Effects of an Online Education Program on the Competency of Korean Nurses in Responding to Climate Change: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Climate change is a critical health challenge that nurses must address. However, continuing education opportunities that prepare nurses to integrate climate change-health issues into practice remain limited. The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate an online education program to enhance nurses' competency in responding to climate change. METHOD: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design examined the effectiveness of a 4-week, six-session online training program. Participants were 60 Korean nurses working at three general hospitals (intervention group = 29; control group = 31). Data were collected three times between September and November 2023. RESULTS: After the intervention, significant differences were observed between the intervention and control groups in motivation, self-efficacy, and climate change-health nursing practice. CONCLUSION: The education program developed in this study potentially can be used to train nurses across various hospital settings, enhancing their competencies in climate change-health responses.