Shaping Tomorrow's Care: Assessing the Influence of Future Midwives' Knowledge and Concerns About Climate Change on Maternal and Child Health.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate midwifery students' knowledge and concerns about climate change, especially how it affects maternal and child health.

DESIGN

The study is cross-sectional descriptive.

SAMPLE: The sample included all 103 4th-year midwifery students without selection.

MEASUREMENTS: The Introductory Information Form, Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS) and Climate Change Knowledge Test (CCKT) were applied to gather data. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to perform comparisons, setting significance levels at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Students were asked questions about how climate change affects maternal and child health. Students who thought that climate change causes heat-related illnesses had significantly higher CCAS anxiety subscale scores (KW = 10.778, p < 0.05). Students who thought that droughts, storms, floods, and fires caused physical or psychological problems had significantly higher CCAS and helplessness subscale scores (KW = 10.237, p < 0.05; KW = 10.172, p < 0.05). Students who thought that illnesses were caused by UV radiation and poor air quality had significantly higher CCAS scores (KW = 10.236, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Midwifery students recognize climate change impacts on maternal-child health while experiencing significant anxiety and helplessness about future implications. Preparing students for climate change roles and responsibilities and creating awareness-raising activities are important for their future professional success.