Assessing knowledge of the professional nurses in primary health care regarding climate change in Nkangala District of Mpumalanga Province

Abstract

Introduction: Climate change has been described as a health issue and the United Nations has endorsed this concept as the ‘Sustainable Development Goals number 13’. Given its associated burden of diseases, climate change could be reframed as a predominant health issue, one necessitating an urgent health sector response. Despite its magnitude to human health, literature review revealed that majority of nurses struggled to understand how climate change would affect public health. Additionally, some nurses did not have knowledge of the relationship between health and climate change particularly in limited resource constrained countries like South Africa in Nkangala district of Mpumalanga province. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of professional nurses in Primary Health Care (PHC) regarding climate change in Nkangala District, Mpumalanga Province. Research design: The researcher employed, a non-experimental descriptive research design to assess the knowledge of the professional nurses in PHC regarding climate change. Method: The study population was the total number of professional nurses working at the PHC facilities in Nkangala District of Mpumalanga province. The sample size of this study was 177 professional nurses working in different PHC facilities. Data were collected using questionnaires. Data was captured in an Excel sheet, and sent to statistician for analysis. Data of this study were analysed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics was used to analysed data. Results: Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses in Nkangala district of Mpumalanga province, displayed varying knowledge regarding climate change. Most of the respondents acknowledged that health related illnesses other climate change related health impacts are already occurring due to climate change. On the other hand, few respondents mentioned the association of malnutrition and disruption of services during extreme weather events with climate change. The majority of the respondents also acknowledged that the nursing iv Marriot Mmama Mabena Abstract profession has a role to play in curbing climate change and its effects. Hence the need to learn about climate change in the classroom and re-enforce it in the clinical setting. Conclusion: Most respondents indicated varying degrees of knowledge regarding climate change and its health impacts and acknowledged that they have a role to play in curbing climate change and its impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to include environmental health into the nursing curriculum to ensure uniformed knowledge and skills. Significant of the study: The study results will be used to inform the curriculum for Primary health care professional nurses based on study findings of their knowledge in climate change. Policy makers may adopt the findings of this to integrate climate change in the training of nurses.