The role of Nursing in the care and control of emerging tropical diseases associated with climate change in Europe: a systematic review
e202602009
Keywords:
Climate change, Nursing, Investigation, Education, Clinical management, Clinical practiceAbstract
BACKGROUND // Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events are changing the distribution of mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors, facilitating the spread of tropical diseases to regions where they were previously absent. With the present study, we aimed to analyze the role of Nursing in the prevention, surveillance, community education, and clinical management of emerging tropical diseases.
METHODS // A systematic review was conducted of articles published between January 2015 and December 2024, following the PRISMA protocol. The databases consulted included PubMed/PMC, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, LILACS, Scielo, and Google Scholar, along with complementary searches in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and World Health Organization repositories. MeSH and DeCS terms were used, combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR. A specific search strategy was developed for each database. The evidence was synthesized using a qualitative and thematic approach, integrating studies with diverse methodologies and assessing their methodological quality to weigh the strength of the findings.
RESULTS // A total of 18 studies were selected, conducted in European countries (n=15), the Middle East (n=2) and North America (n=1). The studies demonstrated the strategic role of Nursing in surveillance, prevention, community education, and clinical management of tropical diseases. The findings highlighted the need to strengthen education, research, and health policies aimed at climate adaptation. The incorporation of clinical simulation methodologies and continuous training on emerging outbreaks proved to be effective tools to enhance the response capacity to health crisis scenarios.
CONCLUSIONS // Nursing, due to its close contact with the community and its ability to lead preventive interventions, is positioned to play a key role in building health systems resilient to climate change.
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