Dr. Jennifer Stephens, MA, PhD, RN, OCN
Primary Investigator
Jennifer Stephens is an assistant professor and BN Program Director in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. She is a registered nurse whose program of research focuses on oncology nursing and the cancer patient experience as well as issues around health care sustainability in the face of climate change.
Dr. Kate Leslie, PhD, JD, RN
Co-investigator
Kathleen (Kate) Leslie is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University and an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Health Studies at Western University. She is a registered nurse and lawyer whose program of research focuses on health law and policy, health workforce, and professional regulation. Kate is the lead of the regulation and governance theme for the Canadian Health Workforce Network.
Exploring Barriers to Integrating Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Content in Canadian Baccalaureate Nursing Programs: A Knowledge Synthesis
Nurses are in the unique position of being both actors and change agents within the health sector around issues of climate change and environmental responsibility. For over a decade the Canadian Nurses Association has been calling for the inclusion of timely and current eco-focused material within Bachelor of Science in nursing (BScN, BSN, BN) curriculums. Recent research and analysis has suggested, however, that inclusion of this material remains lacking and that discussions around climate change are largely labeled under the specialty of public health. This proposed research project aims to examine climate change content within BScN programs in Canada through a knowledge synthesis project. This research contains two foundational steps: a scoping literature review and subsequent stakeholder collaboration. The goal is to determine barriers to inclusion of environmental and climate change material within BScN curriculums while assessing the possible influence of Canadian political and regularly factors on these choices. This study will launch additional research projects that will examine the issue of sustainability and eco-literacy within nursing and a broader health care context.
Thank you to WNR CASN for supporting of this important research.