Abstract
Background: Climate change and resulting impacts will be the largest global health threats of the 21st century. The global nursing workforce is critical to the resilience of health systems, especially in the face of climate-induced disasters. Nurses are the largest health workforce globally, representing more than 50% of the healthcare workforce, and are most frequently on the front lines of disaster events as clinicians, leaders, and advocates. Despite this, there remains a lack of objective evidence surrounding the unique contributions nurses make in preserving population health during disasters.
Objectives: This presentation will demonstrate the relationship between the global nursing workforce and population health outcomes during declared disasters; 2) Offer recommendations for the global nursing workforce to strengthen nursing’s role and leadership in the resilience of health systems during climate-induced disasters.
Methods: We will present the relationship between nursing workforce capacity, health system resilience, and population health outcomes. Results: This presentation will guide nurses, educators, policy-makers to understand how the nursing workforce can impact population health and subsequently inform health system resilience during disasters.
Conclusion: Understanding the dynamics between nursing workforce capacity and health system resilience during disasters is essential for strengthening global health and meeting health equity goals around the world. The study results serve as exemplar for critically shaping future policy and research agendas, and to better identify key predictors of health system resilience as well as effective and efficient strategies to facilitate resilience and health equity during disasters.
Notes
References:
1. Economic losses, poverty & disasters: 1998-2017 | UNDRR. (2018, October 10). https://www.undrr.org/publication/economic-losses-poverty-disasters-1998-2017
2. 2023 In Review: Climate disasters claimed 12,000 lives globally in 2023 -World | ReliefWeb. (2023, December 20). https://reliefweb.int/report/world/2023-review-climate-disasters-claimed-12000-lives-globally-2023
3. Environmental Migration. (n.d.). Migration Data Portal. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/environmental-migration
4. Uncounted costs—Data gaps hide the true human impacts of disasters in 2023 | UNDRR. (2024, January 17). https://www.undrr.org/explainer/uncounted-costs-of-disasters-2023
5. In WHO global pulse survey, 90% of countries report disruptions to essential health services since COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://www.who.int/news/item/31-08-2020-in-who-global-pulse-survey-90-of-countries-report-disruptions-to-essential-health-services-since-covid-19-pandemic
6. International Council of Nurses. (2022). Policy Brief: Nurse Shortage and Retention.
7. Kruger, K., & Bell, S. A. (2024). How Nurses Contribute to Global Health System Resilience: A Scoping Review Protocol. https://doi.org/10.7302/23388
8. United Nations. (2015). The Sustainable Development Agenda. United Nations Sustainable Development. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
Sigma Membership
Rho
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Disaster, Health System Resilience, Nursing Workforce
Recommended Citation
Kruger, Katherine, "The role of the global nursing workforce in health system resilience during disasters" (2025). Global Advocacy. 8.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/ga_series/8
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.
Review Type
None: Event Material, Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Full Text of Presentation
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