Environmental Sustainability and the Climate Crisis: A Qualitative Study on Institutional Preparedness and Individual Awareness

Year 2025, Issue: Special Issue: Crisis Entangled – Reimagining the Social in Turbulent Times, 105 - 118, 30.10.2025

Merve Kişi , Selin Kalender , Ayşe Nurselin Ok

Abstract

Climate change and environmental sustainability are increasingly recognized as critical issues within healthcare systems. However, there is limited understanding of how healthcare professionals perceive and experience these challenges in their daily practice. This study aims to explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions, experiences, and attitudes toward environmental sustainability and climate change within public hospitals. Designed as a descriptive phenomenological study, the research was based on Giorgi’s phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 10 healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, and technicians) working in public hospitals. The interview form was developed by the researchers through a comprehensive literature review and expert validation. Interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed in five stages using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method: holistic reading, identification of meaning units, transformation into psychological expressions, construction of the essential structure, and thematic coding. The findings revealed common themes related to environmental awareness, institutional practices, perceived barriers, and proposed solutions for climate-resilient healthcare. Participants’ statements converged around themes such as environmental sustainability awareness, institutional practices, encountered barriers, and proposed solutions. Understanding healthcare professionals’ lived experiences provides a foundation for promoting climate-resilient healthcare practices. The findings can inform institutional policies, training programs, and future research aimed at strengthening environmental sustainability in healthcare settings.

Keywords

Environmental sustainability , climate change , healthcare professionals , phenomenology , qualitative research

Çevresel Sürdürülebilirlik ve İklim Krizi: Kurumsal Hazırlık ve Bireysel Farkındalık Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

İklim değişikliği ve çevresel sürdürülebilirlik, sağlık sistemleri içinde giderek önem kazanmaktadır. Ancak sağlık çalışanlarının bu konudaki algı ve deneyimlerine yönelik bilgi sınırlıdır. Bu çalışma, kamu hastanelerinde görev yapan sağlık çalışanlarının çevresel sürdürülebilirlik ve iklim değişikliğine yönelik algılarını, deneyimlerini ve tutumlarını anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Tanımlayıcı fenomenolojik desende yürütülen araştırma, Giorgi’nin (2005) fenomenolojik yaklaşımı temel alınarak yapılandırılmıştır. Veriler, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile kamu hastanelerinde çalışan 10 sağlık çalışanı ile yapılan derinlemesine birebir görüşmelerle toplanmıştır. Görüşme formu literatür ve uzman görüşleri doğrultusunda hazırlanmış, ses kaydı ile toplanan veriler Giorgi’nin beş aşamalı analiz yöntemi kullanılarak çözümlenmiştir: bütüncül okuma, anlam birimlerinin belirlenmesi, psikolojik yönelimli dönüştürme, temel yapının oluşturulması ve tematik kodlama. Katılımcıların ifadeleri, çevresel farkındalık, kurumsal uygulamalar, karşılaşılan engeller ve çözüm önerileri gibi temalarda bütünleşmiştir. Sağlık çalışanları, iklimsel sürdürülebilirlik açısından bireysel farkındalıkların artırılması, kurumsal destek mekanizmalarının geliştirilmesi ve sürdürülebilir uygulamaların teşvik edilmesi gerektiğini vurgulamıştır. Sağlık çalışanlarının yaşantısal deneyimlerinin anlaşılması, iklim dirençli sağlık hizmetleri uygulamalarını desteklemek açısından önemlidir. Bulgular, kurumsal politikalar, eğitim programları ve gelecekteki araştırmalar için yol gösterici olabilir.

Keywords

Çevresel sürdürülebilirlik , iklim değişikliği , sağlık çalışanları , fenomenoloji , nitel araştırma

References

• Agache, I., Laculiceanu, A., Spanu, D., & Grigorescu, D. (2023). The concept of one health for allergic diseases and asthma. Allergy, asthma & immunology research, 15(3), 290–302. https://doi.org/10.4168/aair.2023.15.3.290
• Aljabre, S. H., Hoffmann, F., Almorzog, B. S., Mikiling, L., Alabdulatif, M., & Al-Quorain, A. A. (2002). Hospital generated waste: An assessment of the awareness of hospital staff. Journal of Family and Community Medicine, 9(1), 47-50.
• Allarakhia, M. (2022). Engaging healthcare providers and patients on climate action through physical, emotional and social wellness. The International Journal of Whole Person Care, 9(1), 8–9. https://doi.org/10.26443/ijwpc.v9i1.319
• Altun, Ö. Y. (2025). İklim değişikliği ve sağlık farkındalığı: Artvin’de çalışan hekimler örneği. Veche, 4(1), 1-15.
• Amoadu, M., Ansah, E. W., Sarfo, J. O., & Hormenu, T. (2023). Impact of climate change and heat stress on workers’ health and productivity: a scoping review. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 12, 100249.
• Ansah, E. W., Amoadu, M., Obeng, P., & Sarfo, J. O. (2024). Health systems response to climate change adaptation: a scoping review of global evidence. BMC public health, 24(1), 2015.
• Baytaş, V., & Aydın, G. Ç. (2022). Sağlık kurumlarında çevreye duyarlı politikalar: Yeşil hastane örnekleri. Ekonomi Maliye İşletme Dergisi, 5(2), 336-356.
• Boyer, C. J., Bowen, K., Murray, V., Hadley, J., Hilly, J. J., Hess, J. J., & Ebi, K. L. (2020). Using implementation science for health adaptation: Opportunities for pacific island countries: Analysis highlights examples from Pacific Island countries where implementation science can be used to enhance the capacity of health systems to prepare for and recover from climate-related exposures. Health affairs, 39(12), 2160-2167.
• Charles, J., Lois, A. N., Mukhopadhyay, C., Maibach, E., & Patz, J. A. (2021). Health professionals as advocates for climate solutions: A case study from Wisconsin. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 4, 100052.
• Cianconi, P., Betrò, S., & Janiri, L. (2020). The impact of climate change on mental health: a systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 490206.
• Clayton, S., Manning, C. M., Krygsman, K., & Speiser, M. (2017). Mental health and our changing climate: Health and, and Guidance. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, and ecoAmerica.
• Cunsolo, A., Harper, S. L., Minor, K., Hayes, K., Williams, K. G., & Howard, C. (2020). Ecological grief and anxiety: the start of a healthy response to climate change?. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(7), e261-e263.
• Debbık, K. S. Sağlık yönetiminde sürdürülebilirlik: Sağlık çalışanları arasında sürdürülebilirlik ve atık yönetimi algısı üzerine bir araştırma. Quantrade Journal of Complex Systems in Social Sciences, 6(1), 63-73.
• Ebi, K. L., & Semenza, J. C. (2008). Community-based adaptation to the health impacts of climate change. American journal of preventive medicine, 35(5), 501-507.
• Environmental Protection Agency. (2025a). Climate Change Impacts on Health. https://www.epa.-gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-health
• Environmental Protection Agency. (2025b). Climate Change and the Health of People with Chronic Medical Conditions. https://www.epa.gov/-climateimpacts/climate-change-and-health-people-chronic-medical-conditions
• European Environment Agency. (2022). Soil pollution and health. https://www.eea.europa.eu/pub-lications/zero-pollution/health/soil-pollution
• Giorgi, A. (2005). The phenomenological movement and research in the human sciences. Nursing Science Quarterly. 18(1), 75–82. doi:10.1177/0894318404272112
• Giorgi, A. (2012). The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 43(1), 3–12. doi:10.1163/156916212x632934
• Greenwald L, Blanchard O, Hayden C and Sheeld P (2023) Climate and health education: A critical review at one medical school. Front. Public Health 10:1092359. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1092359
• Hausner, B., Horvath, D., Karner, S., Omann, I., Riemenschneider, M., Reckien, D., Susani, A., Wagner, L., Wanner, J., Warmuth, H. (2023) Key approaches of low-carbon lifestyle changes (LOCALISED Deliverable 6.1)
• Howard, C., Moineau, G., Poitras, J., Redvers, N., Mahmood, J., Eissa, M., ... & Guzman, C. A. F. (2023). Seeding a planetary health education revolution: institutional sign-on challenge. The Lancet, 402(10418), 2173-2176.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2013). Climate change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis. Retrieved from http://www.-ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.Utexh7EV-M8 on 8 February 2014.
• Irmak, Y., & Mersinlioğlu Serin, G. (2023). İklim değişikliği ile mücadelede önemli bir katalizör: Sağlık faktörü. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, 14(38), 739-751. https://doi.org/10.21076/vizyoner.113-6570
• Karliner, J., Slotterback, S., & Boyd, R. Health care climate footprint report. Arup. 2019. Climate-smart health care series website.
• Kaya, Y. (2017). Paris anlaşmasını iklim adaleti perspektifinden değerlendirmek. Uluslarara-sı İlişkiler Dergisi, 14(54), 87-106.
• Kinay, P., Morse, A. P., Villanueva, E. V., Morrissey, K., & Staddon, P. L. (2019). Direct and indirect health impacts of climate change on the vulnerable elderly population in East China. Environmental Reviews, 27(3), 295-303.
• Kotcher, J., Maibach, E., Miller, J., Campbell, E., Alqodmani, L., Maiero, M., & Wyns, A. (2021). Views of health professionals on climate change and health: a multinational survey study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(5), e316-e323.
• Koşan, Z., Yavuz, E., Yılmaz, S., & Yerli, E. B. (2023). Tıp fakültesi öğrencilerinin küresel iklim değişikliği ve sağlık etkilerine yönelik farkındalık düzeyleri. İklim ve Sağlık Dergisi / Climate and Health and Health Journal Climatehealth 2023; 3(2):46-62.
• Kreslake, J. M., Sarfaty, M., Roser-Renouf, C., Leiserowitz, A. A., & Maibach, E. W. (2018). The critical roles of health professionals in climate change prevention and preparedness. American Journal of Public Health, 108(S2), S68-S69.
• Leal Filho, W., Shiel, C., Paço, A., Mifsud, M., Ávila, L. V., Brandli, L. L., ... & Caeiro, S. (2019). Sustainable development goals and sustainability teaching at universities: falling behind or getting ahead of the pack?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 232, 285-294.
• Lenzen, M., Malik, A., Li, M., Fry, J., Weisz, H., Pichler, P. P., ... & Pencheon, D. (2020). The environmental footprint of health care: a global assessment. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(7), e271-e279.
• Luque-Alcaraz, O.M., Aparicio-Martínez, P., Gomera, A. et al. The environmental awareness of nurses as environmentally sustainable health care leaders: a mixed method analysis. BMC Nurse, 23, 229 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01895-z
• MacNeill, A. J., McGain, F., & Sherman, J. D. (2021). Planetary health care: a framework for sustainable health systems. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(2), e66-e68.
• Maibach, E. W., Kreslake, J. M., Roser-Renouf, C., Rosenthal, S., Feinberg, G., & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2015). Do Americans understand that global warming is harmful to human health? Evidence from a national survey. Annals of global health, 81(3), 396-409.
• Marazziti, D., Cianconi, P., Mucci, F., Foresi, L., Chiarantini, I., & Della Vecchia, A. (2021). Climate change, environment pollution, COVID-19 pandemic and mental health. Science of the total environment, 773, 145182.
• Martins, J. M., Aftab, H., Mata, M. N., Majeed, M. U., Aslam, S., Correia, A. B., & Mata, P. N. (2021). Assessing the impact of green hiring on sustainable performance: mediating role of green performance management and compensation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 5654.
• Mboera, L. E., Mayala, B. K., Kweka, E. J., & Mazigo, H. D. (2012). Impact of climate change on human health and health systems in Tanzania: a review. Tanzania Journal of Health Research, 13(5). https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v13i5.10
• Mirow, J., Venne, J., & Brand, A. (2024). Green health: how to decarbonise global healthcare systems. Sustainable Earth Reviews, 7(1), 28.
• Olgun, E., & Kantarlı, S. (2020). İklim değişikliğinin sağlik üzerine etkileri. Doğanın Sesi, (5), 13-23.
• Patz, J. A., Frumkin, H., Holloway, T., Vimont, D. J., & Haines, A. (2014). Climate change: challenges and opportunities for global health. Jama, 312(15), 1565-1580.
• Pichler, P. P., Jaccard, I. S., Weisz, U., & Weisz, H. (2019). International comparison of health care carbon footprints. Environmental research letters, 14(6), 064004.
• Rocque, R. J., Beaudoin, C., Ndjaboue, R., Cameron, L., Poirier-Bergeron, L., Poulin-Rheault, R. A., Fallon, C., Tricco, A. C., & Witteman, H. O. (2021). Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ open, 11(6), e046333. https://doi.org/10.1136/-bmjopen-2020-046333
• Romanello, M., McGushin, A., Di Napoli, C., Drummond, P., Hughes, N., Jamart, L., ... & Hamilton, I. (2021). The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future. The Lancet, 398(10311), 1619-1662.
• Salas, R. N., Maibach, E., Pencheon, D., Watts, N., & Frumkin, H. (2020). A pathway to net zero emissions for healthcare. Bmj, 371.
• Shaw, E., Walpole, S., McLean, M., Alvarez-Nieto, C., Barna, S., Bazin, K., ... & Woollard, R. (2021). AMEE Consensus Statement: Planetary health and education for sustainable healthcare. Medical teacher, 43(3), 272-286.
• Trombley, J., Chalupka, S., & Anderko, L. (2017). Climate change and mental health. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 117(4), 44-52.
• Vergunst, F., & Berry, H. L. (2022). Climate change and children’s mental health: a developmental perspective. Clinical Psycholo-gical Science, 10(4), 767-785.
• Watts, N., Amann, M., Arnell, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Belesova, K., Boykoff, M., ... & Montgomery, H. (2019). The 2019 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: ensuring that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate. The Lancet, 394(10211), 1836-1878.
• Whitmarsh, L., O’Neill, S., & Lorenzoni, I. (2013). Public engagement with climate change: what do we know and where do we go from here?. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 9(1), 7-25.
• World Health Organization. (2023). Operational framework for building climate resilient and low carbon health systems.