Nurses on the frontline of health care in the escalating context of climate change: Climate-related extreme weather events, injustice, mental health and eco-anxiety

Abstract

<p>Natural disasters including extreme weather events are a stark reminder of what will most likely become our future norm due to the impact of global warming and climate change. Due to climate change, more intense and frequent extreme weather events are happening globally (Longman et al., 2023). Recently in Australia, we have experienced extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, bushfires, storms, cyclones and tornadoes, at an unprecedented rate (Ghosh et al., 2022), and similar experiences have occurred globally (Fatema et al., 2021). The outcomes of these extreme weather events have had significant consequences for human health and well-being, with the degree of emotional distress and anxiety experienced related to how these events have altered or threatened an individual's environment and way of life (Ingle & Mikulewicz, 2020). Extreme weather event experiences are associated with recognized mental and physical health impacts (e.g., Fatema et al., 2023), and they are likely to provoke eco-anxiety. Eco-anxiety occurs when people experience negative emotional responses such as distress and a sense of despair related to climate change (Coffey et al., 2021). Climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society (Hayes et al., 2018). People from more disadvantaged regions have reported experiencing higher levels of eco-anxiety, or anxiety related to climate change, whether they have had direct experience of extreme weather events or not (Patrick et al., 2022). These findings collectively highlight the importance of the consideration of eco-anxiety by practitioners and researchers within mental health assessments, over and above traditionally recognized mental health disorders. This may be particularly important for people from disadvantaged regions, vulnerable groups or those who have experienced extreme weather events. This paper addresses these issues and provides an overview of the related evidence. Finally, it makes recommendations for health service change.</p>