Nursing strategies for environmental justice: A scoping review. Issue 2 (19th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: LeClair, Jessica; Watts, Theresa; Zahner, Susan
• Is Part Of: Public health nursing. Volume 38:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 296
• Page End: 308
• Publication Date: 2020-11-19
• Subjects: climate justice -- environmental health -- environmental justice -- planetary health -- public health nursing -- scoping review; Public health nursing -- Periodicals; 610.734
• DOI: 10.1111/phn.12840
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0737-1209

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: To describe types of strategic actions nurses take to promote environmental justice (EJ) through research, education, advocacy, and practice (REAP) reported in peer‐reviewed literature. Design and Sample: A scoping review of literature was conducted that described EJ nursing strategies and included nurses listed as authors, subjects, partners, or organizational members. The sample consisted of 35 articles, representing 24 primary research studies and 11 nonresearch articles. Data were separately analyzed by research and nonresearch articles for a clearer understanding of evidence‐based strategies within domains of REAP. Results: Articles in the sample highlighted the importance of authentic community partnership and represented diversity of nursing strategies that addressed a range of environmental exposures and subsequent health and racial inequities. Climate justice, a concept that emerged from the EJ movement and intersects with planetary health, is a recent focus in professional nursing. Conclusions: This scoping review establishes an understanding of the extent of nursing knowledge and research in EJ and lays the groundwork for further research on effective EJ nursing strategies. Community‐Based Participatory Research/Participatory Action Research methods are fundamental for EJ research, and further theoretical development is needed to guide evaluation of EJ nursing strategies for education, advocacy, and practice.