Climate Change Awareness
Conditions
Keywords
climate change, awareness, carbon footprint, healthcare student
Brief summary
This research was planned to investigate whether the education provided in universities causes a change in carbon footprints and climate change.
Detailed description
Climate change is considered one of the most fundamental threats to global public health in the 21st century, making it imperative that university students, who will be the healthcare professionals of the future, have a comprehensive awareness of this issue. Since the university period is a critical stage where individuals build their professional identities and assume social responsibility, equipping the younger generation with climate literacy is vital for a sustainable future. The younger generation, in addition to being the group most exposed to the long-term effects of the climate crisis, also has the potential to be agents of change in solution processes. Healthcare students hold a strategic position in this process; the healthcare sector is responsible for approximately 4-5% of global carbon emissions, and students in this field being able to manage their own carbon footprint forms a foundation for implementing "green hospital" practices in the future . Furthermore, understanding the relationship between climate change and health risks such as increased respiratory illnesses, vector-borne diseases, and food insecurity will enable these students, who will be among the most trusted professional groups in society, to play a transformative role in both clinical practice and public health advocacy. Therefore, carbon footprint and climate awareness training for healthcare students is not only about creating environmental awareness but also an academic and ethical step towards making healthcare systems more resilient to the climate crisis.
Interventions
A climate awareness training will be given to volunteer health students studying at Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University's Ermenek Uysal and Hasan Kalan Health Services building. Data collection tools will be administered to the students before and two weeks after this training. The data will be compared to determine if there has been a change in the students' carbon footprint and climate change awareness.
Sponsors
Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
This research is a quasi-experimental study using a pre-test-post-test design.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Being over 18 years old, being a volunteer, being a healthcare student
Exclusion criteria
* Not being a volunteer
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon Footprint Awareness Scale | At the start of the training and 2 weeks after the training. | The scale, developed by Üstgörül, Akkaya, Palazzo, and Micozzi (2024) to measure individuals' awareness of their impact on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, has 19 items in its final version. The scale is structured using a 5-point Likert scale, rated from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). It consists of 5 sub-dimensions: Transportation (3 items), Fuel Consumption (3 items), Electricity Consumption (5 items), Food Consumption (5 items), and Waste Management (3 items). When the psychometric properties of the scale were examined, it was determined that it explained 56.09% of the total variance and the internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach's Alpha) was 0.88 for the total scale. The reliability coefficients of the sub-dimensions ranged from 0.72 to 0.83. Validated in the Turkish context (Asian and European cultural synthesis) and on individuals over 18 years of age (especially Generation Z), this tool allows for the systematic examination of psychological a |
| Global Climate Change Awareness Scale | At the start of the training and 2 weeks after the training | The "University Students' Awareness Scale Regarding Global Climate Change", developed by Deniz, İnel, and Sezer (2021) to determine the awareness levels of university students regarding global climate change, is structured on a 5-point Likert scale (1) ranging from "Not aware at all" to (5) "Completely aware". The scale consists of 21 items and four sub-dimensions. When the psychometric properties of the scale were examined, it was determined that it explained 57.72% of the total variance and the Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficient for the scale as a whole was 0.826. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed that the four-dimensional structure of the scale exhibited excellent and acceptable levels of fit with the data. This instrument is a valid and reliable measurement tool for measuring the awareness of university students regarding climate change in its different dimensions . |
Contacts
CONTACTHatice YAĞCI KARAMANLI
Outcome results
None listed