Nursing Interventions to Reduce Health Risks from Climate Change Impact in Urban Areas: A Scoping Review

Maria João Salvador Costa (), Ulisses Azeiteiro, Robert Ryan, Cândida Ferrito and Pedro Melo
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Maria João Salvador Costa: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS), Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal
Ulisses Azeiteiro: Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Robert Ryan: Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Cândida Ferrito: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS), Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Melo: RISE-Health Nursing School of Porto, Universidade do Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 8, 1-36

Abstract: In recent studies, public health has been considered a key stakeholder in climate mitigation and adaptation in cities since they are more exposed to the impact of climate change. Nurses represent a vast majority of public health professionals, playing a key role in health promotion that allows them to influence individuals, families, and communities in adopting healthier behaviours and decarbonized lifestyles. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to map the existing evidence on nursing interventions, which are being led or implemented to reduce the health risks related to climate change in urban areas. The present review follows the JBI methodological framework, including a search on PubMed, MEDLINE complete, CINAHL Complete, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine), and RCAAP. Hand searched references were also considered, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies between January 2014 and October 2024, for a more contemporary perspective. A three-step search strategy and data extraction tool were used by two independent reviewers. Twenty-seven studies in English and Portuguese were eligible for inclusion, all targeting a population of professionals with nursing-related roles: two case studies, one Delphi panel, one descriptive study, one historical research paper, two using a methodological design format, four narrative reviews, one observational study, nine review articles, three scoping reviews, and three systematic reviews. Eight categories of nursing interventions that contribute to decarbonized lifestyles, reducing health risks in relation to climate change, were acknowledged. Nurses play a key role in empowering individuals, families, and communities, promoting climate awareness and literacy, supporting health policy change, advocating for the most vulnerable and engaging in environmental activism, using evidence-based research, and taking advantage of marketing strategies and social media.

Keywords: community health nursing; empowerment; patient participation; health promotion; environmental health; climate change; preventive health services; primary prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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