Can Nursing Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Climate Change

July 1, 2026 updated by: Semanur Çelik Demiryürek, Kastamonu University

Can Nursing Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Climate Change Be Strengthened for a Sustainable Future?: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Climate change is a major global problem threatening individual health, public health, and health systems. Climate change poses a significant global threat to social and environmental health determinants, such as the disruption of food systems, the spread of climate-sensitive diseases, and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and heat stress between 2030 and 2050. In this context, nursing students, as future healthcare providers, need to be prepared and knowledgeable about global warming, climate change and its impacts on health, climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and the promotion of a healthy environment for a sustainable future. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of climate change education on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes regarding climate change and health.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Climate change is a major global problem threatening individual health, public health, and health systems. Climate change poses a significant global threat to social and environmental health determinants, such as the disruption of food systems, the spread of climate-sensitive diseases, and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and heat stress between 2030 and 2050. Climate change leads to increased mortality and illness due to extreme weather events such as heat waves, storms, and floods; increases in the frequency and intensity of food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne infectious diseases; exacerbations of chronic diseases; and increases in mental health problems. Consequently, it negatively impacts individual health physically, mentally, and socially. Due to the increasingly negative impacts of climate change on human health, nurses can serve as expert resources for patients, community members, and policymakers. However, nurses need to be well-equipped and highly aware of this issue. In this context, it is emphasized that nurses' climate-related competencies should be enhanced both today and in the future, starting with the educational process and developing independent practices rather than topics covered in existing courses. In this context, nursing students, as future healthcare providers, need to be prepared and knowledgeable about global warming, climate change and its impacts on health, climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and the promotion of a healthy environment for a sustainable future. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of climate change education on nursing students' knowledge and attitudes regarding climate change and health.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being a 4th-year nursing student
  • Voluntarily participating

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having any situation that would prevent communication

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Training Module
Training Module on Climate Change
Behavioral: Climate Module
Training Module on Climate Change
No Intervention: Standard Education

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool
Time Frame: 8 weeks
The Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool (CHANT) was developed by Schenk and colleagues (2016). The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Yalçın and Aktaş, and the scale can be used to assess awareness of climate change as well as knowledge and attitudes regarding the climate-health relationship. The scale consists of 48 items and five subdimensions: knowledge, awareness, motivation, concern, and behaviors. There is no total scale score; instead, evaluations are based on subdimension scores. In the validity and reliability analysis, the Cronbach's alpha value for the overall scale was reported as 0.93; for the knowledge subdimension 0.78, for awareness 0.97, for motivation 0.89, for concern 0.95, and for behaviors 0.94.
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kastamonu University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Zeynep ARABACI, pHD, Kastamonu University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 30, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 13, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 7, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 112425

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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