Enhancing waste management awareness in future nurses: a theory-based educational intervention and psychometric evaluation of a measurement tool.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of waste separation and recycling education on waste management awareness among nursing students at a university and to examine the psychometric properties of a measurement tool designed to assess this awareness. METHOD: The research was conducted using a single-group pretest-post-test quasi-experimental and methodological design. The population of the study consisted of individuals receiving nursing education; 180 participants were included in the pretest and 117 in the post-test. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Form and the Waste Management Awareness Scale. Following the pretest, a three-session, theory-based educational intervention focused on waste separation and recycling, each lasting approximately 40 min, was implemented and the post-test was administered after the third session. FINDINGS: The average age of participants was 20.37±1.52 and the majority were female (79.4%). The two-subscale structure of the scale was psychometrically supported and explained 58.20% of the total variance. A significant increase was found in waste management awareness scores after the training (p<0.001). The training intervention was found to have a moderate effect on waste management awareness and waste separation behaviours and a small-to-moderate effect on attitudes towards recycling (Cohen's d=0.30-0.44). CONCLUSION: The findings show that nursing students have a moderate level of waste management awareness and that theory-based structured education significantly strengthens this awareness. It is recommended that waste management awareness, as a measurable and developable construct, be addressed systematically and sustainably within nursing education.