Page 209 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2024. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih / Health of Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press

The Impact of Climate Change on the Health of the Elderly:
The Role of Nurses

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2
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Katarina Vuk , Lorena Dukmenić , Nikolina Rončević , Emina Pustijanac ,
1
Dijana Majstorović 1
1 Faculty of Medicine, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia
2 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia
Introduction and purpose: Climate change poses an increasingly pronounced threat to
global health, particularly affecting the elderly. This paper underscores the pivotal role
of nurses in confronting the escalating challenge of nursing care adaptation.
Content presentation: Older individuals’ responses to climate change stem from a mul-
tifaceted array of factors, encompassing physiological aging processes, sociodemo-
graphic characteristics, and geographic conditions. Vital steps in nursing care adap-
tation entail identifying health issues linked to climate change, adjusting nursing care
strategies to mitigate heightened climate-related risks, disseminating early warning in-
formation about weather events, and forecasting weather-induced disease outbreaks.
Moreover, it is imperative to pinpoint individuals with the highest exposure or suscep-
tibility to climate change effects and implement educational initiatives to raise aware-
ness among the elderly and the general public about preventive measures. Notably,
research on nurses’ attitudes toward climate change is scarce or nonexistent, hinder-
ing our comprehension of their perceptions of this issue. Education programs often
overlook the impact of climate change, underscoring the need for continual enhance- posterji | poster presentations
ment of these programs to ensure adequate preparation for delivering care in a shift-
ing climate landscape. Integrating information on the health implications of climate
change for the elderly into routine nursing practices and advocating for policies and
practices aimed at reducing the vulnerability of the elderly to climate change impacts
are pivotal components of this endeavor.
Conclusions: Active engagement is indispensable in addressing the global health chal-
lenges posed by climate change. Despite the complexity of climate change conse-
quences, nurses and healthcare professionals can devise patient care approaches that
address climate-related risks and promote the health of older adults. Through these
endeavors, it is plausible to circumvent emergency medical interventions, and hospi-
talizations, and mitigate the risk of severe health complications.
Keywords: climate change, elderly, nursing care

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