Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Background: As a trusted voice, nurses are in an opportune position to advocate for climate action and its related impacts on health. However, many curricula lack focus on the effects of climate change on health. The Nurses Climate Challenge, a campaign of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) and Healthcare Without Harm, was launched in 2018 to provide turnkey resources for nurses to influence climate and health. Connecting Sigma and this important initiative creates an opportunity to amplify to more than 600 chapters and 100,000 nurse members globally - across homes, nursing schools and healthcare organizations across the world. This aligns with Sigma’s vision to connect and empower leaders to transform global healthcare and its status with the United Nations relating to several Sustainable Development Goals.
Methods: The Nurses Climate Challenge for Sigma Chapter project was launched in September 2024 through a group of five Sigma chapter leaders as part of Sigma’s Mini Academy on Global Advocacy. The goal was to have at least 40 Sigma Chapters signed on to the Nurses Climate Challenge by June 2025 and to grow a network of Sigma Chapters to share climate action ideas. The action plan consisted of three parts: 1) Develop a means for Sigma chapters to sign on; 2) Apply advocacy strategies using integral theory to target the campaign to Sigma leaders and grow a climate and health advocacy community within Sigma; and 3) Collect data from Sigma Chapters to evaluate activities related to climate and health.
Outcomes: The team partnered with ANHE to complete the first two parts of the action plan in Fall of 2024. A variety of advocacy strategies were used to gain interest including use of a presentation, promotional video, flyer, and badge. A new Community of Interest forum was created for climate and health on the Sigma Circle website, and the initiative was shared several ways within Sigma networks. In October 2024, the team partnered with ANHE to hold a free webinar which was attended by more than 30 leaders across the world. As of November 2024, seven chapters signed on representing five regions in North America. In June 2025, the advocacy team will be collecting data to summarize the Sigma chapters’ activities related to climate and health.
Notes
References:
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. (2022). Nurses climate challenge. https://envirn.org/nurses-climate-challenge/
Brenan, M. (2023). Nurses retain the top ethics rating in the U.S., but below 2020 high. Gallup News. https://news.gallup.com/poll/467804/nurses-retain-top-ethics-rating-below-2020-high.aspx
Demorest, S., Cook, C., Schenk, E., Harris, L., & Early, A. (2024). School of Nursing Climate Commitment: Nursing faculty bring climate to the classroom. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(589), 1-14.
Demorest, S., Spengeman, S., Schenk, E., Cook, C., & West, H. (2019). The Nurses Climate Challenge: A national campaign to engage 5,000 health professionals around climate change. Creative Nursing, 25(3), 208-215.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2023). Summary for policymakers. Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
Maibach, E., Frumkin, H. & Ahdoot, S. (2021). Health professionals and the climate crisis: Trusted voices, essential roles. World Medical & Health Policy, 13(1), 137-145.
Rocque, R., Beaudoin, C., Ndjaboue, R. Cameron, L. Poirer-Bergeron, L., Poulin-Rheault, R., Fallon, C., Tricco, A., & Witteman, H. (2021). Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ Open 2021, 11:e046333.
Shea, B., Knowlton, K., & Shaman, J. (2020). Assessment of Climate Health Curricula at International Health Profession Schools. JAMA Network Open, 3(5):e206609.
Shea, L., Reimer-Kirkham, S., & Cavan Frisch, N. (2018). Nursing perspectives on Integral Theory in nursing practice and education: An interpretive descriptive study. Nursing Inquiry, 26(2), 1-11.
Sigma Membership
Alpha Beta Chi, Alpha Tau
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Sustainable Development Goals, Policy and Advocacy, Public and Community Health, Leadership, Interprofessional, Global Collaborations
Recommended Citation
Waszak, Daria; Burlingame, Kathy; DePhillips, Michelle; Kuhns, Kelly A.; and Gilbert, Michelle Y., "The Nurses Climate Challenge for Sigma Chapters: Our Calling ~ Our Climate!" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 27.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/27
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-18
The Nurses Climate Challenge for Sigma Chapters: Our Calling ~ Our Climate!
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Background: As a trusted voice, nurses are in an opportune position to advocate for climate action and its related impacts on health. However, many curricula lack focus on the effects of climate change on health. The Nurses Climate Challenge, a campaign of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) and Healthcare Without Harm, was launched in 2018 to provide turnkey resources for nurses to influence climate and health. Connecting Sigma and this important initiative creates an opportunity to amplify to more than 600 chapters and 100,000 nurse members globally - across homes, nursing schools and healthcare organizations across the world. This aligns with Sigma’s vision to connect and empower leaders to transform global healthcare and its status with the United Nations relating to several Sustainable Development Goals.
Methods: The Nurses Climate Challenge for Sigma Chapter project was launched in September 2024 through a group of five Sigma chapter leaders as part of Sigma’s Mini Academy on Global Advocacy. The goal was to have at least 40 Sigma Chapters signed on to the Nurses Climate Challenge by June 2025 and to grow a network of Sigma Chapters to share climate action ideas. The action plan consisted of three parts: 1) Develop a means for Sigma chapters to sign on; 2) Apply advocacy strategies using integral theory to target the campaign to Sigma leaders and grow a climate and health advocacy community within Sigma; and 3) Collect data from Sigma Chapters to evaluate activities related to climate and health.
Outcomes: The team partnered with ANHE to complete the first two parts of the action plan in Fall of 2024. A variety of advocacy strategies were used to gain interest including use of a presentation, promotional video, flyer, and badge. A new Community of Interest forum was created for climate and health on the Sigma Circle website, and the initiative was shared several ways within Sigma networks. In October 2024, the team partnered with ANHE to hold a free webinar which was attended by more than 30 leaders across the world. As of November 2024, seven chapters signed on representing five regions in North America. In June 2025, the advocacy team will be collecting data to summarize the Sigma chapters’ activities related to climate and health.
Description
Nurses may feel a calling to the profession - but what about our climate?
Climate change may affect the health of anyone but especially our vulnerable populations. Sigma Chapters acted! They signed-on to Nurses Climate Challenge and served as vehicles to amplify climate and health messages with their communities and mobilize action. This collaborative advocacy project aligns with Sigma’s vision and several UN Sustainable Development Goals. A summary of its first-year activities will be shared.