Exploring influences of environmental information, beliefs and self‐efficacy on nurses' climate health behaviours and their relationships

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundTo create a healthy nursing environment and protect human health in response to climate change, it is essential to encourage behaviour change among nurses. Although numerous studies have been conducted on nurses to address climate change, few studies have explored the relationships of factors that influence and promote nurses' climate health behavioural behavioural change, making it difficult to determine how nurses should act and prioritise regarding climate health behaviours.AimsTo investigate influential environmental factors on climate health behaviours among nurses through the causal relationships between environmental information, environmental beliefs and environmental self‐efficacy using the Information‐Motivation‐Behavioural Skills (IMB) model.DesignA cross‐sectional study.MethodsThis study recruited 186 nurses working in hospitals nationwide in July 2023. Self‐reported questionnaires (Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool; National Environmental Consciousness Survey; New Ecological Paradigm Scale; Personal Efficacy Scale) were used to collect the data. Path analysis was performed.ResultsThe factors influencing nurses' climate health behaviours were environmental information, environmental beliefs and environmental self‐efficacy. Environmental self‐efficacy was found to be more influenced by the exogenous variables of environmental information than environmental beliefs and to be the most significant factor affecting climate health behaviours.ConclusionsIt is more important for nurses to obtain environmental information than environmental beliefs to achieve the goal of climate health behaviours. This in turn, will lead to personal self‐efficacy that nurses can mitigate the climate crisis. Their strong self‐efficacy affects their climate health behaviours.Implications for the ProfessionNurses should seek and draw on the appropriate environmental information related to climate health change and nurses with environmental self‐efficacy become environmental nursing leaders, encouraging other health care workers to participate actively in climate health behaviours and continuously carry out the behaviours within daily life, hospital and community environments.ImpactThe study addressed the lack of relationship research on factors influencing nurses' climate health behaviours, emphasizing the importance of accessing environmental information to foster self‐efficacy. Nurses with heightened self‐efficacy can lead healthcare professionals in climate health actions.Reporting MethodThis research has adhered to relevant EQUATOR and STROBE.Patient or Public ContributionNo Patient or Public Contribution.