Journals / Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1

Climate Change and Child Health: Impacts, Preventive Strategies, and Nursing Perspectives

İklim Değişikliği ve Çocuk Sağlığı: Etkiler, Önlemler, Hemşirelik Yaklaşımı

Canan Genç(İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa, Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü, Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Doktora Programı Öğrencisi, İstanbul. Marmara Üniversitesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi, Ebelik Bölümü, İstanbul)0000-0002-2616-683X
Özlem Akarsu(İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi, Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul)0000-0001-7150-7683
Pages
87–94
Publication Date
2026-04-03
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The purpose of this review is to draw attention to the direct and indirect effects of climate change on children's health and to explain the measures that can be taken against climate change and the roles that pediatric nurses can play in this process.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Climate change is one of the most serious global crises threatening children's health.
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Key Findings & Data:Rising global temperatures due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions are increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, storms, and forest fires.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The purpose of this review is to draw attention to the direct and indirect effects of climate change on children's health and to explain the measures that can be taken against climate change and the roles that pediatric nurses can play in this process.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:çocuk sağlığı · hemşirelik bakımı · iklim değişikliği

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most serious global crises threatening children's health. Rising global temperatures due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions are increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, storms, and forest fires. This situation has direct and indirect effects not only on the environment but also on health systems. Children are the most vulnerable group to health risks associated with climate change due to their incomplete physical development, limited physiological defense mechanisms against environmental threats, and inequalities in access to health services. Climate change negatively affects children's health in physical, mental, and social dimensions through multifaceted problems such as infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, mental health issues, food insecurity, water scarcity, climate-based displacement, child labor, child neglect, and abuse. In this context, pediatric nurses have multidimensional responsibilities, including raising awareness of the health effects of climate change, supporting environmentally friendly practices, advocating for children's rights, contributing to the development of child-centered preventive measures, and providing post-disaster care services and mental health support. The purpose of this review is to draw attention to the direct and indirect effects of climate change on children's health and to explain the measures that can be taken against climate change and the roles that pediatric nurses can play in this process.

Özet

İklim değişikliği, çocuk sağlığını tehdit eden en ciddi küresel krizlerinden biridir. Artan sera gazları emisyonlarına bağlı olarak küresel sıcaklıkların yükselmesi; sel, kuraklık, fırtına ve orman yangınları gibi ekstrem hava olaylarının sıklığını ve şiddetini arttırmaktadır. Bu durum yalnızca çevresel değil, aynı zamanda sağlık sistemleri üzerinde de doğrudan ve dolaylı etkiler yaratmaktadır. Fiziksel gelişim süreçlerinin henüz tamamlanmamış olması, çevresel tehditlere karşı sınırlı fizyolojik savunma mekanizmaları ve sağlık hizmetlerine erişimde eşitsizlikler nedeniyle çocuklar, iklim değişikliğine bağlı sağlık risklerine karşı en hassas grubu oluşturmaktadır. İklim değişikliği bulaşıcı hastalıklar, solunum yolu hastalıkları, ruh sağlığı sorunları, gıda güvencesizliği, su kıtlığı, iklim temelli yer değiştirme, çocuk işçiliği, çocuk ihmal ve istismarı gibi çok yönlü sorunlar aracılığıyla çocuk sağlığını fiziksel, ruhsal ve sosyal boyutlarda olumsuz etkilemektedir. Bu bağlamda pediatri hemşirelerine; iklim değişikliğinin sağlık üzerindeki etkilerine yönelik farkındalık oluşturma, çevre dostu uygulamaları destekleme, çocuk hakları savunuculuğu yapma, çocuk odaklı koruyucu önlemlerin geliştirilmesine katkı sağlama, afet sonrasında bakım hizmetleri ve ruh sağlığı desteği gibi çok boyutlu sorumluluklar düşmektedir. Bu derlemenin amacı iklim değişikliğinin çocuk sağlığı üzerindeki doğrudan ve dolaylı etkilerine dikkat çekmek ve iklim değişikliğine karşı alınabilecek önlemleri ve pediatri hemşirelerinin bu süreçte üstlenebileceği rolleri açıklamaktır.

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Cite This Article

Genç, C., Akarsu, Ö. (2026). Climate Change and Child Health: Impacts, Preventive Strategies, and Nursing Perspectives. Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Dergisi, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 87–94. https://doi.org/10.48071/sbuhemsirelik.1738358

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