The intersection of climate change with the era of COVID-19

This article looks at how nursing has a global role, which requires an urgent response in public health challenges. Further nursing workforce development globally is needed to expand the role of nurses in addressing the current pandemic and future potential pandemics. Further education of nurses about these public health challenges must be integrated in formal nursing education programs. The themes that emerged throughout this review offer opportunities for the future of public health nursing; these themes may also further support a framework of public health and points that are critical in addressing the intersection of COVID-19 and climate change. Understanding human-environmental impacts are important in the current pandemic and offering insight for the emergence of future pandemics and the climate crisis. A community and a global perspective are integral to engaging in a public health approach to this dual crisis. Environmental impacts, including the built environment are important for policy and advocacy efforts by public health professionals.

This article argues that professional associations and specialty organizations should fully engage in advancing knowledge about the current and possibly future pandemics and the emerging current climate crisis and associated health consequences. It provides recommendations for areas that future research should focus on, like the critical role of public health nursing in addressing emerging infectious diseases and potential pandemics. As well as further study of health consequences of climate change within the lens of public health nursing.