Ecological Anxiety, e-Health Literacy, Climate-Health Cognitive Behavior, and Psychological Well-being among Republic of Korea Military Hospital Nurses

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the levels of ecological anxiety, e-health literacy, and climate-health cognitive behavior, and their effects on psychological well-being, as well as to identify the factors influencing psychological well-being among nursing staff in military hospitals. Method: A descriptive, predictive design was employed. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 178 nursing staff members across three military hospitals using standardized questionnaires measuring ecological anxiety, e-health literacy, climate-health cognitive behavior, and psychological well-being. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analysis. Result: The mean scores for ecological anxiety, e-health literacy, climate-health cognitive behavior, and psychological well-being were 0.37, 3.92, 3.93, and 2.83, respectively. Psychological well-being was negatively correlated with ecological anxiety (r=-.21, p=.005) and positively correlated with e-health literacy (r=.41, p<.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that ecological anxiety (β=-0.19, p=.005) and e-health literacy (β=0.40, p<.001) accounted for 19.4% of the variance in mental well-being (F=22.24, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings indicate that ecological anxiety and e-health literacy are significant predictors of psychological well-being among nursing staff in military hospitals. These results suggest the need to develop strategies to reduce ecological anxiety and enhance e-health literacy to improve psychological well-being in this population. Furthermore, future research should explore optimal climate-health cognitive behaviors for nurses preparing for the impacts of climate change.