Climate Adaptation and Nursing

Climate change is real, present, and impacting the health of people across the world. Mitigation of further climate change is essential, but nurses must also promote adaptation to this new reality by incorporating climate-sensitive care into their day-to-day practice. This article describes key adaptation actions nurses can take to promote patient, organizational, and population health in the context of climate change. Suggestions for personal and professional disaster preparedness, as well as ways of applying the nursing process to climate adaptation in various arenas of practice are discussed. The outcomes of climate change are currently inequitable and severe. Nurses can transform their concern into action by promoting adaptation measures in all care settings.