental Health course is confirmed, and other schools or academic institutions of nursing should consider it for their curricular plans.