The Effects of Global Climate Change on Women's Health and Nursing Approaches

Öz

The global climate crisis affects women's health in a multidimensional manner, posing serious threats particularly in the areas of reproductive health, nutrition, infectious diseases, and mental health. Rising temperatures, air pollution, toxic chemicals, and increasingly frequent natural disasters have led to a higher incidence of pregnancy complications, hormonal disorders, infertility, and fetal developmental issues. Climate-induced food insecurity and limited access to clean water contribute to micronutrient deficiencies, particularly among pregnant and breastfeeding women, resulting in anemia, low birth weight, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, the deterioration of water and sanitation conditions accelerates the spread of infectious diseases, further compromising women’s health. Post-disaster conditions such as displacement, increased risk of violence, and limited access to healthcare services pose significant social and psychological challenges, especially affecting women's mental well-being. Vulnerable groups such as migrant, refugee, and rural women are disproportionately impacted by these climate-related threats. In this context, nurses, especially those working in the field of women's health, play important role in pregnancy following, prenatal and postnatal care, and psychosocial support services. Strengthening nurses through inclusive and sustainable health policies based on gender equality is essential in enhancing women’s resilience against the climate crisis.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Climate
• climate change
• women health
• nursing
• reproductive health

Küresel İklim Değişikliğinin Kadın Sağlığı Üzerindeki Etkileri ve Hemşirelik Yaklaşımları

Öz

Küresel iklim değişikliği, kadın sağlığını çok boyutlu biçimde etkileyerek özellikle üreme sağlığı, beslenme, bulaşıcı hastalıklar ve ruhsal sağlık için ciddi tehditler oluşturmaktadır. Artan sıcaklıklar, hava kirliliği, toksik kimyasallar ve sıklaşan doğal afetler, gebelik komplikasyonları, hormonal bozukluklar, infertilite ve fetal gelişim sorunlarının görülme sıklığını artırmaktadır. İklim değişikliğine bağlı olarak gıda güvensizliği ve temiz suya erişimde yaşanan kısıtlılıklar, özellikle gebe ve emziren kadınlarda mikro besin eksikliklerine yol açarak anemi, düşük doğum ağırlığı ve nörogelişimsel bozukluklara neden olmaktadır. Aynı zamanda su ve sanitasyon koşullarının bozulması, enfeksiyon hastalıklarının yayılımını hızlandırmakta ve bu durum kadın sağlığını olumsuz yönde etkilemektedir. Doğal afetler sonrası ortaya çıkan barınma sorunları, şiddet riski, sağlık hizmetlerine erişim kısıtlılığı gibi sosyal ve psikolojik faktörler, kadınların ruh sağlığını da tehdit etmektedir. Özellikle göçmen, mülteci ya da kırsalda yaşayan kadınlar bu etkilerden daha yoğun biçimde etkilenmektedir. Bu kapsamda özellikle kadın sağlığı alanında görev alan hemşireler gebelik izlemi, doğum öncesi ve sonrası bakım ile psikososyal destek hizmetlerinin planlanması ve yürütülmesinde önemli roller üstlenmektedir. Toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği odaklı, kapsayıcı ve sürdürülebilir sağlık politikalarıyla hemşirelerin güçlendirilmesi, iklim değişikliğine karşı kadınların dayanıklılığını artırmada belirleyici olacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hemşirelik
• iklim
• iklim değişikliği
• kadın sağlığı
• üreme sağlığı

Kaynakça

1. KAYNAKLAR Abu El Kheir-Mataria, W., & Chun, S. (2025). Climate change and women’s cancer in the MENA region: assessing temperature-related health impacts. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1529706. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1529706.
2. Akyüz, A. A. (2019). Yaşamsal bilinmezlik: İklim krizi ve gıda. Toplum ve Hekim Dergisi, 34(4).
3. Álvarez-Nieto, C., Richardson, J., Navarro-Perán, M. Á., Tutticci, N., Huss, N., Elf, M., & López-Medina, I. M. (2022). Nursing students' attitudes towards climate change and sustainability: A cross-sectional multisite study. Nurse Education Today, 108, 105185. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105185.
4. Anjum, G., & Aziz, M. (2025). Climate change and gendered vulnerability: A systematic review of women’s health. Women's Health, 21. doi: 10.1177/17455057251323645.
5. Anthonj, C., Nkongolo, O. T., Schmitz, P., Hango, J. N., & Kistemann, T. (2015). The impact of flooding on people living with HIV: A case study from the Ohangwena Region, Namibia. Global Health Action, 8(1), 26441. doi: 10.3402/gha.v8.26441.
6. Butsch, C., Beckers, L. M., Nilson, E., Frassl, M., Brennholt, N., Kwiatkowski, R., & Söder, M. (2023). Gesundheitliche Auswirkungen von Extremwetterereignissen–Risikokaskaden im anthropogenen Klimawandel. doi: 10.25646/11646.2.
7. Canipari, R., De Santis, L., & Cecconi, S. (2020). Female fertility and environmental pollution. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 8802. doi :10.3390/ijerph17238802.
8. Christodoulou, N., Laaidi, K., Fifre, G., Lejoyeux, M., Akaoui, M. A., & Geoffroy, P. A. (2024). Heatwaves and mental disorders: A study on national emergency and weather services data. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 38(3), 100249. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpsy.2023.100249.

9. Das, A., Mall, M., Behera, B., Dash, R., Lenka, B., & Sahoo, S. (2025). The ,impact of climate change and environmental stressors on maternal mental health: A narrative review. Cureus, 17(7), e88519. doi:10.7759/cureus.88519.
10. De Araújo, G. R., de Castro, P. A., Ávila, I. R., Bezerra, J. M. T., & Barbosa, D. S. (2023). Effects of public health emergencies of international concern on disease control: a systematic review. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 47, e74. http://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2023.74
11. Demorest, S., Spengeman, S., Schenk, E., Cook, C., & Weston, H. L. (2019). The nurses climate challenge: A national campaign to engage 5,000 health professionals around climate change. Creative Nursing, 25(3), 208–215. doi: 10.1891/1078-4535.25.3.208.
12. Desye, B., Berihun, G., Geto, A. K., Berhanu, L., & Daba, C. (2024). Exposure to ambient air pollutions and its association with adverse birth outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1488028. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1488028.
13. Esfahani, P., Mosadeghrad, A. M., & Akbarisari, A. (2018). The success of strategic planning in health care organizations of Iran. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 31(6), 563–574. doi: 10.1108/IJHCQA-08-2017-0145.
14. Fan, W., & Zlatnik, M. G. (2023). Climate change and pregnancy: Risks, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, 78(4), 223–236. doi: 10.1097/OGX.0000000000001116.
15. Fapohunda, T., Stiegler, N., & Bouchard, J. P. (2025). Climate Change and Violence Against Women. Annales Médico-psychologiques, Revue Psychiatrique, 183(1), 112-122. doi: 10.1016/j.amp.2024.11.006.
16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2021). The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2021: Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all. FAO. https://www.fao.org/interactive/state-of-food-security-nutrition/2021/en/. Erişim tarihi: 10.06.2025.
17. Germanwatch. (2021). Global Climate Risk Index 2021: Who suffers most from extreme weather events? Weather-related loss events in 2019 and 2000–2019. https://www.germanwatch.org/en/19777. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025.
18. Helldén, D., Andersson, C., Nilsson, M., Ebi, K. L., Friberg, P., & Alfvén, T. (2021). Climate change and child health: A scoping review and an expanded conceptual framework. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(3), e164–e175. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30274-630274-6.
19. Hirani, S. A. A. (2024). Barriers to women’s menstrual hygiene practices during recurrent disasters and displacement: a qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(2), 153. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21020153.
20. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2023). AR6 synthesis report: Climate change 2023. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle (Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025).
21. Kallman, M. E., & Ferorelli, J. (2024). The conceivable future: Planning families and taking action in the age of climate change. Rowman & Littlefield. doi: 10.5771/9781538179703.
22. Lawrance, E. L., Thompson, R., Newberry Le Vay, J., Page, L., & Jennings, N. (2022). The impact of climate change on mental health and emotional wellbeing: A narrative review of current evidence, and its implications. Journal of Mental Health, 31(5), 443–498. doi: 10.1080/09540261.2022.2128725.
23. Lieber, M., Chin-Hong, P., Whittle, H. J., Hogg, R., & Weiser, S. D. (2021). The synergistic relationship between climate change and the HIV/AIDS epidemic: A conceptual framework. AIDS and Behavior, 25, 2266–2277. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-03155-y.
24. Martin, L., Zhang, Y., Mustieles, V., Souter, I., Petrozza, J., & Messerlian, C. (2022). Reproductive medicine in the face of climate change: A call for prevention through leadership. Fertility and Sterility, 118(2), 239–246. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2022.06.010.
25. Mazhin, S. A., Khankeh, H., Farrokhi, M., Aminizadeh, M., & Poursadeqiyan, M. (2020). Migration health crisis associated with climate change: A systematic review. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9(1), 97. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_4_20 .
26. Mosadeghrad, A. M., Isfahani, P., Eslambolchi, L., Zahmatkesh, M., & Afshari, M. (2023). Strategies to strengthen a climate-resilient health system: A scoping review. Globalization and Health, 19(1), 62.
27. Muralidharan, A., Broekhuijsen, M., Lisondra, L., Guru, A., Haver, J., & Irfan, S. (2025). The ripple effect: impacts of climate change on menstrual health and paths to resilience. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 6, 1569046. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1569046.
28. Naser, K., Haq, Z., & Naughton, B. D. (2024). The impact of climate change on health services in low-and middle-income countries: a systematised review and thematic analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 434. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21040434.
29. Pressley, C., Newton, D., Garside, J., Simkhada, P., & Simkhada, B. (2022). Global migration and factors that support acculturation and retention of international nurses: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 4, 100083. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2022.100083.
30. Qian, J., Si, Y., Chen, Y., Zhu, Y., Zhu, J., Mo, C., & Ma, J. (2025). Ambient temperature and female infertility prevalence: an ecological study based on the 2019 global burden of disease study. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 23(1), 27. doi: 10.1186/s12958-025-01365-4.rr.
31. Ray-Bennett, N. S., Ekezie, W., Biswas, I., Choudhary, N. I., Cowie, D., Dissanayake, L., & Sahoo, M. (2024). Sexual and reproductive service interventions for menstrual regulation, safe abortion, and post-abortion care and their effectiveness during disaster response: A global systematic review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 15(3), 359-373. doi: 10.1007/s13753-024-00565-7.
32. Razavi, T. B. (2025). Sexism and sustainability: Women, feminism, and the response to the climate crisis. In Global Climate Crisis (pp. 64-90). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308880.00008.
33. Rothschild, J., & Haase, E. (2023). The mental health of women and climate change: direct neuropsychiatric impacts and associated psychological concerns. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 160(2), 405-413. doi:10.1002/ijgo.14479.
34. Saatchi, M., Khankeh, H. R., Shojafard, J., Barzanji, A., Ranjbar, M., Nazari, N., ... & Farrokhi, M. (2024). Communicable diseases outbreaks after natural disasters: A systematic scoping review for incidence, risk factors and recommendations. Progress in Disaster Science, 100334. doi: 10.1016/j.pdisas.2024.100334.
35. Sanson, A., Van Hoorn, J., & Burke, S. (2019). Responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 201–207. doi:10.1111/cdep.12342.
36. Semenza, J. C., Rocklöv, J., & Ebi, K. L. (2022). Climate change and cascading risks from infectious disease. Infectious Diseases and Therapy, 11(4), 1371–1390. doi: /10.1007/s40121-022-00647-3.
37. Şengül, B., & Murat, G. (2024). Küresel iklim krizinin sosyal boyutu ve sosyal politika önlemleri. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, 15(41), 342–358. doi: 10.21076/vizyoner.1310015
38. Stokes, F., & Iskander, R. (2021). Human rights and bioethical considerations of global nurse migration. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 18(3), 429–439. doi: 10.1007/s11673-021-10110-6.
39. Tiitta, I., Cubelo, F., McDermott-Levy, R., Jaakkola, J. J., & Kuosmanen, L. (2024). Climate change integration in nursing education: A scoping review. Nurse Education Today, 106210. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106210.
40. Tuğaç, Ç. (2022). İklim değişikliği krizi ve şehirler. Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi, 1(1), 38–60.
41. United Nations Population Fund. (2023). Climate change is an urgent threat to pregnant women and children. United Nations Population Fund. https://www.unfpa.org/press/climate-change-urgent-threat-pregnant-women-and-children. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025.
42. United Nations Population Fund. (2024). Climate Change XX: Women’s health in focus. https://www.unfpa.org/climate-change-xx-womens-health-focus. Erişim tarihi: 10.06.2025.
43. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. (2023). Ten years after Haiyan: Building back better in the Philippines. Birleşmiş Milletler Afet Risk Azaltma Ofisi. https://www.undrr.org/news/ten-years-after-haiyan-building-back-better-philippines. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025
44. Van Daalen, K., Jung, L., Dhatt, R., & Phelan, A. L. (2020). Climate change and gender-based health disparities. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(2), e44–e45. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30001-2.
45. Ventura, A. K., Phelan, S., & Silva Garcia, K. (2021). Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation and child food preferences, dietary patterns, and weight outcomes: a review of recent research. Current Nutrition Reports, 10(4), 413-426. doi: 10.1007/s13668-021-00366-0.
46. Victora, C. G., Bahl, R., Barros, A. J., França, G. V., Horton, S., Krasevec, J., & Rollins, N. C. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. The Lancet, 387(10017), 475-490.
47. Wiemers, P., Graf, I., Addo, M. M., Arck, P. C., & Diemert, A. (2025). Mothers and mosquitoes: climate change contributes to the spread of vector-borne pathogens posing a substantial threat to pregnant women. In Seminars in Immunopathology (Vol. 47, No. 1, p. 25). Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi.org/10.1007/s00281-025-01050-z.
48. Willett, W., Rockström, J., Loken, B., Springmann, M., Lang, T., Vermeulen, S., & Murray, C. J. (2019). Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet, 393(10170), 447-492.
49. World Bank. (2021). 10 things you didn't know about the World Bank Group's work on climate. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2021/10/29/10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-the-world-bank-group-s-work-on-climate. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025.
50. World Health Organization. (2018). COP24 special report: Health and climate change. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241514972. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025.
51. World Health Organization. (2023). Climate change and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health. Erişim tarihi: 19.04.2025.
52. World Meteorological Organization. (2024). State of global water resources 2023. https://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-water-resources-2023. Erişim tarihi: 09.06.2025.
53. Wright, M. L., Drake, D., Link, D. G., & Berg, J. A. (2023). Climate change and the adverse impact on the health and well-being of women and girls from the Women's Health Expert Panel of the American Academy of Nursing. Nursing Outlook, 71(2), 101919. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2023.101919.