Integrating Ecofeminism Into Canadian Nursing to Tackle Climate Change and Health Issues

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the health impacts associated with anthropogenic climate change and examines the interconnection between human health and the environment. It highlights the nursing profession's stance on environmental issues, drawing attention to the disengagement of nurses from advocacy initiatives related to climate change and how this relates to the nursing metaparadigm. Moreover, this paper supports a multidirectional approach to address climate change solutions, with a particular emphasis on both adaptation and mitigation strategies. Ecofeminism is proposed as a critical framework to address the shortcomings of the metaparadigm and the approaches to climate change solutions. It examines the potential for integrating ecofeminism into nursing research and practice by reconceptualizing the concept of the environment, adopting an ethic of the environment, and critiquing oppressive social structures. The benefits of ecofeminism for nursing include enhancing nurses' responsiveness to the health consequences of climate change, facilitated by using a critical voice that promotes inclusion and collective action.